When Drummer Gabriel Villa attended Citrus, he worked full-time at numerous factory jobs to support his wife and children.
Even when his soul tropicalia band began attracting an audience, Villa said he struggled to choose becoming a full-time musician.
“You have to take risks in life,” Villa said. “Being a performer was my calling and what I always wanted to do.”
Before opening up for renowned rock musician Jack White, or playing music festivals like Coachella as a member of the rock band, Chicano Batman, Villa began his music career at Citrus College.
Villa traveled from Colombia to Azusa in 2006. He graduated from Citrus in 2010 with an associate degree in performing arts.
Villa also lived in France before moving to Southern California. No matter where he went, he gravitated toward music.
“For some reason I always loved music,” Villa said. “The rhythm and the drums — it’s my thing.”
Villa said he casually pursued music while living in Colombia and France by taking drumming classes. He dove in further when he started taking several music courses at Citrus.
“I was taking all these classes and at the same time starting Chicano Batman,” Villa said. “It was a really great compliment.”
Music instructor Alan Waddington worked with Villa at Citrus. Waddington said Villa was not always an advanced drummer.
“He wasn’t at a high level,” Waddington said. “But he just tried really hard.”
Villa said he attended Citrus College because he wanted more experience in the music industry and “diplomas are always good to have.”
Despite the accomplishments Chicano Batman has had, 200,000 monthly listeners on their Spotify page. They opened for Jack White on his 2015 Lazaretto Tour, and three records allowing the band to perform in various musical festivals.
Even though Villa grew up in Colombia, the other three members of Chicano Batman are Angelenos.
Villa said he found friends at Citrus he could attend shows in Los Angeles with. Since Villa was studying music at Citrus, he said he wanted to join a band so he could continue practicing. Specifically, Villa wanted to join the Latin music scene.
He said “luck and being in the right place at the right time” let him meet other members of Chicano Batman. At a show in Los Angeles, he met Bardo Martinez, who became the lead singer of the band.
“We met and connected right away and started making music that same night in the parking lot,” Villa said.
Though each member of the band brought something different to the table, Villa describes their music an organic process.
All of the members of Chicano Batman come from a Latin background, their sound is a combination of each member’s culture and the own genres of music they love.
The lead singer, Bardo Martinez and bassist Eduardo Arenas both have families from Columbia and Mexico. The lead guitarist, Carlos Arévalo, comes from a Salvadorian and Mexican background. The group connected with their common appreciation for Brazilian Tropicália music, which influences the soul of their sound.
“Chicano Batman was a space to put all of that into practice, to put everything in that melting pot and create something freeing,” Villa said.
Villa said Chicano Batman’s goal is releasing music with a positive message. The titular track “Cycles of Existential Rhyme” from their record of the same title is a soulful ballad conveying life through a looking glass.
“My present situation is this song, it turns my life into a reel; I sit back and watch it play,” Martinez sings.
Harmonious organ notes create a song about life’s pleasures.
Villa said their concert audience reflects their music.
“You can feel it when you go to a Chicano Batman show,” Villa said. “It’s a very loving environment.”
Villa said tropicália-rock bands rooted in Latin culture, like his own, are underrepresented in the music industry. Villa said the band represents aspiring Latin musicians.
Even their band name, Chicano Batman, is derived from a symbol of Latino activist Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers movement.
The movement, which fought for labor rights in California, was symbolized by a eagle, which the inspired the band’s symbol.
“We are giving a voice for the voiceless,” Villa said.
Since Villa was not always a professional musician, he said he is proud to represent his culture in an industry where Latin culture is not a constant.
“I got inspired by music by watching other people,” Villa said. “And now to be in a place where I’m inspiring other people, it’s a chain reaction.”
While Chicano Batman gets ready to go on tour, the band members are also working on a new album.
Villa said the album brings “new and fresh vibes.”
“We’re always trying to get better and do better than the last album,” Vill said. “We want to keep inspiring people.”
Chicano Batman is slowly catching public attention. The band collaborated with Miguel, a Grammy Award winning recording artist, to cover Chicano Batman’s most notable song “Black Lipstick” in June.
Since its release, it has more than 4 million views on YouTube. In January of 2017, they partnered with the whiskey brand, Johnnie Walker, to cover Woody Guthrie’s notable “This Land is Your Land”. The YouTube video reached 1 million views since its release last year.
Even as Chicano Batman grows in popularity, Waddington said Villa remains humble.
“He’ll never be too big for anybody,” Waddington said.
