This free event is part of the Levitt on the Lawn concert series presented by Pasadena’s Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts and sponsored by alumna Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch ’74. Since 2005, Levitt on the Lawn has brought sixteen diverse musical performances to the Scripps College campus. The seventeenth event will feature the group Quetzal, a politically-active rock band that narrates, through its songs, the stories of people struggling for economic and social justice.
From the ashes of Los Angeles’ 1992 rebellion/riots arose a collective of East Side musicians committed to respectfully continuing the legacy of over 70 years of Chicano Rock. Standing on the shoulders of giants like Lalo Guerrero, Ritchie Valens, Cannibal and The Headhunters, The Brat, Los Lobos, and many others, Quetzal has created a path that has earned them the title of “one of Los Angeles’ most important bands” (LA Times). Now with five albums, Quetzal forges a sound that will simultaneously make you dance and contemplate change. The group’s influences range from Stevie Wonder to The Smiths, Juan Gabriel to Bjork, and Miles Davis to Arsenio Rodriguez; the sound of Quetzal is as rich and complex as their pluri-ethnic barrio experience. Their unique combination of community activism and creative compositions has allowed them to travel the world using music as a tool for creating a global network of musicians committed to building community. Since 2002 Quetzal has been part of facilitating a transnational dialogue between musicians in California and Veracruz, Mexico known as “Fandango Sin Fronteras.” Many recordings, performances, and publications have been born from this dialogue. Their most recent album, “Imaginaries,” was released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on February 28, 2011, and was the inspiration for a recent panel discussion on the community-building aspects of music sponsored by KPCC and The Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena.
The concert begins at 5:30 pm on the Bowling Green at Scripps College. Dinner will be available for purchase on the lawn (students free with meal card, all others pay $8.75), though picnic dinners are also welcomed. For more information, call the Malott Commons Program Office at (909) 607-9372.