Jenny and the Mexicats

Jenny & The Mexicats performed at The National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM.

Here are photos from the show.

IMG_0520.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

The band’s performance in Albuquerque is part of their tour to promote their latest album Mar Abierto, which they released February 2017.

IMG_0455.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Alfonso Acosta, Pantera, is the guitarist and co-writer for Jenny and the Mexicats.

IMG_1072
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny Ball is writer, vocalist and plays trumpet for Jenny and the Mexicats.

IMG_1134
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Luis Diaz, Icho, plays double bass and bass guitar for Jenny and the Mexicats.

IMG_1153.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny is from London, England, and met the Mexicats in Madrid, Spain. They currently reside in México.

IMG_1190.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

The term “Mexicats” comes from the colloquial term given to people from Madrid, gatos, or cats, along with the country of origin of the musicians in the band (without including Gonzalez).

IMG_1252.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

According to the Jenny and the Mexicats Facebook page, Icho and Pantera have known each other since forever and had also shared other bands together.

IMG_1360
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny began to play the trumpet when she was seven years old, and she taught herself to play the guitar.

IMG_1260
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

The first name of Jenny and the Mexicats was Pachucos y la Princesa, which they had to change because, according to Icho, a lot of people had trouble pronouncing it.

IMG_1288.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny first met Icho in Madrid, when she began to search for “new sounds.” Together they contacted Pantera and David Gonzalez Bernardos to form Jenny and the Mexicats.

IMG_0484.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny and the Mexicats are celebrating their ten year anniversary this year.

IMG_1139
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

The relation that Jenny and the Mexicats have between each other is familiar, according to Icho.

IMG_1224.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Music from Jenny and the Mexicats is a combination of jazz, rockabilly, folk, flamenco, reggae, son veracruzano, country or cumbia.

IMG_0510.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny and the Mexicats second album, released in 2014, Ome, featured collaborations with different artists including Mexican tropical orchestra, La Sonora Santanera.

IMG_0618.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

“They rehearsed nonstop for two months in the same Flamenco tablao they had met in, Jenny spoke no Spanish and David no English so it was left down to the universal love for creating music and some expert translating from the two Mexicans to bring it all together,” says their Facebook page.

IMG_0673.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

What mainly brought Jenny and the Mexicats together was Jenny’s desire to find other sounds and other types of music, which was also what helped the band find their sound.

IMG_0659.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Patera used to be a flamenco guitar player, and Icho believed him to be the best for the job when starting the band.

IMG_0728.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny jokingly said to My Statesman that she first wanted to play the trombone, but her arms weren’t long enough.

IMG_0747.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca
“What they’ve done with their influences is create this really impressive mix of rockabilly, cumbia, jazz, flamenco, and they perform it both in English and in Spanish-very cool sound,” said Felix Contreras, host of NPR’s Alt Latino.
IMG_0793.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny and the Mexicats created their own record label, Mexicat Records, in order to protect their own sound and to be able to naturally grow more.

IMG_0802.JPG
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

David Gonzalez Bernardos plays percussion for Jenny and the Mexicats.

IMG_0931
Photo by Antonio Villaseñor-Baca

Jenny and the Mexicats have been living in México since 2012, and have mentioned that they have fallen in love with the Mexican culture.

Leave a Reply