We have to admit, here in Chicago we suffer from more than a touch of megalomania. We like to frequently point out our very biggest, best, finest, and tallest in the… city, USA, continent, world.

Well, finally, we can add the largest Latin Alternative music festival to that list. In a major musical tour-de-force, last month’s inaugural edition of Ruido Fest 2015 spread about 50 acts on 3 simultaneous stages over 3 days, showcasing Latin punk and post-punk, electronic, hip-hop, rock, psychedelia, tropicalia, reggae, psych folk, nu cumbia and much, much more. The first edition of Ruido Fest not only matched our city’s vibe, but also fit in nicely as a compliment to a wide roster of other iconic Chicago music festivals such as Lollapalooza, Riot Fest and Pitchfork.

The acts we saw did not disappoint. Nor did the supremely delicious tacos! In fact, one of the things that struck us throughout Ruido Fest were the amazingly intelligent decisions made in the festivals production. These included not just the great food selection, but the wise decision to include local artists with terrific posters created by one of our favorite graphic artists, the amazing CHema Skandal and of course, a superb lineup.

There were many, many memorable musical moments, way too many to foretell, but I will try my best for you. The vastness of music you can experience or re-experience online, Ruido Fest 2015 on Beat Latino´s recap[1].

L.A.’s Chicano Batman, a quartet whose ferocious lead singer, Borda, is Colombian and Mexican, and whose other members have Cali, Colombia and El Salvador in their blood, create a retro psychedelic tropicalia sound that veered between punk and lounge in ways that were astonishing. To top it off, their ruffled white shirts, brown pants and brown bow-ties said “smooth Latino dapper” in ways that their music reflected.

Rebel Cats, a totally surprise discovery, was an equally-dapperly-dressed retro-ish band from Mexico. The quartet was led by father and son who came out in an ensemble of glittery purple tux jackets which came off at some point to reveal the musician’s intricate, amazing tattoos. Then things got kinda hot, and we’re talking more than the weather. That was also precisely the moment the music went from straight-up rockabilly en español to what the Spanish-singing Jerry Lee Lewis would have sounded like in the 21st Century after doing some deep hanging with The Ramones.

Descartes a Kant, from Guadalajara, Mexico, was another band that enchanted us with an almost surreal performance. This band, fronted by three intensely charismatic vocalists and multi instrumentalists, put on a cerebral modern art-museum with touches of cabaret. Taking a cue from the bipolarity of their name (it comes from the two opposing philosophers who defined the beginning of the modern era of philosophy) the band careened from beautiful harmonies and whimsical, playful beats to shrieking, ferocious dissonance.

We got another taste of Guadalajara’s experimental music with Porter’s mystic psychedelic musical musings. Porter’s music had a range of textures and colors as interesting as the long multi-colored fringe on the band’s shirts, and it was a treat to sway in the Chicago heat to their sonic landscapes.

Another standout at Ruido Fest was Mariel Mariel (a fierce and talented chilean whose father is Pedro Villagra, a renowned folk musician). Her music has evolved in a considerably more urban and rhythmic bent after a move about seven years ago to Mexico City. Easily transitioning from tribal, African beats to hip hop to accordion playing and Andean touches, the charismatic Mariel Mariel completely dominated the stage and captivated the crowd.

From Monterrey and now residing in Los Angeles, Mexican Dubwiser, aka Marcelo Tijerina, easily mashes up cumbia, soul and electronic beats. It was nothing but fun beats that were irresistibly danceable, but thanks to the presence of Wil-Dog, the bassist and vocalist from Ozomatli and Mariel Mariel sitting in at different moments during the set, there were unforgettable moments in of all kinds of colliding beats.

Which takes us to Ozo’s set. We are always captivated by the veteranos of Ozomatli, one of the first bands to truly understand and channel the power of pan-Latino beats into crafting a joyful tribal musical identity since they were formed twenty years ago. We have long loved their activist dedication to topics that matter to us such as immigration reform, gay rights, fair food movement and the ease with which they move from cumbia to jarocho to rap and more with unique flair. Last but not least, they totally kill their one banda tune (El Caballito) thanks to Wil-Dog aka Gavachillo’s long-time love of this classic Mexican genre. Long live Ozo!

Chicago rockeros Killer Moon brought insane levels of energy to their guitar-driven psychedelic jams which on the second day of Ruido Fest easily melted into moments of Mexico’s Jessy Bulbo taking us on an enjoyable punk garage ride which was often informed more by the 90´s than the aughts. Also hanging in the 90’s was the crowd-pleasing kitschy electropop of Maria Daniela y su Sonido Lasser.

The lovely songbirds of our music also made welcome appearances at Ruido Fest, from the sultry neo-soul of Colombian-American Kali Uchis to the luminous electro-ballads of Argentinean (now based in New York) Natalia Clavier whose crystalline voice and delicate phrasing captivated us once again.

Representing South American sonic explorations, Chilean Astro brought their sweet and sunny, gentle rock vibes to Ruido. On the completely other side of the spectrum, Venezuela’s always super high-energy La Vida Boheme started at one-hundred-miles-per-hour and really never slowed down. It was amazing to see hundreds of Latinos in Chicago jump enthusiastically to what surely has become a pan-latino anthem, La Vida’s Radio Capital, shouting and singing along to the chorus line, “Esta fiesta es nuestra!”

It was a study in contrasts, this Ruido Fest. Today’s Latin alternative music simply defies any easy set of categories. In terms of musical influences, Latinos truly have the best of all worlds. On the one hand, we have been brought up to the tunes of our own roots music of all kinds, be it cumbia from everywhere, mariachi from Mexico, Andean folklore from Chile, chacareras and tango from Argentina, champeta, vallenato and Pacific marimba from Colombia, Peruvian amazonic rock, as well as different mash-ups of all of the above. At the same time, the older generation of parents, aunts and uncles may have also exposed us to the Beatles and other anglo rock bands. Add to this mix a contemporary sonic landscape rife with hip hop and punk rock, and it’s no surprise that Latino musicians move between all sorts of sonic worlds with the capacity to create an almost infinite variety of grooves.

No band understands this straddling of past and present more clearly than veteran rockeros Café Tacvba. Thousands of ruidosos (more than 10,000 on Day 3) melted into a happy raucous mass when the Tacvbos came out in neon-colored fringed ponchos and hats, booming out their iconic tunes that so successfully root in the past yet face the future with fierce determination.

We truly reveled in the experience of Ruido Fest, first and foremost an experience in the many nuances and features of our many cultures as latinos and even more importantly, the way we are crafting a new transnational identity which is in differing degrees bicultural, bilingual and multiracial. Not to mention the enormous importance of nuestra music in forging our path. See you at Ruido Fest 2016!

[1] Ruido Fest 2015 on Beat Latino´s recap.