Latinx Punk Documentary Script Excerpt: 

Full Script Available Upon Request

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Kartel

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NARRATION: The band that made the biggest impression on me that night was Kartel. Kartel is spelled with a, "K" not a "C." They were the loudest fastest band at the show.  I met them a few weeks later at another show they played in Ridgewood at Trans-Pecos. 

I spoke with them while the singer Lina worked the mixed drinks booth in the backyard. They were clad in leather, studs, piercings, and tattoos and they laughed and joked around with each other like family as I asked questions

(AUDIO: MUSIC FADED INTO BACKGROUND)

I asked why they chose the name "Kartel": 

LINA: Pues simplemente nosotros somos el perfecto ejemplo de la migración, porque todos somos de diferentes lugares en la banda y nos presentamos cartel porque, la gente nos conoce nuestros países como por los carteles de la droga, tanto en Nepal como en Colombia, como en México. Y pues por eso dijimos, bueno, si nos van a pedir cocaína, pues que nos conozcan por la música y por eso somos Kartel.

TRANSLATION: We are the perfect example of migrants because we are all from different places. We present ourselves as, "Kartel" because people here associate our countries with drug trafficking, from Nepal to Colombia, or Mexico. So then we told ourselves if they are going to associate us with cocaine, let them associate that with our music, and that's why we are Kartel. 

NARRATION: The members are Mario, Lina, Roman, and two Nepalese musicians who declined to interview. Mario plays the guitar and immigrated from Brazil about a decade ago, Lina is the lead singer and came from Bogota, Colombia  four years ago, and Roman is the drummer who came from Mexico city fifteen years ago. Roman is undocumented and that is his alias.  

NARRATION: They talked about bands that inspired them in their countries to start playing. When I asked them why punk, Lina responded:

LINA: No, digamos en Colombia, hablábamos más de la realidad que nos pasa allá. Lo mismo igual la policía, la iglesia, montón de cosas. Pero estando acá la realidad es diferente. Entonces, como que nos da un espacio de hablar de nuestra realidad y de expresar lo que nos pasa día a día acá.

La mayoría somos inmigrantes. Nos hemos unido mucho. Entonces el punk nos ayuda a unirnos a contar historias de diferentes puntos de vista. Porque todos tenemos migraciones diferentes. 

TRANSLATION: In Colombia we sing more about our reality. The same really– the police, the church and a bunch of other things. But the reality here is different. We can talk about what happens to us day-to-day here.

The majority of us are immigrants. We have bonded a lot. So punk helps us come together to tell our stories from different points of view. We all have immigration stories.

(KARTEL MUSIC)

NARRATION: Kartel is one of the most well known bands in the Latino punk scene on the east coast. Everyone else I spoke to seemed to  know who they were, though this didn’t seem to get to their heads at all.

I asked them why they came to America. They all looked at one another waiting for the other to reply. Finally, Lina spoke: 

LINA: Son por huir de algo? No porque algo no está bien. Entonces, acá, afortunadamente la escena y el punk y todo lo hecho mucho más fácil como que hemos logrado. Trabajar, obviamente lo que todo trabaja, cocinando, construcción, en bares...etc. Pero pues tenemos una comunidad muy agradable donde hacemos estos eventos y pues ha sido interesante conocer tanta gente de tantos lugares y hacer como una familia diferente.

TRANSLATION: It's to get away from something? Because something is not right. Fortunately, the punk scene here has made it possible to accomplish the things we have done. Work, everyone works, in cooking, construction, bars...etc. We have a supportive community. It's been interesting to meet many people from so many places and to create a family. 

MARIO: ...Para mi papá, para mi mamá. Cosas que no podías hacer en Brasil por los dólares. (Note: Mario has a Portuguese accent)

TRANSLATION: I work to send money to my dad and mom. Things we couldn't do in Brazil because of money. 

NARRATION: Mario is from a favela in Brazil where people have a monthly average income of $170 according to Rio on Watch. The small neighborhoods are often crime ridden. 

The bands in the niche Latino Punk scene have day jobs-- they work to support themselves and sometimes their families too in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Despite this, they still find time to make and play music. 

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(FADE IN LA MILAGROSA MUSIC)

Eduardo

­NARRATION: In this Latino Punk scene, there are many musicians who have been playing for over a decade. While the bands know each other, they receive little recognition outside of their own circle. 

Eduardo is a band member of Askeados and La Milagrosa. He is thirty-six years old and started playing guitar in middle school when he was thirteen. He identifies as Afro-Latino and moved from Puerto Rico about seven years ago. 

EDUARDO: Me traje la banda que yo tenía allá en Puerto Rico que se llamaba Escrófula. La organicé acá con diferentes personas que conocí aquí. Y pues ahí fue que fui conociendo a los muchachos que tocaban Askeados y de otras bandas. Comencé a organizar shows aquí, así alrededor.

TRANSLATION: I brought my band named Escrófula with me from Puerto Rico. I played with different people I met here. That's how I met the band members of Askeados and other bands. I began organizing shows here. 

(FADE OUT CLIP OF LA MILAGROSA MUSIC)

NARRATION: Like the members from Kartel, Eduardo shared his experiences about how his interest in punk began in his home country. He talked about the scene in Puerto Rico. He also recalled a heavy Spanish influence in punk music. 

EDUARDO: Solamente comencé escuchando bandas de España. Eh, principalmente. No sabía hablar inglés en ese momento.

Me enteré tras un casete de una banda que se llama Lo Podrido que es de Puerto Rico. Y pues, estaba curioso porque me gustó mucho el sonido de la banda, y me di cuenta que hablaban igual que como hablo yo. Seguí hasta que encontré dónde era qué hacían los sábados de punk. Que se hacían bien poco en lugares así, remotas de la isla. 

Era un grupo pequeño, solamente había cuatro o cinco bandas yo diría y, 40, 50 personas es lo más que podía ver en un recital. 

TRANSLATION: I mostly listened to bands from Spain. Back then I didn't know English.

I found out about punk from a cassette by Puerto Rican band, "Lo Podrido." I liked their sound, then my curiosity grew. I realized they sang about what mattered to me. I continued searching for live punk music until I found a place that played shows on Saturdays.

It was a small community. There were only four to five bands I would say, and about forty to fifty people is the most that you saw at the shows.    

NARRATION: Eduardo's story sounded similar to mine. As a teenager I had to scour the internet to find the music I liked since Punk isn't something you are usually exposed to when growing up Latino. You definitely don't hear it at quinceaneras, bautizos, or any type of parties. 

I downloaded songs from Limewire with questionable audio quality and with hilarious incorrect titles. I found dozens of musicians, like The Ramones, Blondie, and Patti Smith, and then Bikini Kill, Fugazi, the Descendants, X, and of course, the Bad Brains. 

(SOUND CLIP OF CBGB’S AT WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK RALLY SHOW 2005)

EDUARDO: Me di cuenta que esta música hablaba de cosas que a mí me pasaban. Y me gustó mucho y traté de empezar a escribir mis primeras canciones. Agarré una guitarra que no sabía ni tocar con una sola cuerda y traté de hacer sonidos así imitando a las bandas, las pocas bandas que había escuchado.

Hablaban de la gente que se sentía marginada. Y yo me sentía de esa forma. No era como la música comercial que sólo hablaba de amor o de bailar o de cosas alegres.

TRANSLATION: Punk talked about things that happened to me. That inspired me to write my first songs. I grabbed a guitar I didn't know how to play and tried to imitate those bands-- the few bands I had listened to.

They sang about people who felt marginalized and I felt like that. It wasn't like commercial music that only talked about love, dancing, or other happy sentiments.

NARRATION: Punk gave Eduardo an outlet to make music about the injustices he saw. He found a family in others with similar life experiences-- those who were also raised by a single parent and had an interest in social justice.