Top 10 Chicano Batman Songs

Partial+illustration+of+Chicano+Batmans+2010+album.

Mireya Curiel

Partial illustration of Chicano Batman’s 2010 album.

Mireya Curiel, Photo Editor & Reporter

Chicano Batman, an uprising band of four from Los Angeles, is slowly rising. They recently headlined in the Long Beach Tropicalia Festival along with groups like Los Tigres Del Norte and Kali Uchis. They also performed at Coachella in 2015 and 2017. The band has some mixture of tropicalia, funk, and psychedelic soul, along with other influences. They create mixtures of Spanish and English music. These are my top 10 Chicano Batman songs that can be found on Spotify or Youtube.

  1. “Cycles of Existential Rhymes” (Cycles of Existential Rhymes 2014) This song brings back old keyboard tones influenced by many of the old Latino groups from the 1970’s  but a mixture of indie that creates a new sound in music. The guitar solo is amazing and falls perfectly with the keyboards.
  2. “Fantasia” (Cycles of Existential Rhymes 2014) When the singer’s voice falls into the electric guitar solo it makes the shift of the song unique and transcendent and is my top Spanish song produced by the group.
  3. “La Jura” ( Freedom is Free 2017) “La Jura” is one of their Spanish songs from the album. While giving a groovy soul tune, the song focuses on police brutality. The song tells the story of how a man was shot and questions why those who are supposed to protect us kill innocent lives.
  4. Black Lipstick (Single 2015) The psychedelic sound of the song along with the story of the emotionless woman who will break your heart makes it the ultimate song.
  5. “Freedom is Free” (Freedom is Free 2017) This song gives a strong message against the justification of war for our freedom while providing a rousing guitar solo. It was also performed in Coachella 2017 and Tropicalia.
  6. “Magma” (Cycles of Existential Rhymes 2014)  The styling guitar solo is not only soothing but goes together with the lyrics about a lady he’s into and compares to hot lava. The skilled composition of all instruments in this song is mesmerizing.
  7. “Itotiani” (Chicano Batman 2010) The song title comes from the ancient Aztec language Nahuatl meaning dancer. This song is one of their most memorable songs because of the line “Su piel tiene color de mazapán,” the comparison to a popular candy and the artist’s interest in an Aztec dancer hyped the Latino listeners. The eight-minute-long song is worth the while for the heartfelt keyboards in the song.
  8. “Friendship” (Freedom is Free 2017) The change in the lead singer’s voice throughout the song helps makes it stand out. It also includes the voices of Mariachi de Flor Toloache, making this song different from the rest of the songs they have produced.
  9. “La Tigresa” (Joven Navegante 2012) “La Tigresa” is an instrumental song with the keyboard and electric guitar standing out the most. The hi-fi to the Latino keyboard music and psychedelic guitar sound from the 70s makes this instrumental song timeless.
  10. “Angel Child” (Freedom is Free 2017) The up-tone beat in the beginning of the song then the shift into a soothing beat and later to a completely different sound makes this song rhythmic yet different to modern music.