Coachella Day 1: Lana del Rey and Peso Pluma shine for Latino fans

My fondest memories of experiencing live music are always when I’m looking at the person next to me and realizing we are witnessing something special.  During the first day of Coachella, I had more than a few of those moments.

Growing up in Southern California, I had access to so many festivals in middle school. Throughout the '90s and ‘00s, raves or festivals were so popular it was hard to keep up. Over the last 15 years, electronic dance music genres have gone further into the mainstream with acts like DJ Snake, Diplo and Calvin Harris working with pop artists like Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny and Rihanna. Because of these lineups and new crowds, I’ve grown indifferent to large music festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and HARD Summer. I swore after a bad experience at one of these festivals that I’d never return, but love makes you do crazy things.

My partner is a huge Gwen Stefani and No Doubt fan so, even before the lineup was announced, we anticipated that she would announce a Coachella performance. S owe put some of our savings together and made it happen. Soon, her siblings joined us and just like that, we were a little family going to Coachella. 

Faye Webster

In our group is a 17-year-old grunge-punk Chicana who insisted we needed to see Faye Webster. The ‘70s pop-inspired mellow country artist is also a favorite of mine for her audio composition, voice and lyrics. A lot of the dream pop that has exploded in the zeitgeist over the last five years hasn’t always kept my attention but acts like hers remind me of what I enjoy about Mitski and a contemporary like Clairo. 

As we entered the festival, my sister-in-law just started running towards Faye Webster’s performance, which had just started as we came in. It was this spirit of youth and eagerness for music that kicked off the festival for us and would set the tone for the day. 

Neil Frances, Deftones 

There is always someone and something to do at Coachella. But like any good Disneyland trip, if you’re a local, you gotta keep it as chill as possible. After we enjoyed the music at the first stage, we got refreshments and ventured north of the map to catch Deftones, who were an energy boost from the melodic chill of Faye Webster.

Catching Neil Frances however, became a highlight of that afternoon. My partner, DJ Vick Jagger, a disco-fueled, house-inspired, funk-driven spinner, always turns me on to great music that I dance to on most weekends. Neil Frances’ “Music Sounds Better With You,” was indeed the banger that got all of us dancing and energized.

Peso Pluma and Lanita 

Finally, the moment we’ve all been truly waiting for. 

As we walked into the festival, there was a sea of Mexican flags galore. I kept thinking about Music writer Suzy Exposito’s tweet: “A flag is not an opinion!”

There are two camps where I lay my head: one camp is inspired by the energetic enthusiasm toward Latino identity and pride while the other questions nationalism and its accessories. Peso Pluma, the Lebanese-Mexican and self-titled “king of corridos tumbados” has crossed audience boundaries in ways this genre of Mexican music has never seen. This wave of music has changed culture for Latinos of all ages and it is truly one of the most exciting moments in pop culture. Take it from me, as someone who deeply wants more Latinos of all nationalities and generations to be a part of the zeitgeist of not just American but worldwide impact. 

What I also thought about last night was the Mexican election and how as a Mexican-born immigrant in this country, I wondered if I saw Peso Pluma as an immigrant, if he sees himself in this way and if his work is to celebrate and uplift. If so, there may be a limit to it. Mind you, these are only my projections and questions but nevertheless, they inform how I approached his set. Exposito's thoughts on Twitter remind me that there is a continuous tradition of showcasing the flag of your ancestry in Latin music but there isn’t a direct link to what the flag means and how maybe these performances should go beyond merely nationalist pride. 

Yet, the same crowds who danced to Peso Pluma also camped for over two hours to get a good seat for Lana Del Rey who, in my personal opinion, raised me. Much of the early 2010s for me are honestly a blur but I do remember that as a teenager and young adult, I was happy to be a part of the indie-sleaze era of electronic music and early folk-ballad-early-dream pop like that of Lana Del Rey, whose 2012 album “Born To Die” sat next to my “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” CD in my first car. 

Stephanie Castaneda for DAZED wrote a great piece last year on what Lana means to Mexican fans and how her work has directly embraced blue-collar communities in Los Angeles and overall is a part of the crooner musical tradition that Latinos know very well. 

Lana showed up with a dreamy and nostalgic set that to me was a silk blue bow to finish off our first day at Coachella.