MIAMI – Alberto “Beto” Montenegro, Antonio Casas, Andrés Story, and Alejandro Abeijón have been living between Miami and Mexico City.
Rawayana, a band they founded in Caracas about 18 years ago, made the Venezuelan diaspora proud this weekend with their dance-pop at Coachella.
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“I want any Venezuelan watching this to feel empowered, to know that there’s nothing that holds us back,” Montenegro said during their performance late Saturday night on the Gobi stage.
Billboard and Rolling Stone took notice of their performance, which also included Bebo Dumont and Rafa Pabon from Puerto Rico. Los Angeles Times profiled the band’s “Caribbean-soaked pop” as the “soundtrack of a generation in exile.”
Last month, Sony Music released “Astropical,” their collaboration with Li Saumet and José Castillo, of Bomba Estéreo, which NPR described as “a euphoric exploration of South America’s coastal sounds.”
About four years ago, the rebels released “Cuando Los Acéfalos Predominan,” or “When the Headless Predominate” as a criticism of public corruption.
Last year, Nicolás Maduro took issue with the group when they released “Veneka,” a song praising Venezuelan women who have had to endure discrimination and exploitation as migrants.
“The group that made that song didn’t just mess things up, they stepped in it,” Maduro said during a rally in Caracas, criticizing the song as sexist and adding that Venezuelan women should not be referred to as “venekas.”
The band’s tour in Venezuela had sold out, but they were forced to cancel the shows after Maduro’s crackdown. The band’s announcement on social media added, “This is how we say goodbye to our country until further notice.”
The United Nations estimates that more than 7.8 million have moved out of Venezuela in what has become the largest diaspora in the world.
Rawayana is set to perform at 7 p.m., on Aug. 23, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.