Bringing out the Raw History of Los Crudos
A Conversation with José “Crudo” Casas
José Casas con Los Crudos. Foto: Coortesía
José Casas, guitarist from Los Crudos, is one of the most influential Punk Rock bands en Español in Chicago. I’ve known José since the early 1990s when my own political and musical awareness was beginning. Those were paramount times in terms of art, music, literature, and overall political activism. I feel is important for us to revisit the past so that the new generations understand the present and work towards a better future. And for this I couldn’t find a better person than by talking with José. Through his words I present to the reader a brief history of this period in time.
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Leticia Cortez: ¿José, in your opinion, how did Punk Rock/Hardcore en español (Spanish punk rock) began in Pilsen and Little Village?
José Casas: Let me preface this interview by saying that I don’t claim to know or remember everything, but will answer these questions as best as I can. The term “Punk Rock en Español” sounds too much like “Rock en Español,” so I would like to say that Punk/HardCore in Pilsen/Little Village started by the youth who were listening to the Dead Boys, Ramones and New York Dolls, as they say, “back in the day”, which is the late ‘70s. These people would later allow us to play in their spaces when Los Crudos started playing shows in both neighborhoods. There weren’t any bands in the Pilsen/Little Village areas that played Punk Rock and sang solely in Spanish before us. There were bands that played rock and roll, metal and some reggae. There was an underground club in Pilsen called “Club Naked” which played “underground” music consisting of punk, new wave, goth, and sometimes metal, but no live acts, much less any that sang in Spanish.
Our first show was at our friend Tony Patlán parent’s basement, which he dubbed the “6 Feet Under”, in Pilsen in 1992. Since then we played in basements, backyards, also in places like the APO building, St. Pius Church, Mestizarte, Calles y Sueños, Casa Aztlán and others in Pilsen and Little Village throughout the 90’s. Whenever we organized a show, we’d invite local and out of town punk bands to play with us, and in doing so, we noticed the people who attended were a mix of young punks, artists and friends from the neighborhood, along with punks from outside of the neighborhood. It was a very cool and exciting time with people sharing ideas and making friends.
Los Crudos did everything for ourselves in the Do It Yourself (D.I.Y.) punk ethos of being autonomous and self-sufficient. We wrote our own songs, played our own instruments, paid for our own recording studio time, self-released our records on Lengua Armada records (Martín’s label), created our own shirts and record designs, and silk-screened them ourselves.
Now the first time we (Crudos) played in La Villita (Little Village) was at a punk rock show that my Crudos and FTB band member Oscar, myself, and former high school classmate, Rich “Southside Rich” Zupkus organized called “Hardcore Against Hunger” on 27th and Lawndale. We invited 10 bands to play, and asked for a donation of $5 or 5 cans of food, which was donated the next day to the Chicago Food Depository. I mention this show because it seems now as a moment that really started to see a “Latino punk” scene forming, and spawned the bands later to be known as Chicago Latino Punk.
In that scene you would meet interesting people. A person that influenced us and who was great to work with was José David Quiñones who ran Calles y Sueños. He was open to anything creative and let us practice in the basement. He was welcoming to all ideas, he had poetry readings, showed films, music shows, introduced us to people who liked Mercedes Sosa, Víctor Jara. Calles y Sueños was a thriving place. His motto that he used to say was: la cosa es “revelar y ser relevante” (things have to “reveal and be relevant”). So pretty much, like a neighborhood space he let us bring what we had. There was mutual respect. In comparison to other neighborhoods or places like The Metro in Chicago who weren’t. We weren’t catering to anyone or trying to prove ourselves. Punk rock was personal, not a fad. It was a way of voicing our rage against inequalities. We didn’t play for the ultimate purpose of making money, it was lucky when we made enough for gas. It was a way to express ourselves like any artist except we did it through music, and we chose to do it in Spanish to communicate that side of ourselves. I was born a mexicano, Mexican American. We were all born in the U.S. except Martín who was born in Uruguay, and was brought here at an early age. Through our language and music we wanted to speak to other Latinos here and in the world. Hausinpungo, a band from New York were our contemporaries, and have toured with Los Crudos.
Martín Sorrondeguy, vocalista y compositor de Los Crudos. Foto: Cortesía
Who were your personal influences from music to culture and politics?
I spent a lot of time at the library, and listening to a lot of music as a kid, when playing in the streets and catching a bullet started to become detrimental to my health. Musically, I started to get into international anarcho punk bands from the 80’s and 90s whose records were very political in content and spastic and fast. Punk bands from Finland, South America, and Asia. My favorites were Italian HardCore bands like Negazione, Indigesti, Raw Power, Cheetah Chrome and the Motherfuckers, Impact and Wretched.
As a band made up of Latinos, we were more into releasing rage against this system. Crudo means raw, (it also means hungover). Queríamos decir: “Estamos contra esta sociedad, contra esta mierda.” We’re hungover on this bullshit.
Who wrote the songs and why sing them in Spanish?
Martín wrote about 90%, the rest we all did. There was no lyrical contest between us. He would read the songs to us, asked for input, and he was up for discussion. It was a very democratic process for a band, and he was curious to see what we thought. Looking back now, I guess even for ourselves, it was not very common for young latinos into punk rock from Chicago to discuss things and do something about it. We were the only 4 people in that category that we really knew.
For us Latinos it was a breath of fresh air to go to music shows in our neighborhoods and listen to good political music being played in our language. As a guitarist how was your experience?
José: It was a way to explore, learn and express myself. I was born and raised in the U.S. as a Mexican. My experience, and of us all, was dealing with issues of being children of immigrant parents. Issues such as post-colonialism, military/political dictatorship, which is why our parents fled or immigrated from Latin American. Our songs like “Asesinos,” “That’s Right Motherfuckers We’re That Spic Band,” “Migra Violencia,” “¿Qué Pasa Con La Paz?,” “Hardcoregoismo,” “Cobardes, Poco a Poco,” “Somos Peligrosos,” and the rest are the way we aimed to confront these issues. There are also plenty of other topics we focused on as well. Songs about growing up in the “inner city” as Latinos, and the real stories that affected us and our peers to this day. For me it was great to use music as a medium to manifest how I felt about reality. We never believed in exclusion or blaming, it was about being positive.
What was the role of local, national and world politics in the music of Los Crudos?
Well, regarding world politics, it’s always been about the issues that I mentioned above and that are in the songs. We live in a regime, local and national with vast inequalities in our cities, neighborhoods, schools, etc. Then of course there’s the continuing stance this government and its politicians have on immigration, or rather immigrants.
In Pilsen in the 90s there were other punk rock en Español bands like Youth Against Fascism, Tras de Nada, Sonido Inquieto, I Attack, but Los Crudos have endured the times. You guys still tour and have a great following. Why is that? How is it for you now as an adult?
Bands like Sin Orden are still active and tour constantly as well. Other Chicago Latino Punk bands (either sang solely in Spanish or were formed with mostly Latino members) were Nonfiction Noise, Los Jodidos, Eske, Condenada and more than I can remember.
This past June, Los Crudos went to Japan. We did 4 shows, 2 in Tokyo, 1 in Osaka and 1 in Yokkaichi City. Japan showed us so much love and respect, and I have nothing but good things to say. We played with old and new bands, different styles and we connect via the internet. In March, we had 4 shows, 2 in NY, 1 in Boston, and 1 in Philadelphia. We’ve also been to London, and did 8 concerts in Spain last year. It’s hard for us to set up shows or tours due to the fact that we don’t all live in the same city anymore. But we continue because we feel it’s still very important to us.
Why did you choose music as a way of expression?
I’m not a good visual artist (laughs). Music makes me feel happy. Releasing the anger makes room for happiness. Writing songs and playing guitar are my forms of critical thinking. I started playing guitar in high school. For a year I studied classical guitar, but found it too rigid. I preferred listening to it. When I got into listening to Atahualpa Yupanqui, Víctor Jara and Daniel Vigletti, aside from the heavy lyrically political content, I was attracted to the guitar work. The feeling and emotion was helped by the guitar. I always seek that when playing my instrument.
What’s the future for Los Crudos? Any coming tours? Or shows in Chicago?
To be announced…
Thank you, José. Do you have any closing statements?
It’s great to be asked these questions and to retell part of Los Crudos origins and history, but it’s important to always look to the future, to be open, promote new ideas, and keep ourselves involved in the movement.
Los Crudos. Foto: Cortesía
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Leticia Cortez. Born in México and grew up in Chicago. She worked as a teacher at Truman College. She is a writer, educator and activist. Cortezruiz2005@yahoo.com
