MPR: A tour of Mexican music in the Twin Cities

” One of the largest niche markets in Latin music in the Twin Cities is regional Mexican music. We took a tour of the Mexican music scene with the author of “Musica de la Raza,” a book that tells the story of Minnesota’s Mexican and Chicano musicians.

Maya Santamaria is our guide. Santamaria is a cultural anthropologist with an emphasis in musicology. She is also the owner of El Rodeo Nuevo night club and restaurant on Lake St. in Minneapolis.

On a recent summer night, El Nuevo Rodeo is hopping. Men in fancy hats are buying tequila for women wearing exotic ostrich-skin boots. Everyone speaks Spanish. It’s hard to remember you’re still in Minnesota. Santamaria says for this crowd, that’s the point.”

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