By: Fredwill Hernandez
On Wed., April 17th, there was excitement in downtown Indio, CA – but this time it wasn’t for the Coachella Music Festival, as the city got ready for its ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil their new, very impressive and state-of-the-art Center Stage right in the heart of downtown — to kick off, among other things, their Sonidos concert series.
“Thank you all for coming out on this warm afternoon. It’s an exciting day for us. We’ve been planning many great things for the downtown district, and now they’re beginning to appear. Every time you drive through downtown, you notice something new. I’m proud to deliver these words on such a special occasion. In the rich history of Indio, downtown is truly where everything began and where the city grew. We are gathered here in downtown Indio not just to celebrate the unveiling of Center Stage, but to honor the ongoing downtown revitalization. I want to express my gratitude to everyone involved in making this significant project possible,” said Lupe Ramos Amith, [fifth-term] Mayor of the City of Indio, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This Unity Unveiled stage is more than simply a structure; it invites everyone to share their talents, stories, and dreams. I recall when I was a young girl, and we had a stage at Miles Avenue Park—some of you might remember that too. On Saturdays after school, we would perform our little dances, or during fiestas, our Mexican dances. I hope that spirit returns to this stage. This stage will host amazing performances, beginning tonight with Sonidos. Tonight’s concert features several talented local artists, and we look forward to highlighting a wide range of talent at Second Saturdays, our free monthly concert series, community events, and much more. So, let us treasure this stage as a symbol of downtown Indio—one that inspires each of you, and many generations ahead, to take center stage. Thank you for being a part of this special day.”
The celebrations began with a local Latin rock group from Indio, CA, called [Los] Vampiroz, who impressed everyone, including myself, with their talent, energy on stage, and vocal skills.
“The band is called [Los] Vampiroz, featuring two of my brothers, Jose and Adrian Garza. We were all born and raised in Indio, California. Gotta give a shoutout to JFK Hospital. My other friends in the band are Razor J [Juan Espino] on guitar, and Andres Cansino on drums. Andres is related to Chad Cansino, who recently passed away. The Cansino family is one of the big musical families here, along with the Garzas—these two families really started the music culture in the Coachella Valley,” explained [Los] Vampiroz lead singer Alejandro Garza, who did an impressive job of leading and engaging the crowd. “My brothers and I have been playing music since we were kids because our dad had a group called Los Alegres de Lupe Garza based here in Coachella. We started playing together and formed a group in 1994 called Tercera Generacion, focusing on Tex-Mex Cumbia. Later, that evolved into Los Garzas, and this is a new project we launched about a month ago. Our first show was at Fantasy Springs Casino on March 24, and since then I’ve put out some material that caught the attention of the right people, who then invited us to perform. Honestly, I could die happy—I’m not kidding—because I was born and raised in Indio, and my dad used to play at the Indio Hotel, which stood right on this site before it burned down around 2000. The hotel’s no longer here, but now we have the [Center] stage.”
Between acts, attendees were able to buy delicious food, explore the area, and chat with various vendors and sponsors.
Alexis Spencer, who lives in Palm Springs, CA, and performs under the name [Dj] Ay-Lex Song, shared thoughtfully, “I’ve always loved house music, enjoyed music festivals, and just adore dancing, but becoming a DJ has always been my dream. I feel fantastic and honored to have been invited to DJ. We had a great crowd, and I believe events like this are wonderful for the community.”
Because of the increasing popularity and expansion of Música Mexicana, and given that the Coachella Valley and the City of Indio have one of the largest Latino populations, mostly of Mexican heritage, it was only natural to feature a young, rising Regional Mexican Música Mexicana group from the Coachella Valley.
Javier Medina, who along with Jorge Villareal and Abraham Robles founded the Regional Mexican group known as Los Queridos De La Sierra, beautifully expressed, “We felt honored to be among the first music groups to perform and grace the Center stage of the City of Indio.” He added, “Our style is Campirano, a type of Regional Mexican music featuring electric bass, a requinto, and a standard acoustic guitar. Some of the songs we performed included ‘De Puntitas,’ ‘Cortinas Guindas,’ and corridos such as ‘Ismael’ and ‘El 3.’”
“I first learned about the Sonidos event through social media, from a close friend and host, Angel Chavez, known as “CoachellaAngel” on Instagram. I’ve attended most of his Desert Underground shows in Coachella and other parts of the valley. As a native of Indio, I enjoy going to desert shows to support local bands and artists. It was only a matter of time before a main stage was set up for live music, especially after Second Saturday’s took the lead last year. From the moment I heard about the first Sonidos show downtown Indio, I knew I had to be there,” said 18-year-old Indio resident Maggie Bueno, who grew up in the Coachella Valley and proudly embraces her Indigenous Mexican heritage, which she shows through her fashion, wearing sombreros and boots with pride. “The turnout was fantastic, featuring a wide range of music genres performed by local artists. Although I haven’t attended Coachella Fest myself, I prefer local shows because they feel authentic and truly represent our culture. Desert Underground, one of the first shows I’ve ever attended and continue to support, brings music to our city by offering affordable festivals where local communities can come together. There’s honestly no other show I’d rather be at.”
The evening wrapped up with a drone show immediately following an exhilarating performance by Gisselle Woo & the Night Owls. As is typical in her shows, she stepped off the stage between songs to personally hand out roses to the audience, then continued performing tracks such as “Everything,” “Oye Guerita,” “Coachella Gold,” “Azul,” and other songs from her debut album, “Everything,” released in 2022.
