L.A.-based Las Cafeteras have a reputation for mixing good times, buenas vibras, and puro parri with strong political messages in their music and live shows. Check out their video for “La Bamba Rebelde.” That’s their life everyday! One of their most popular songs, however, is “Luna Lovers,” which stands out for being none of the above. The love song is one of their most popular at shows so it only makes sense that it’s also the band’s next single/video.
“The video for Diana Blanco was not planned,” says vocalist Hector Flores of the first “Luna Lovers” video (released in April). “We didn’t see it as a music video. We saw it as a campaign for the movement to free the Blanco family.” That original footage was shot and edited with the help of non-profit Puente Arizona.
The band was already working on a “Luna Lovers” video with director John Cantú at that time. They met the director at an event hosted by Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore where he approached them with an idea for the song. His only condition was that the video not have any shots of the band walking through the streets of L.A.
Cantú drew inspiration from Georges Méliès and his classic silent film, A Trip To The Moon. He hired a small crew who built a set in Echo Park with a green screen and, over the course of two 12-hour workdays, shot the entire video. The initial conversation took place in early December and the entire project, from pre-production to the final shot, was completed in two months.
“We didn’t want this song to be conveyed as a binary couples song,” explains Flores. “We wanted this to be much more ambiguous and universal. Just like the moon shines on everybody and the moon is for everybody, so is love.”
The video won’t be released for at least another week but we do have a wonderful teaser trailer to share. Angelenos can catch Las Cafeteras along with Chico Trujillo at Grand Performances in downtown LA this Saturday.
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Download “Luna Lovers” below: