Vocalist Arwen Lawrence and guitarist Jorge Liceaga founded Cascada de Flores in San Francisco in 1999, and spent their early years gathering songs around Mexico, honing a verdant body of rancheras, boleros, sones and guarachas that embody Mexico’s embrace of sounds from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Colombia. Lawrence fell in love with Mexican music as a young woman and toured with Grammy-winning L.A. mariachi heavyweights Los Camperos de Nati Cano, an apprenticeship that honed her skills and deepened her love for Mexico’s musical language. Liceaga grew up in Mexico City mentored by local legend Leonardo “El León” Salas and the flamencos of Gitanerías, absorbing the passionate energy that defines his sensitive and emotionally charged accompaniment.