Welcome tu Las Californias
Outdoor rock festivals are nothing new in Tijuana, where the newly reunited blink-182 will kick off its reunion tour March 11 at the Imperial GNP Festival.
But Welcome tu Las Californias, which debuts Nov. 4 and 5, is likely the first to be held in Tijuana on its opening day and Valle de Guadalupe the following day. It’s also the first I’m aware of here to offer the option of buying tickets with NFTs.
The enterprising festival will feature one act from Rosarito Beach (Lucid Juice), two from San Diego (Kamnari and Sarayu), two from Mexico City (Sonido Gallo Negro and Diles Que Nome Maten), three from Tijuana (Joheel Rodmar, Saoko and DJ Yelram Selectah), and four from Los Angeles (Jazii, Domino, Alec King and Finkel).
The festival is the brainchild of the members of Tulengua, which will perform both days and whose members live in San Diego, Tijuana and Rosarito.
A labor of love, the event is designed to promote the blurring of musical genres and geographical borders. Accordingly, yhe Saturday portion will include a discussion, “Using Art as a Vehicle for Inter-Personal Harmony,” with Tulengua’s Alan Lili — host of KPBS’s podcast “Port of Entry” — and Art Pusher co-founder Seth Sullivan.
If all goes well, the festival will return next year, larger and on both sides of the border, with the goal of becoming a binational version of Austin’s 35-year-old South by Southwest.
6:30 p.m. Nov. 4. La Terraza, 1928 Flores Magón Tijuana. $50 (or $45 if using NFTs); must be 18 or older to attend; 3 p.m. Nov. 5. Bloodlust Winebar Restaurant, Doña Emilia LT 13-2 San Marcos, 22750 Ensenada. $25 (all ages) or $180 (includes dinner, limited to 30 people, by La Bete Noire restaurant chef Diego Hernandez Baquedano). (858) 472-2165. tulengua.mx/festival-22
Mostraland Anniversary Extravaganza & Halloween Bash, featuring Apl.de.ap, Arnel Pineda and Headband Andy
Black Eyed Peas rapper Apl.de.ap and Journey singer Arnel Pineda are used to doing concerts in stadiums, amphitheaters and arenas.
That makes their performances here this weekend inside the Broadway Pier’s Port Pavilion almost seem like an intimate club gig by comparison.
Both will appear as part of Mostraland, a Filipino American History Month event presented by San Diego’s Mostra Coffee.
The ticketed evening bash will also include Filipino food and a craft beer festival. It is preceded by the free Mostra Mania Street Fair, a family-friendly outdoor outdoor event on the pier with music, dancing and other cultural offerings.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Street Fair), free admission. 7 to 11 p.m. (Mostraland), Broadway Pier and Port Pavilion,1000 North Harbor Drive, downtown. $25-$200. mostracoffee.com/mostraland2022
La Santa Cecilia
Led by vocal dynamo Marisol Hernandez, this Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles band counts Los Lobos and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones among its fans and collaborators.
You’ll appreciate why when you hear the group’s zesty blend of Mexican and Latin music styles with rock, pop, jazz, blues and reggae.
In Hernandez, they have an unusually skilled and versatile singer who shines in any stylistic setting. With La Santa Cecilia, she gets to shine in all of them.
6 p.m. Sunday. Pala Casino Events Center, 11154 Highway 76, Pala. $15-$30 (must be 21 or older). palacasino.com
