Premier: “She is Guadalajara” by Joshua Josué
I usually don’t release songs here, but, it’s about Guadalajara, only about 45 minutes down the road from me and a city I visit often for music, so I couldn’t resist this song about Mexico’s second or third largest city (there is a debate on that). But its creative center, especially for music.
Joshua Josué says: “To fall in love with something as timeless as ‘The City of Roses’ only to walk away from her is nothing short of heartbreaking. I wanted to create something that would really connect with people on a deep level. I think ‘She is Guadalajara’ captures the essence of what it means to love and to feel loss, and I hope listeners find solace and comfort in the music.”
I know just what he means. Every time I drive into Guadalajara for music, food, or whatever, I say to myself, how come I am not here more often. I was there last week for the Concurso de Mariachi Infantil y Junveniles – the contest of Mariachi Schools, and I hated to leave. “She is Guadalajara” exactly captures that feeling of being in the sprawling, confusing, joyful, musical Mexican creative metropolis.
And he captures the magic of Guadalajara. I was once misdirected by Google coming home from a Guadalajara music club at 2 .m.. I found myself dead ended at railroad tracks in a dark, burned out, deserted factory slum. There was no one around so I wasn’t afraid, but I was lost. Then a very well-dressed young Mexican couple appeared and in perfect English told me how to get home. Then they disappeared. People here tell me I had met the angels of Guadalajara and experienced its magic. Josué has embedded that magic in this song.
“She is Guadalajara” is not Mexican music – it is more dreamy alt rock with a heart-tugging country twang. And it is hypnotic. It pulls in the spirit of the alt rock and post rock that I hear in the clubs in Guadalajara and at the FIMgdl Latin Music Conference at the University of Guadalajara.
Combining smooth vocals with haunting melodies, Joshua sings of the love he has for the city of Guadalajara and heartfelt sadness of leaving that city. A romantic song written for a city and reflecting the themes of the Mariachi bands while also combining the emotional transparency of The Smiths (very popular in Mexico).
This is a song to put on your daily playlist and repeat. It is hypnotic . The deep heartbeat drums, the almost spooky guitar riffs, and his vocals will give you chills even if you have never been to Guadalajara. If you have, it will bring back happy memories of post rock bands in the C3 Upstairs or the Anexo Independencia and dancing down the median of Avenida Chapultepec at midnight with underground bands pouring tequila down the throat of the dancers.
Joshua Josué is a Chicano rock/Americana artist in the tradition of Hermanos Gutiérrez, Los Lobos & Enrique Bunbury, but he has a very distinctive style that pulls together his inspirations from his idols. He got his start fronting the band Los Perros Olvidados and his infamous music tours by motorcycle through Latin America. Joshua has been opening for regional and national acts such as Teddy Thompson and Metalchi in Portland, Oregon, and headlining shows on the West Coast of the United States. Entertaining and engaging, Joshua’s live shows keep the audience on their feet dancing while weaving in stories of lonely desert highway heartbreak, lost love in small Latin American towns, and tequila-fueled tales of his days riding with Mexican motorcycle clubs.
The song premiers Today, Tuesday, August 6 on all major platforms. Video on YouTube. I don’t know if there is a Guadalajara tour in the works, but I hope so.
Patrick O’Heffernan
