By: Fredwill Hernandez
Excitement was in the air in anticipation for the start of the 3rd Annual LA6 Showcase – a collaborative effort between Los Angeles, Ca. based DJ Irony, and [his colleague] DJ Lenny G who [both] are employed and spin for Spanish Broadcasting Systems’ [SBS’s] MEGA 96.3 FM, and veteran Latin music promoter Marvelous Marvin [of Marvelous Promotions] known to all as Marvelous — held on March 23, 2022 at 20 Ft. Bear Studios [near DTLA] where Latin music insiders, producers, DJ’s, artists, and music journalists were anticipating the live performances by the likes of Khris Ro, Tatita G, Don Tonic, Angeza, Oz El Magico, and Jesaiah – who were the six finalist chosen out of sixty artists submissions.
“This is the third year doing this showcase. One day I received a call from DJ Irony, it was his idea, he just reached out for me to help him bring his desire and vision [of having a showcase] to life. The first two years the winner of the showcase got the opportunity to perform for seven thousand people during Calibash – at their outside stage,” eloquently explained Marvelous [of Marvelous Promotions] before the start of the showcase. “DJ Irony will eventually produce, remix, and promote the winner of the showcase during his [live] mix show on the radio station, and during various other events and venues he is asked [or booked] to appear and or DJ.”
20 Ft. Bear Studios’ was the perfect venue for the intimate concert which gave attendees a close-up view of what each performer had to offer and also gave attendees a perfect opportunity to network.
“Tonight — we’re honored to have radio personality DJ Lechero of J Cruz’s 92.3 FM The Beat radio show, and Social Media Influencer Jessica Flores as our hosts and judges. Each artist will get a chance to perform three songs, and out of these six performers — one winner will eventually be chosen,” explained LA6 Showcase co-founder DJ Irony during welcoming remarks as he [and DJ Lenny G] thanked attendees for showing up and supporting the event.
Regional Urban artist Khris Ro kicked things off by performing “Corazon Jodido,” “Chula,” and “Mamita,” two out of three songs he penned himself.
“I’ve always made music, I started to play the guitar at age twelve and it [eventually] progressed from there learning my favorite artists songs through Youtube. I continued to play the guitar and write songs but never really took it seriously or uploaded anything. At one point I eventually stopped – then Covid hit and I lost my job and as a result I started dedicating my time to doing what I love most which was making music and I’ve been performing and grinding non-stop ever since,” eloquently explained Khris Ro, who nobody knew had recently had surgery on his left foot and should have been walking around per doctor’s orders [at the Showcase] in an orthopedic boot. “I had the cast on my left foot removed the Thursday before the showcase and It wasn’t the brightest idea to wear regular shoes, but I didn’t want to show up to perform wearing an orthopedic boot having attendees feeling pity for me. I felt my performance went exceptionally well, I left the stage feeling confident about my performance but I would be lying if I didn’t say it was disappointing not to win.”
As performances intensified it was becoming obvious why these six music artists were chosen. It was also interesting to find out Tatita G who sang Bachata was from Honduras, and that Don Tonic who performed predominately Reggaetón hailed from Panama where [for Reggaetón as a Latin music genre] it all started, and [also] that Angeza who “charismatically and sensually” controlled the crowd was from Guatemala.
“I was born in Rio Bravo, Guatemala but I grew up here in Los Angeles, [Ca.]. I sing Latin Urban, also Pop, and also sing in English too –but my focus in the few releases I’ve had have all been in Spanish. I was attracted to the music, I would say because of my father who was a DJ, he [also] had a musical group back in Guatemala, seeing him on stage singing and doing his thing here rubbed off on me I guess,” eloquently explained Angeza, who personally [upon their arrival] greeted attendees with gifts bags as a clever way of expanding her email contact list. “I have a management company I work with who helps me and looks out after my musical career but my releases have been worked [released] independently. I’m a go getter, very [very] daring, and people notice it – as it becomes apparent quickly during my live performances.”
Three people whose contributions were instrumental in the showcase’s success were DJ Vlatz of DJcity Latino [DJ record pool], who served as the evening’s host and [house] DJ, and the two judges — DJ Lechero, and Social Media Influencer Jessica Flores, who were [ultimately] indecisive and uncertain as to who would be picked as the winner.
After a brief discussion between DJ Vlatz, event organizers, and the [two] official event judges, and yours truly, it was [collectively] decided that one male performer — being Panama’s Don Tonic, and for the ladies, Jesaiah would be the winner. Event organizers announced that another trophy would eventually be sent to one of the of the winners since it had originally been decided that only one performer out of the six would win.
“I’ve been writing and doing this music thing about three years, I would say about two years professionally. In those two years: I’ve made it here to Los Angeles from Panama through a few who believe in me and my talent, and what I do — and today I’m here at the LA6 Showcase. I want people to know that what I convey and express musically comes from the heart. I humbly come from the ghetto, and started from the bottom, and do this out of joy to bring us incredible moments,” expressed Don Tonic after his win, who hails from [David] Chiriquí, Panama. “I feel we as human beings come into this world to do and work on what we love doing, in my case it’s the music. I’m here chipping away at it and I’m not leaving until I [eventually] fulfill and accomplish my [musical] journey and dream.”
