Latin Grammy-nominated band Making Movies is currently on tour and headed to Chicago for a performance at Reggie’s Music Joint on Friday, February 2. They’re joined by Chicago’s own Braided Janes and Chebaka. Tickets are available here.
Making Movies is a band whose music focuses on the rhythms of Latin America— African-derived styles like rumba, mambo, merengue, and cumbia —combined with distorted guitars and atmospheric synths. They incorporate English and Spanish lyrics into their songs, creating a unique and culturally diverse sound.
For their latest video for the song, “Medicina” the band decided to bring their fans along for the journey to Ecuador, Colombia, Panamá, Memphis, and Kansas City. In sharing the visual, lead singer and guitarist Enrique Chi states, “The video, like the song, is an offer of gratitude for the wild, beautiful, amazing and hilarious experiences that a life dedicated to music brings us––like did a Panamanian band play arrowhead stadium while Taylor Swift was in the building?”
When describing the inspiration behind “Medicina,” Enrique continues, “We are a band formed by my brother Diego and I, two Panamanian punks who grew up in the midwest. Fourteen years of touring and sleeping on couches later, we built a tribe of misfits around our music. For those who don’t know us, ‘Medicina’ tells that story.” The phrase “Esta música es mi medicina” which translates to “this music is my medicine” ends both verses in the song, because after 14 years of creating music, the four-piece has realized that the act of creation isn’t like medicine. It is the medicine.
The group is committed to the national health conversation around music as medicine through their activism and founding of the non-profit, Art as Mentorship. The organization is a thought leader in a national movement to leverage the healing qualities of music to impact communities of color.
