David Carillo grooving on opening day (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
As I am making my way through the mud, I notice Patricia Reyes. Her bright smile and charisma gave me a sense of home. She is currently teaching art in a low-income school in Chicago. Her mission is “bringing people together, sharing good music, music with a message.” Patricia goes by Kinky P; a reggae DJ inspired to play this genre of music since many artists with this particular style left the city. She was invited to Ruido Fest particularly because she does not play latin music. As a first timer at this festival, she felt empower to introduce this style to the audience.
Artists from all over Latin America were present at Ruido Fest’s fourth alternative Latin music festival on the northern edge of Pilsen in Addams/Medill Park.
Even though the weather wasn’t helpful on Friday, it didn’t stop the fans from enjoying their favorite acts. Bands like Kinky, Panteon Rococo, Los Ezquisitos, Caifanes, Los Angeles Azules and Celso Piña from Mexico and Guatemala’s Gaby Moreno, whose performance not only made the audience dance in the rain but could not be missed by a couple who drove almost seven hours to see her.
Also, many local bands were invited to show their love for music and their big influence in their communities. Quinto Imperio, a Back of the Yards band inspired by several reasons to create their group.
Quinto Imperio from Back of the Yards kick-off Ruido Fest 2018 (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
The primary reason was the impotence and the madness they all felt towards the mistreatment of the immigrant community and toward Back of the Yards. They needed ways to lift people’s spirits. Some band members are under DACA, which inspires many other individuals not to be afraid of doing what they love. Their music became a power of resistance to rise in favor of the community. The band helps inspire individuals, and they all have a life of their own that reflects hard work and love for their culture.
Some advice they mention is, if you want to start a career, you need to be willing to sacrifice many things. I got inspired by Edy, “Do not be discouraged if you do not have the resources at this moment. With what you have on the side, start because if you wait until you have everything right, time will simply pass by.”
While this local band helps inspire their community and others in Chicago, Ruido Fest brought this year’s focus on women DJs. Performances by Calixta, Betty Heredia, Cqqchifruit, La Spacer, and Kinky P were present. Betty Heredia is more of a visual, who was inspired to merely illustrate sounds and encourage women always to own it, not to worry about any advice but instead do what makes you happy.
Calixta gets the crowd going at Ruido Fest 2018 (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
Cqqchifruit has a mixture of styles such as her personality and hopes that people would be more open to new rhythms. She encourages women with a Gandhi quote; “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Producer and co-founder La Spacer-Natalie Murillo, grew up in one of the neighborhoods of Chicago’s Southwest side, Little Village, loving and knowing that she wanted to play and make music. She also created Trqpiteca with the help of Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero-Cqqchifruit, after both were tired of going to predominantly masculine spaces and feeling as if they did not have an opportunity on the dance floor. Throughout Natalie’s experiences, she discovered that being a woman is not easy.
“As women, we shouldn’t have to wait for the right opportunity rather, we need to simply choose to work,” she said.
Patricia (Kinky P), unique style of music allowed her to perform in this festival, but that’s not all, it gave us an opportunity to look at music with a message.
Patricia tells me that depression hit after Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016. A lot of things came up from many individuals around her. When she noticed this, she decided to make a change. Taking a risk, she resigned from her previous teaching position at a very prestigious school in the North Side of Chicago, Lincoln Park and went to work where her help was needed.
Knowing that she had to do something after all these new changes, she knew she had to start working. Reaching out to different teachers from different schools and beginning to get people involved to turn situations like the one at her previous job around, where she was working for people who did not appreciate her and were continually feeling superior, was her way to help.
She encourages other Latin American women to be strong and to set an example for younger women. She notices how media has such an impact on influencing young girls minds. “Just because the media tells you to show some skin, act a certain way, take pictures this way, that does not matter, women set an example of how we want men to treat us,” she said.
Often, young ladies entering society think this is the norm, and it shouldn’t be like that. This is when Patricia steps in and tries to talk to her students, both girls and boys. She wants to make sure girls are strong and are aware of how to respond.
Kinky P spinning her set at Ruido Fest (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
“Even though they think or know that certain things are wrong, they continue simply because society says it’s okay and mostly to feel accepted.”
As a DJ in the music industry for five to six years, the experience has allowed her to see a desire of sharing good music with a message.
“Nowadays, music does not educate the audience,” she said. “There are only a few genres that bring awareness on issues happening around the world. As an artist, it is very important to keep a clear mission and educate the public through music.”
Patricia encourages everyone to help others, especially in our communities, so that we can all get the respect that we all deserve. There is a lot of work to do with this self-esteem journey, but it should come to awareness, and we should all help one another overcome these kinds of obstacles. We are all human, and in these times we need to stick together, empower, and inspire one another to be the best version of ourselves.
Throughout the years, Ruido Fest has shown an evolution with the genres. It is considered a platform that has given the opportunity to local bands and artist to show their passion for music. Through their music, these artists and musicians try to convey their mission, some being more personal than others.
In one way or another, they all bring awareness to society. Some comfort and inspire their communities while others encourage individuals to start working for change. From these small talks with local bands and artists, we see a similarity in goals. They all want to inspire their communities and encourage people to be more involved to see a positive change.
Pilsen resident smiles at the familiar face behind the camera while she waits on Los Angeles Azules to perform on the first day of Ruido Fest (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)