Founded in New York City seven years ago by Colombian-born guitarist/percussionist Camilo Rodriguez, M.A.K.U SoundSystem is an eight-piece band that distills cumbia grooves and jazz improvisation, punk energy, psychedelia and folkloric Colombian cadences into a dance-floor shaking sound. The self-described “immigrant band” is drawn mostly from New York’s extensive Colombian expat community, and the group’s songs often address social issues facing Colombia and the search for diasporic identity. Combining the name of a long-isolated southern Colombian indigenous tribe with the moveable DJ teams that supplied the long soundtrack for revelry in Jamaica and Colombia, M.A.K.U SoundSystem “stands for a party for the people.”

The Bay Area’s rousing Bang Data gets the festivities started. Featuring vocalist MC Deuce Eclipse and multi-instrumentalist /producer Juan Manuel Caipo (who co-led the seminal East Bay alt-Latino band Orixa), the bilingual combo delivers trenchant commentary set to an irresistible brew of alt rock, cumbia, hip-hop, funk and Afro-Caribbean grooves.
 

After the concert, head indoors to the YBCA Galleries to join M.A.K.U SoundSystem in a talk-back on the contemporary music of Colombia, moderated by journalist Chelis Lopez, who has extensive knowledge about its diverse and rich music scene.

Born in Mexico City, Chelis López is the host and producer of KPOO 89.5FM programs Pájaro Latinoamericano and Andanzas. She also hosts the Línea Abierta show on Radio Bilingüe (National Latino Public Radio Network), and for over ten years has moderated the Spanish reading group “Rincón Literario” at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch.

Presented with support from