Truth, reality guide Yerba Tribe’s music

Music is a stronger tie than blood for Armando Ibarra and
Francisco Zarathustra, the lead singers and guitarists of the
reggae-tinged hip-hop group Yerba Tribe.

“We respect each other a lot. A band has a really deep
relationship; we’re a tribe,” Zarathustra said.

Meshing reggae protest themes with hip-hop and cumbia ballads,
the Los Angeles-based Yerba Tribe has entertained and educated
their teenage audiences for over four years. They performed last
week as a part of the Fowler Museum’s Day of the Dead
celebration, put on by the community outreach organization,
Conciencia Libre.

Ibarra and UCLA student Zarathustra met in high school, growing
up in Huntington Park in southeast Los Angeles. With his half Irish
and half Mexican ethnicity, Ibarra has gotten a more unique look at
ethnic issues. His two cultures have helped him look at the
situations he’s faced from different perspectives.

“(My songs) are not political songs, they’re truth
songs,” Ibarra said. “Truth to what is happening around
us. I don’t think rich people should keep the poor
poor.”

As Ibarra played his guitar and sang songs of justice for the
oppressed peoples from Latin America, Zarathustra joined him in
singing and playing. But Zarathustra’s playing and singing
had a different, distinctive, Mexican feel.

During the show, Zarathustra swung his hips seductively at his
female audience. He proudly displayed his Mexican roots with a
tattoo of Mariachi singer and actor Javier Solis.

Zarathustra was born in Jalisco, but was raised in Southern
California. This year he will graduate from UCLA with a
bachelor’s degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies.

He sings rhythmic cumbia songs that cater to the Mexican
heritage of much of the band’s audience.

Yet he also has a message for his listeners. One of
Zarathustra’s favorite songs that he has written is
“Los Angeles,” which has hip-hop beats and reggae-style
guitar, joined with rap lyrics.

“It’s a reality that I’m expressing.
It’s not a reality that (Ibarra) is expressing. It’s my
personal message,” Zarathustra said.

Bassist Jesús Yañez, drummer Marco Antonio Madera, and
percussionist Esteban Ritmos make up the rest of Yerba Tribe. They
bring to their young Latino audiences the realities of the L.A.
streets, along with the social and political injustices
they’ve witnessed.