Along For The Pride Ozomatli Follows Santana’S Lead By Sticking To Their Values And Even Singing About Them

At a show not so long ago, Carlos Santana introduced his opening act as “the future” of music.

That’s a pretty heavy load to lay on a group of guys — even if they do have a gift. But Santana had a good point. The band of which he spoke — Ozomatli — is in many ways the future of music and the future of America.

Latino. Jewish. African-American. Chinese. White. The band members’ faces and ethnic backgrounds reflect that of America-The-Melting-Pot. And so does their music.

A 10-piece band named for the Aztec god of dance, Ozomatli transcends musical barriers with the ease in which Superman leaps tall buildings in a single bound. While leaning heavily on its Latino roots, the band weaves its way through a rainbow of hip-hop, funk, rock, jazz, ska and reggae. They sing in Spanish. They rap in English. Their voices and their music cut a wide swath across America’s diverse DNA.

“Someone asked me to describe our music. I told them if you’re driving through L.A. and you just roll down your windows and listen to everybody’s radio stations or whatever cassette they’re playing — that’s what our music is,” says singer and trumpet player Asdru Sierra.

Santana clearly thinks Ozomatli has an important role to play. He has lectured the band about sticking together, about becoming good role models. He’s urged them to take seriously their position in the spotlight.

He should be proud. In song, Ozomatli tackles racism, police brutality, gang violence and various social injustices.

The band has been offered and turned down large sums of money from beer companies wanting them to advertise alcohol on Spanish-language TV. Ozomatli rejected the offers because selling beer to Latinos did not match their values.

From the beginning the band has put their music where their mouth is, playing benefit shows for Artists Against Racism, the Battered Women’s Association, United Farm Workers and the Zapatistas (just to name a few). They helped found L.A.’s Center for Peace and Justice.

In the end, Ozomatli’s leftist-leaning music sounds like a protest rally turned into a street party. “We have a lot of strong messages in our music, but we do it in a very festive kind of way,” says Sierra, who penned the song “Cumbia De Los Muertos” after losing his brother in a gang-related shooting.

Santana is keeping a close eye on the Ozo boys these days. He’s brought them on his tour, which stops by The Gorge on Friday.

The tour arrives at a time when Latin music is receiving unprecedented attention. Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca” is inescapable. The Latino heartthrob’s mug has landed on the cover of Time and Rolling Stone.

Martin and his brand of Big Mac pop has made Latino music accessible to the MTV masses who, prior to this, had gone south-of-the-border no further than Menudo.

“All of sudden it’s hip to be Latin,” says a somewhat dubious Sierra. “Well, to me it’s always been hip to be Latin.”

And as for Ricky, “I think he’s a good start for a lot of people that don’t even have a neighbor that’s a little lighter shade of brown … but I don’t want everybody to think all Latinos are blond and green-eyed or whatever color his eyes are.”

This Friday’s show represents a more multi-dimensional look at Latino music. Santana, who headlines the concert, helped pioneer early Latino inroads into popular music. Mana, which plays the middle spot, is a respected Latino rock group.

When the first annual Latino Music Awards are broadcast in October, Ozomatli will vie for New Artist of The Year and Mana will be up for Rock En Espanol group of the year.

And while America’s new-found love of Latino music is doing much to break down racial stereotypes, Sierra says there’s still plenty of work to be done.

It certainly didn’t seem particularly “hip” to be Latino when Ozomatli was touring with radio-friendly punksters the Offspring.

“Most of the neighborhoods and the cities we went to, the crowds that the Offspring attracted had never heard of anything like us before,” Sierra says. “I remember there were kids that didn’t really like us and were telling us to go home and get a green card.”

But Sierra doesn’t let such setbacks get him down.

“They were just young,” he says. “If we could reach just one person out in the world of billions of people, make a difference to just one person …” Sierra says, trailing off. “Music is the best way I can can think to do that.”

These 2 sidebars appeared with the story: 1. ON STAGE Santana Santana, Mana and Ozomatli perform at The Gorge Amphitheater Friday. Tickets: $31.25 and $51.20, available at Ticketmaster outlets or by calling (509) 735-0500. 2. SUGGESTIONS The Latin experience Yeah yeah, we’ve all heard of Ricky Martin. But there’s so much more depth to Latino music. “There is a fine line about exploitation. I don’t think he’s crossed it,” says Asdru Sierra of Ozomatli, “but I think people should give other bands a chance. It’s just one of the many beautiful colors in the rainbow that there is of Latin music. I like to challenge people to listen to all the other stuff that’s out there.” Here are a few groups and albums that Sierra and The Spokesman-Review suggest you check out. * Los Munequitos de Matanzas — “Rumba Caliente” — long-time Afro-Cuban rumba group (Qba Disc). * Vicente Fernandez — “Entre el Amor y Yo” — Sierra calls him the Frank Sinatra of Latino music (Sony Discos). * Mana — “Suenos Liquidos” — hard rock and pop Latino style (WEA Latina). * Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca — “Mambo Yo Yo” — Afro-Latino music (Putumayo Artists). * Buena Vista Social Club — self-titled debut album — Cuban folk music (Nonsuch). * “Brasileiro” — A compilation of music from Brazilian artists (Putumayo Artists). * “Cuba” — A compilation of songs from Cuban musicians (Putumayo Artists). — Winda Benedetti