Austin’s Maneja Beto was a regular staple in the Austin music scene for the past few years. After lead singer Alex Chavez (pictured left) took a university teaching position in Indiana, the group naturally took a small hiatus. After rumors of a permanent break up, the band reappeared in winter 2010 and again this past January for a couple of Free Week shows. Fans will get to see Maneja Beto perform again next week during the week of South by Southwest.
For those who follow Chavez, or regularly read Austin Vida, you know that Chavez is one of the hardest working musicians around with diverse musical influences. When not in Maneja Beto, Chavez was in jarocho band Mitote, as well as a soul band called Downtown Rulers Club. Well even in the Midwest, Chavez is still managing to find musicians to perform with.
In the video below, you will see Chavez with Los Condenados Huastecos (LCH). LCH is Carlos Garcia on jarana, Chavez on guitarra quinta huapanguera and Juan Rivera on the violin. Rivera is also a member of the Grammy nominated Sones De Mexico. The style of music they are playing is traditional Son Huasteco from the Huasteca region of Mexico which includes portions of the states of Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Pueblo, Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. The three met in Chicago and started rehearsing just two months ago.
Watch this clip of Los Condenados Huastecos performing “La Azucena” below: