You may have seen little yellow flyers around town that have graphics with polaroid pictures of two volcanoes and the word "MC3." Well, one volcano is Mt. Bachelor and the other is the Izalco volcano — which is about an hour away from Armenia, El Salvador: the hometown of Lilo González, founder and lead singer/guitarist of Latin rock and cumbia trio, Machetres (ma-che-tres: a slang term for a machete tied to a G3 rifle).
González was born in El Salvador during the civil war. He fled at two years old with his family to seek refuge in the United States. He grew up in the '80s bouncing between the neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. González returned to El Salvador to complete middle and high school just before the signing of the peace accords. When González returned to DC at 18 years old, Machetres was born.
In '98, The Washington Post pegged the band as, "Cutting Edge Latino Punk." Teenagers at the time, the band's first show in '97 was opening for Fugazi, the acclaimed Washington, D.C.- based art-punk band, at its 10th anniversary celebration that also served as a fundraiser for the Latin American Youth Center in D.C. (also known as the Wilson Center). Machetres quickly made its way into the D.C. punk scene, supporting grassroots organizations, social justice and Latinx youth.
Bassist Paul González joined in 2003. In 2018, the band graduated from its iPad drum machine and brought on drummer, Ryan Bukstein. Bukstein and Lilo González met through working together at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles and their similar interests in music. When COVID hit, each member veered to different states.
After 26 years (for González) of off-and-on touring on the East and West coasts, Machetres has its first and rare Pacific Northwest performance in Bend at McMenamins Old St. Francis School. All proceeds will be donated to the local Latinx nonprofit, Vámanos Outside.
"We always like to support local causes with our shows," said Bukstein.
Activism and fundraising are no new passions for the roots of Machetres — as Lilo González's father, also Lilo González, was a widely respected and celebrated Cumbia musician, bandleader, songwriter and performer, and most notably known for his activism and impact in the refugee community in Washington, D.C.
González told the Source Weekly, "I'm looking forward to sharing our music and stories with the folks in Bend. It's always a blast to play live, especially in a place where not many people know you." He jokingly added, "...that would be a lot of places for us." On the band's yellow flier you may have also noticed the word "MC3" — the name of the band's new 7" inch single with two new songs, "WORM" and "POWER," released earlier this year. "POWER" is out now on Bandcamp with all proceeds benefiting RAICES and its work to reunite separated immigrant families.
Performing original music in both Spanish and English, Machetres' music deals with the complex experience of refugees. "Our first record, 'Machetres' included many songs we had written as teenagers and it has that vibe. We did it pretty fast, 12 songs in three days. 'Sopa de Res' was done 10 years later. . . The songs on this single are all in Spanish and are a lot more personal. A window to what was happening in my life at the time."
In June, Machetres reunited to play a run of shows on the East Coast which included a feature performance at the famed Inner Ear Studios celebration show— in Washington, D.C.
"We'll always have a whole set list prepared but that usually goes in the trash by the second song. By that time, we usually get a sense of the crowd and play it by ear. Sometimes it doesn't go as planned but when it does it's pretty rad."
Needless to say, bring your dancing shoes.
