Smithsonian Folkways will release "Imaginaries" by the supercharged East LA group Quetzal on February 28.

"I’ve borrowed the term imaginaries in this song because it’s useful in explicating the ways in which our music and art community has been functioning. When we become critical of the discourses that teach an outlook of community assessment through a lens of deficit and instead look to our
communities from an asset-based perspective, we stand to create something much more sustainable. In this sense, we imagine. We visualize. We gather our resources. We design and construct." -Martha González, lead singer of Quetzal

Inspired by traditional son jarocho music of Veracruz, Mexico, and spiked with urban rhythms, rock and R&B, East LA Chicano group Quetzal will release "Imaginaries," its 5th album and 1st for Smithsonian Folkways, on Feb. 28, 2012.

Quetzal, called "provocative, heartfelt and strikingly original" by the LA Times, was founded by guitarist Quetzal Flores. The group rose from the ashes of uprisings in LA in 1992 as a vehicle for social commentary.

Imaginaries is the 35th release in the Smithsonian Folkways Tradiciones/Traditions series since 2002. The series, a co-production with the Smithsonian Latino Center, showcases the diverse musical heritage of the 50 million Latinos living in the USA.
More information:

http://www.folkways.si.edu/about_us/news_press.aspx#12.14.11_quetzal

Also listen to "Tragafuegos" from "Imaginaries":

"Tragafuegos (fire breathers)" by Quetzal from "Imaginaries" by Smithsonian Folkways