Austin got their first look at Tucson-based musician Sergio Mendoza with his band Y La Orkesta at Pachanga Fest in 2010. No stranger to Austin, Mendoza is a touring musician for popular indie bands DeVotchka and Calexico. However, it is Y La Orkesta that turns heads and take you back in time to the big band/mambo era of the early 1900s. The group finally put the sound into a full length LP Mambo Mexicano! via Cosmica Records earlier this year.
Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta returned to Austin this year for South by Southwest and performed another head turning set at this year’s Pachanga Fest. Austin Vida’s Ian Morales worked with Blastro2 to produce the following video interview with live performance footage from their set at this year’s Pachanga Fest. In the exclusive video interview, Morales talked with Mendoza about his influences during a prolific career that started in Mexico and ended in Tucson, Arizona.