by Cèsar Diaz

"¡Viva Mexico, Cabrones!" This resilient cry resonated from the outdoor stage at The Vibe during this year's SXSW Latin Rock Showcase. With a sold out crowd, the small venue hosted five distinct acts including Monterrey, Genitallica and Kinky, a Mexican electronica group with an infectious blend of Latin rhythms, techno, house, funk and rock. Grupo Fantasma, Austin's Latin jam band, ended the night with an energetic set that had everyone dancing.

Over the past three years, the Latin Rock Showcase at SXSW has become the place to be for rock aficionados of any description, and its success begs a very important question: Why doesn't Austin have a viable Latin Alternative music scene?

One reason is that Austin just doesn't have enough bands to support one. It is true that Austin's only solid Latin act, Grupo Fantasma, has gained a reputation for wooing crowds. In fact, their energetic pull during this year's SXSW show garnered the attention of Tony Hernandez, the renowned Latin Alternative producer and member of Control Machete, a Mexican hip-hop group. However, one good band is not enough to make a music scene.

"It's a proven fact that it takes about 30 or 40 bands of a certain kind of music to get a good one," says Luis Zapata, co-founder of the Latino Rock Alliance (LRA), the organization that started the SXSW Latin Rock Showcase. Founded in Austin in 1999, the LRA strives to promote local Latin Alternative music at the regional, national and international levels. "We basically plugged Texas into the Latin Alternative market. We went to the first Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York. It went really well. People started really talking about Texas for the first time," Zapata says.

Yet Zapata admits there is still a lot of work to be done. For example, the highly lauded summer Latin rock festival, the WATCHA Tour, has by-passed Austin for three years. Zapata simply states, "Their asking price is too high to get any promoters in this area to really get into it." Direct Events, the Austin-based promoters for concerts at La Zona Rosa and The Austin Music Hall, wanted to book the WATCHA Tour for Austin but lost the bid to San Antonio. Zapata explains that San Antonio, which has a broader Latin Alternative music fan base than Austin, has investors willing to pay the price.

Thus, the yearly SXSW music festival and its Latin Rock Showcase are crucial for Latin Alternative artists. While Zapata believes that the festival is an opportunity to introduce Austin to Latino music acts from abroad, he also hopes that such acts are inspiring local, up-and-coming artists to form their own bands. He feels confident that it is only then that there can be a substantial Latin Alternative music scene in Austin that captures the attention of the media.

But unfortunately, bringing bigger international acts that can draw attention to Latin Alternative music has proven difficult. Many of these acts would love the chance to play in the U.S. market, but they often run into red tape or visa complications. As a result, Mexico City's electronic group Titan, Chile's Choncho de Piedra and the Grammy-winning Sindicato Argentino de Hip-hop were no shows at SXSW.

And, even once here, many acts still find it difficult to reach a mainstream audience. Julieta Venegas, for example, the Tijuana-based rockera whose latest release Bueninvento was nominated for the inaugural Short List Music Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, was forced to cancel a poorly attended show at Stubb's due to its lack of promotion. In an effort to prevent instances like this from happening, Zapata works alongside Roadstar Productions, an Austin-based music production company, to introduce Latin Alternative music to non-Spanish speaking audiences on an ongoing basis. In September, he helped bring Mexican Alt-rockers Zurdok to play at Auditorium Shores alongside the Black Crowes, Blues Traveler and Joan Jett.

Fortunately, there are some Latin Alternative artists, particularly those who have a strong fan base in the States already, like rock groups Jaguares and Maná, who have no difficulty with promotions and are actually scheduled to perform in the San Antonio/Austin area later this year. While Zapata sees the popularity of the upcoming Jaguares/Mana concerts as an opportunity room for Latin Alternative music to receive more exposure on the whole, he realizes that the mistakes that led to the Venegas cancellation are bound to happen to less known artists. He is hopeful that other organizations will pick up on the Latin Alternative concert trend and jump in. "Other people are going to be coming into the game and they have the right to. We are just happy we somehow started it. Anything that happens that helps the music I think is fantastic."

Another obstacle for Latin Alternative music in Austin is its lack of radio air play. Most Spanish radio stations stick closely to the format that their corporate sponsors support. And because Latin Alternative music doesn't guarantee any revenue for these sponsors, it rarely gets played. In addition, Zapast argues that those stations that actually do give the music airtime don't have an audience who can appreciate it. Local radio stations KLBJ and Planeta 1560 do occasionally incorporate Latin American music into their regular formats. But KOOP 91.7 is the only radio station in Austin giving crucial airtime to the genre with its Spanish Rock Radio, a one-hour show that airs every Tuesday at noon. Gilbert Guerrero, the other co-founder of LRA, hosts the show.

Zapata and the LRA have big plans for the future. Because of this year's successful SXSW show at The Vibe, Flamingo Cantina, Empanada Parlour and Mercury Lounge have approached the LRA to showcase Latin Alternative acts at their venues. In addition, Zapata will continue marketing every new Latin Alternative release for the Austin area. Several corporations have contacted the LRA about investing in Latin Alternative music, and some major producers have shown interest in investing in an Austin-based Latin Alternative record label.

Zapata strongly encourages those who genuinely appreciate Latin Alternative music to help out in any way possible, including volunteering their talents in designing flyers and posters or simply spreading the word. It's simple things like this that have helped the SXSW shows become so successful. The key is building awareness and, with sold-out shows and increasing media attention, Zapata is on the right track in promoting this exciting musical genre.

"It's going to take about five years to see a significant change. But it's cooking and everything aims that way. It's exciting," Zapata says with certitude.

For more information about Latin Alternative Music, contact the Latino Rock Alliance at (512) 443-6179.