For decades, Los Ángeles Azules have opened their live performances with the refrain “de Iztapalapa para el mundo” (“from Iztapalapa to the world”), a message that reflects how their flavor of cumbia from Iztapalapa, Mexico City has become a global institution.
But at their Sunday performance at the first-ever Festival La Onda at the Napa Valley Expo, the group shared with the audience of thousands a slightly different message: “de Iztapalapa para Napa” — “from Iztapalapa to Napa.”
Indeed, Iztapalapa had reached Napa. And so had the Latin American diaspora. On June 1-2, La Onda filled Napa Valley with a star-studded lineup of Spanish-speaking artists. The creators of the event — the same team that produced BottleRock just a week before — wanted to create a major music festival dedicated to the Latino community of the Bay Area.
And they succeeded.
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Reggaetón star Farruko had the crowd jumping on Saturday with hits like “Pepas” and “La Tóxica.” Chilean indie artist Mon Laferte had fans in tears when she performed “Tu Falta de Querer” and “Si tú me quisieras.” Danna Paola — who began her career at just four years old on Mexican television and reached global fame after joining Netflix’s Élite in 2018 — proclaimed the start of Pride month with “TQ Y YA,” a queer love anthem that proclaims in its chorus “amor es amor y que nadie se meta” (“love is love and nobody else needs to get involved”).