The future of Maneja Beto, Austin’s finest indie-en-Español export, had been in question since the quintet’s lead singer Alex Chavez made it known he was taking a job at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana. Today, the band addressed the issue with a semi-humorous Facebook letter to the fans. Long story short, Maneja Beto is not breaking up. They will continue playing shows and writing music when they can, as they feel the past year has been the band’s most productive period in an eight-year career. Good news for those of us who love to dance to cumbias with spacey synthesizer backing. Read the letter below. Don’t forget, Maneja Beto’s CD release show is July 31 at Mohawk.
look, we need to talk. no…no, its nothing you did. we’d like to talk about “us” and how we’re growing. you know, take stock and what not.
over the last several months, we’ve done some soul searching. reflecting on where we are in this relationship, and where we’re going. the last 7, almost 8, years have been great. we’ve had some of the greatest times of our collective lives together and we’ve shared those moments with you.
and not to coin a cliche, its us…not you. we’re growing. and growth is good, right? still, you should know this, because we’re not going to change our minds:
we’re not breaking up.
yes, we know, there’s been a lot of talk about it — and a lot of folks have asked us what we’re gonna do as if some of us have been stranded at the drive-in…branded a fool (okay, that part might be true regardless, but its details.)
we’ve been asked, and we figure its a fair question with alex off to pursue his professional academic career — ‘ta todo college. people are arguably curious about what the future holds for maneja beto.
but who can ever really be sure? what we do know as of this moment is that we’re going to continue making music as often and as frequent as possible. this clearly presents challenges what with alex moving to south bend and all — like who knows how “touchdown jesus” will affect the writing process?
the 31st show for us is a special one, not because we’re breaking up, but because we feel like this last year or so, we’ve been at our most productive and creative, and the offering that we’ve put together on this latest record is something we’re, by far, supremely proud of.
truth be told, indiana is not near temple and, as such, shows will be less frequent for us, but there will be shows. mark our words, there will be more shows. and more albums if we can help it.
so since we’re sharing our feelings and all, bearing our souls and what not, feel free to talk amongst yourselves…oh, and before we forget, we’ve got a little present for you. this release and the record will only be available at our show — at least for the immediate future. it won’t be online or anywhere else for a while. call it incentive to come hang out with us.
hope to see you there.
love, mb