Rep. Levin Visits Border Facilities, Climate Goals, Rising Sea Levels

Speaker 1: 00:00 To San Diego area, democratic members of Congress, Mike Levin and Juan Vargas toward local border facilities. This week, the visit took place on the same day. A new report was released by UC San Diego researchers that highlights unsanitary conditions and abuses at migrant detention centers along the US Mexico border. Congressman Mike Levin of the 49 congressional district was at the border yesterday and joins us now via Skype. Congressman Levin, welcome. Thanks. Always good to be with you. As I mentioned, a new report from UC San Diego Paints a pretty grim picture of what it's like inside some of these detention facilities. Migrants describe being given spoiled food, dirty water, overcrowding, and there's also evidence of physical and verbal abuse. Did you witness any of that here at the local border facilities you visited? Speaker 2: 00:48 Well, uh, no, not firsthand. I, I do though a respect that report. I, uh, I know a Tom Wong, uh, its author and, uh, I take very seriously, uh, all of the comments from detainees that were included. I, I read it, uh, and I asked tough questions. So when I went and I toured a our local border facilities, uh, sure. You know, I mean, how would you describe the conditions at the facility you visited yesterday? You know, we took a fairly comprehensive, uh, tour yesterday, not only of Oti Mesa, uh, but also of the Chula Vista Border Patrol station. Uh, and the San Diego Rapid Response Network, migrant shelter, uh, in downtown. The Oti Mesa facility is a large detention center. There are about 1500 people detainees in that facility of, you know, there are basic medical facilities. Uh, we did see, I am concerned that a, we, we heard that there was a report, I believe in the voice of San Diego recently, that those with HIV were not receiving the most, uh, modern types of treatment for that. And we'll be following up to ensure that that is, you know, improved through our, the facilities clean. Uh, for the most part they were. Speaker 1: 01:58 So what do you think these facilities are different than the others that we've heard reports Speaker 2: 02:02 about? Well, I think there's a couple things going on. One is that in a Greater San Diego area, we've got great partnerships with nonprofit organizations like a Jewish family services and the ACL ACU. And they have run these, uh, refugee shelters, uh, to give a, a place for, for folks to, to leave the detention centers. So in other words, the overcrowding that we've seen perhaps in places like Texas or in Florida perhaps doesn't exist the same extent in San Diego because there are places where refugee seekers can go other than just to detention facility. The other reason I think we don't see the type of overcrowding is the administration's policy, the remain in Mexico policy. It doesn't mean we've solved the problem. It means we just shifted the problem from the United States to Mexico. So my great concern is that while we may have alleviated some of the overcrowding at our facilities in San Diego and throughout the United States, that we've at the situation in Mexico far worse, and that net, the situation for refugee and asylum seekers is worse than it's ever been. Speaker 1: 03:06 You mentioned talking with asylum seekers. What else did the people who are detained there? A, what did they share with you? Speaker 2: 03:12 You know, that, uh, they are for the most part being treated fairly, uh, in with the basic humanity. Uh, they always, uh, you know, can do better in terms of things like food. You know, there, there were some complaints about the food from the, uh, commissary, uh, at the Oti Mesa facility. Three of the four, uh, women that we heard from all, all were moms. They were mothers who had multiple children who are United States citizens. Uh, and, uh, obviously breaks your heart to think about a mother who's not able to see their kids, their, their down in detention. Look, I mean, we had people that were in, uh, uh, San Diego and orange counties for a well over a decade, uh, who had legitimately fleed, uh, from very bad situations. Uh, one woman was from El Salvador. Um, but you know, obviously, uh, it's tragic. Uh, and we want to do everything we can to treat these people with decency and respect. Speaker 1: 04:11 Now, the Trump administration is also diverting disaster relief funds to the border. Uh, homeland security has said it, plans to spend the money on detention beds, transportation costs, and on temporary hearing facilities for asylum seekers enrolled in that remain in Mexico program. Do you think the transfer of funds are valid? Well, I, I Speaker 2: 04:30 deeply concerned about the, uh, human impact of the remain in Mexico program. I would have to take a look and really dive deep. We need more oversight on how those funds are going to be spent. Uh, the belief among the Trump administration is that if they're sent to Mexico, uh, that they're going to be in a, a surrounding where they, they do have adequate legal representation where they do have adequate, uh, health and safety, adequate nutrition. Uh, but unfortunately that's just not anecdotally what we are hearing. So I think it's questionable from a legal perspective. I think it's questionable, uh, from a basic perspective of treating people with humanity and respect. And we need more oversight to ensure that these funds are being used in a responsible and transparent manner. Speaker 1: 05:14 What is Congress doing to provide relief to those migrants who are being held inside unsanitary immigration facilities? Speaker 2: 05:21 Well, I, uh, cosponsored legislation to establish basic humanitarian standards of care for those in CBP custody, uh, as well as a other legislation require ice and CBP officers to wear body cameras. So they'll be held accountable. Uh, and we're also, uh, as I mentioned before, uh, uh, sponsoring legislation to ensure that, uh, DHS addresses the border issues, uh, in a far more humane way and creates more oversight and accountability measures within the DHS, uh, leadership. We're not asking for anybody to do anything, uh, irregular or inconsistent their values for, for many decades as Americans, which is when someone is seeking asylum, uh, that, uh, the United States of America stands ready to assist those who are legitimately seeking asylum from around the world. I have been speaking with San Diego Congressman Mike Levin, Congressman Levin. Thank you. Thanks. Always good to be with you. Speaker 3: 06:20 Uh. Speaker 1: 00:00 They call it the school to prison pipeline experts say when schools disciplined disruptive students by expulsion, those kids are far more likely to end up in jail. And that's even more likely for students of color and analysis of state data by Voice of San Diego found that while other districts in the county have scaled back expulsions, Grossmont union high school district has expelled black students at a rate seven times higher than the county average for the last two years. Joining us with more on that troubling statistic is Katie Stegal who is working a reporting internship this summer at Voice of San Diego and she analyzed the numbers. Katie, welcome to the show. Thank you. Give us an overview of how school districts in San Diego are changing the way that they discipline students. So there's restorative practices that are being implemented all over the country and San Diego County has actually been doing well with that when you're talking to experts and stuff. Speaker 1: 00:57 But, um, they're trying to take, they're trying to steer away from exclusionary discipline, which is when you remove the child from the classroom and they're not, they're not in the learning the environment. They're not in the, they're not in a classroom setting with their peers or teachers and the what have you. But with the, the majority of the county, these expulsion rates have actually been going down. And I think it started in like the 2012 2013 numbers. After that they decreased by like 50% but you found that Grossmont union high school district still regularly expelled students. What are those numbers and in particular, what are they for black students? So those numbers specifically, when you start looking at the data from the Department of Education, the expulsion rate is seven times higher in one district than any other district in the county. Out of the 45 black students that were expelled in all of the county, 40% of those students came from Grossmont Union. Speaker 1: 01:59 Tell us more about Grossmont Union high school district about where is it, how big and what's the racial makeup of the student body. So it is in the East County region, so you have um, areas like El Cahone, La Mesa, the unincorporated areas like Julian and Alpine. But it is more known to be a conservative area in the county. From what I remember it, it is either five or 7% of black students in the school district itself. So it's already a super small populate, like a super small demographic in the school district to begin with. So then when you have such small numbers and then you're seeing such high expulsion rates, it leads to why is this happening? What did the district have to say when you asked about the rate of expulsions for black students? So I did talk to the assistant superintendent and basically what she said was that while they do see that the numbers are there, she felt as if I was kind of misinterpreting the data and I was comparing apples and oranges because she was saying that, oh well when you look at, you're looking at all of the districts in the county and we're only a high school district. Speaker 1: 03:11 So you're also comparing us to elementary schools. So I thought about that after I got off the phone with her and I started looking at the high school only districts and if anything, it made the school look worse because the expulsion rates of black students for other high school districts specifically still weren't looking great. In comparison to that, you spoke with Dr j Luke Wood and education professor here at San Diego State who studies equity issues. What's his take on the, the Grossmont numbers? So Dr. Wood does incredible work. He was one, he's one of the main people on a project called get-out and it's about black student black male suspension rates. And he published that, I believe last year when I was looking through his work, I saw how high the x, the suspension rates were here in the county and just the, the big problem that we're facing statewide. Speaker 1: 04:04 But he's actually the reason that I found the expulsion data because he made a post on Facebook and was talking about Grossmont specifically. And I went and looked at it and the numbers just blew my mind. And so I called him and I was like, what? Why? Why is this a problem? Like what's happening here, specifically in Grossmont, you just said the numbers were astronomical. He said it was so disheartening to see those numbers. Is there any indication that Grossmont is going to move? You got to change these percentages anytime soon. So they do have a, I found a plan that they had online regarding mainly um, suspension rates. They briefly mentioned expulsion and the plan that they had published online, but even then it didn't focus as much on black students specifically as it did expulsion as a whole. So the Assistant Superintendent did reference some of the restorative plans that they are trying to implement into the district, um, where they're having educational plans regarding say like drug use or tobacco, things of that nature. Um, but the part of the plan that I found online, they're wanting to make those pro, those educational programs more accessible. So I feel like they have like the bare roots groundwork there, but there needs to be an entire cultural shift for their to, for those changes to start actually coming. I have been speaking with Katie steagall. She is a reporting intern at Voice of San Diego. Katie, thank you very much. Thank you so much. Speaker 2: 05:46 [inaudible]. Speaker 1: 00:00 Up next in the show. We're bringing you a few stories from the KPBS climate change desk. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are going down, and that's good news for San Diego, which is committed to cutting its carbon footprint aide half by 2035 but climate hawks see some troubling trends. KPBS Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says, forces outside San Diego's control could disrupt the city's efforts to fight climate change. Speaker 2: 00:28 So we'll just do glass and one and cans and the other. Speaker 3: 00:35 I'm standing with Ian Monahan at the Miramar recycling center. We're dumping bags of recyclables into sorting bins. Could have brought to the clubs myself. Speaker 2: 00:43 I've got some for Ya. Oh really? Speaker 4: 00:47 Okay. Speaker 3: 00:50 Monahan works for, I love a clean San Diego. The nonprofit collected these bottles and cans at a weekend. Cleanup in mission bay. We take the bins to a scale, then staff give Monaghan a receipt worth Speaker 4: 01:02 26 58 I bet. I bet. Speaker 3: 01:05 Just a few months ago, the Mirror Mar recycling center was on the verge of closing. China used to be a major market for America's recyclables, but last year, the country started restricting the types of materials that accepts. This has been a huge blow to the operators of Miramar and to the city's climate action plan. That plan counts on keeping more waste out of landfills to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The center stayed open only because of a bailout approved by the city council in June. Now it's being subsidized by taxpayer dollars. Monahan says, China's decision has disrupted the global recycling economy. Speaker 2: 01:43 When we have disruptions like this, it really begs the question as to how are we conserving? We need to look at our behavior and what we're doing here at home to conserve, um, and quite honestly reduce. Speaker 5: 01:57 That's a perfect example of outside factors and market dynamics and international politics that's influencing what we're trying to do locally. Speaker 3: 02:06 Cody Huvane is San Diego Sustainability Director. It's not just a Beijing that's impacting San Diego's climate goals. It's also Washington and Sacramento. As we flipped through a copy of the city's climate action plan, we land on a page with some pie charts. They show more than two thirds of the city's emissions reductions are expected to come from state and federal policies like electric vehicle incentives or tougher fuel efficiency standards. But those things aren't a slam dunk facing challenges from the Trump administration who've been says the city is watching Speaker 5: 02:39 when stuff like that changes. When the federal administration tries to reverse the state action and then the state files a lawsuit against the federal action. Those are years processes. So we track them and we, we try to understand what would our position be or how we can um, influence them. I guess we try to cross that bridge when we come to it. Speaker 3: 02:58 But here's a very important point Speaker 6: 03:00 about San Diego's climate action plan. The city can and will get outside help with cutting emissions, but if that outside help falls short, the city is still on the hook for cutting in half its carbon footprint. Nicole Camper, it's at the nonprofit climate action campaign says state policies have helped with renewable energy, but they're failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. A report earlier this month, found car travel in California is going up, which means that we'll blow the opportunity and the ability for us to reach state climate goals. So it's really going to be imperative that the mayor and the council and all local governments sort of take matters into their own hands and figure out what can they do locally and regionally to um, make us climate safe and climate ready. Speaker 3: 03:47 Cafritz says all the data and science is showing the climate crisis is accelerating and that the city and state need to go completely carbon neutral by 2045. Speaker 6: 03:56 And that means a really fundamental radical shift and how we do almost everything. And so we're going to want to see us taking it to that next level because again, it's all about protecting public health, achieving clean air, and making sure we're doing right by the next generation. Right Speaker 3: 04:15 back at the Miramar recycling center, Ian Monaghan says, San Diego has promised to fight climate change with or without help from the state or federal governments, but simply Speaker 1: 04:25 we have an aggressive climate action plan. We're going to have to find a way to meet those goals. Jeremy has KPBS, Metro reporter Andrew Bowen and Andrew, welcome. Thanks Maureen. Nick, can you explain a bit more about how San Diego's climate action goals are linked to greenhouse gas reduction goals set by the state? Sure. In 2006, the state legislature passed a B 32, which is kind of one of the, one of the most important state laws related to climate change. It set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. So over all that time while they went up and peaked it around 2000, I think, um, they have to go back down. There was a further reduction of, uh, 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. So we've got that goal for 2020. We've got a longterm goal for 2050. And the city's climate action plan was basically an interpolation of those two goals. Speaker 1: 05:21 So, um, and also the cap, the climate action plan was made enforceable. So if the city fails to reduce to the extent that's required under the climate action plan, the city can get sued and then forced by a court to actually meet those goals. So the city doesn't have any option of scaling back its climate action goals. No, absolutely not. The city is planning a, an update to its climate action plan that will take place sometime next year and they may tweak some of the goals or some of the assumptions that the original climate action plan made based on the new information that we have now. But the overall goal of the 50% reduction by 2035 cannot change the numbers. Say that vehicle travel is going up in California but are in cars also getting more fuel efficient. They are. Um, the increasing fuel efficiency is definitely happening. Speaker 1: 06:10 There are more electric vehicles on the road now than there ever were before. The question that's relevant to San Diego and its climate action plan is not our cars getting more fuel efficient because they are and of course they will continue to do so. The question is our emissions going up or down? And so far they're either flat-lining or going up. But at last check, San Diego's carbon footprint has been going down. That's right. So how much does the city really have to worry about these uncertainties in the years into the future? Yeah, but the cap is a long range plans. So the city has to pay attention to the longterm trends that are happening. The further you get into the future, the more important it will be for the city to keep up with its goals in each of the different, uh, sectors like electricity, transportation, waste reduction, things like that. Speaker 1: 06:59 Um, it's important to remember looking ahead to 20, 35, the city is already counting on having zero emissions from electricity. Uh, that's the assumption that's made. So we can't count on reducing electricity emissions even more. That means that if, let's say we fall short on transportation, more people are driving or they're not adopting the electric vehicles as as much as we had hoped. Where else can we reduce emissions that options get smaller and smaller the further that you go into 20, 35. And also it's important to note that many of our goals under the climate action plan take years to actually implement construction takes a really long time. If we're building new transit infrastructure, personal behaviors are influenced by, you know, many different things. People buy a house and might want to live in that house for a really long time. So a lot of the policies that we're talking about now are not necessarily for the immediate future. Speaker 1: 07:53 They are for that 20, 35 goal. So if state and federal policies do fall short and the city has to work somehow harder to reduce emissions through local actions, what would that even look like? Yeah, it's, it's a hypothetical question that I asked, uh, to a couple of people for this story. And they mostly declined to speculate, but your imagination can take you to some pretty strange places. So I'll use the example of Sao Paolo where my husband comes from. That city has a policy now where you can only drive your car, uh, every other day based on the license plate number that you have. So the evens can drive one day. The odds can drive another day. And so, you know, that's a policy that may be San Diego might actually have to contemplate to, to really kind of get more authoritarian about restricting how much people can drive. Speaker 1: 08:41 You know, SANDAG the regional transportation planning agency is already talking about congestion pricing. So turning our highways into toll roads and then charging people to use them at at peak hours. You know, the city could start charging more for parking to disincentivize driving. Um, we could have a local tax on gas and all these things are pretty, um, hypothetical, like I said, but, um, you know, this is really the, the scale of the climate crisis that I think we're hearing from scientists right now. We're going to have to start really rethinking how we do almost everything. Okay. But what about new technologies, new technologies being created? We here right now in the private sector, could they come to our rescue? Absolutely. Yes. And that is a consideration that's taken into account in the climate action plan. One example that, uh, Cody [inaudible] of this city's sustainability director mentioned to me was electric scooters. Speaker 1: 09:33 This is a new technology that people are using with their phones around the city, that the, that the city was not contemplating in 2015 and now there are people who are taking scooters to their meetings downtown rather than actually driving their cars or taking an Uber or Lyft. A the tricky thing with technology though is that it's unpredictable and it's really hard to quantify. Uh, some tech may never materialize in the future. And when we're talking about really enforceable goals and the, the stakes, you know, with climate change are so high, you know, we, we can't necessarily count on things that we're not really sure about. Um, but there is definitely a debate going on right now about how much we as a city and as a region should be counting on an unproven technologies versus things that we know work right now. And how much flexibility do we really build into our climate action plan so that we can adapt to those new technologies and also adjust if they don't, if they don't come to fruition. I've been speaking with KPBS Metro reporter Andrew Bowen. Andrew. Thank you. My pleasure. Maureen. Speaker 4: 10:36 Uh. Speaker 1: 00:00 San Diego's airport welcomes visitors with views of skyscrapers and a huge bay, but the airport is facing challenges as sea levels rise from our changing climate desk. Hey, PBS environment reporter Eric Anderson says the Airport Authority is working today with an ion tomorrow Speaker 2: 00:20 more than 18,000 airline flights a month travel through San Diego's Lindbergh field that's nearly 220,000 flights a year. That makes the airport itself an economic engine. It generates an impact of more than $11 billion on a local economy, three point $9 billion from its payroll alone and the facility it makes $265 million of revenue each year. You total everything up and close to 24 million people pass through the terminal last year. Many of them visitors who spent money on local hotels, restaurants and attractions. Brendan Reed is the airport authorities, director of planning and Environmental Affairs and he says the airport is also a key business hub. We've got harbor drive Speaker 3: 01:09 here and then behind that we met him recently on the southwestern edge of the airport property. We're almost near the end of the runway actually. So most of the time this is where aircraft are starting their takeoff. Speaker 2: 01:20 Let's see, your problem, part of Reed's job is to make sure that the airport continues to be a vital part of the region's economy. And that means understanding how climate change can influence how planes land and take off. Speaker 3: 01:33 We know that this airport has to be operational for this region. That's why again, we're, we're looking at what we can do today to have benefits in 80 years. And I think, um, it really demonstrates our proactiveness being proactive is critical for a low lying airport that's next to a salt water bay. And Reed is confident that sea level rise won't directly affect the runway, but it could hurt nearby properties. Many people might not know, but the airport doesn't sit great on the water. We actually have other property across the street. We have the Coast Guard station, we of course have the port of San Diego's property on harbor island and we have city of San Diego streets. So one of the biggest things we need to focus on, and we've actually made a lot of progress even in the last five years, is working as a region and with those agencies in particular, they're looking at how can we collaborate to make sure that something like harbor drive is sustained in the long run because although it's not on airport property, obviously it is critical to get our airport passengers here. Reid says the risk of road flooding will climb with sea levels. Those conditions will be exacerbated by high tides and storms, but he's confident the roads are pretty resilient and can recover quickly from temporary flooding. But Reed says if flooding becomes too frequent, it becomes a problem, especially along busy harbor drive, which serves the airports front door. He says Speaker 2: 02:59 airport officials are committed to making sure passengers have a safe and efficient way to get to the airport. Speaker 3: 03:06 Given the projections that we have now out to the end of the century, there are multiple ways that we can address those issues. Um, some of it's on sites, some of it's going to be in really close collaboration with our partner agencies. Off site Speaker 2: 03:20 that includes the port of San Diego and the city of San Diego. But not all the plans for climate resilience would happen on property around the airport. Reid says anytime there's new construction on airport property, the project is adjusted to keep sea level rise in mind. Speaker 3: 03:37 Whenever we're designing and constructing a new building, we actually look at how those things like sea level rise impact that. And so we are able to actually change in some cases the uh, the building elevation pad so that again, if there is flooding in the future, those buildings can be more resilient to that. Speaker 2: 03:55 And while current state projections expect a relatively modest impact from sea level rise, about a foot and a half by 2050 Reid says the airport authority will adjust if those predictions change Speaker 3: 04:08 when you're dealing with climate resilience. Um, this is certainly not the f the last time we're going to look at the data. One of the most important things, and that's why we're again, helping sponsor a Scripps Institute, putting in a sensor in the bay across the street, is that we need to have constant data so that new projections can be taken into consideration. And then that, of course, can inform policy decisions. Speaker 2: 04:31 Ford official self, the planning they do now will help protect the facility from climate change in the future. Eric Anderson, KPBS news Speaker 4: 04:47 [inaudible]. Speaker 1: 00:00 Summer is swiftly flying by, but we've still got a few weeks to go in our summer music series this week. This studio concert is hosted by Jade Heineman. The band La Diablo combines traditional Cumbia music with the gritty spirit of Tijuana. They bring their binational dance party wherever they go. Take a listen. [inaudible] Speaker 2: 00:58 [inaudible] [inaudible] federal [inaudible] [inaudible] Speaker 1: 01:19 and today the band behind that music La Diablo joins us in the KPBS studio. Hey, welcome. I've been Rodriguez, Adrian Rodriguez on accordion and vocals. Jose Bolanos, you're running all the social media for the band and everything goes a little bit of everything. Yeah. Welcome. You all. Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate you joining us here on midday edition. Hey, first question. How did La Diablo start? Speaker 3: 01:44 We used to go down with the one, uh, uh, Ivan and myself were brothers and we would go down at the [inaudible] to, to this youth group. They, there was at a, at the seminary down there just Kinda to hang out with kids our age and they would do retreats in, in the city of Monterey. Mexico. [inaudible] is one of the biggest cities for Koombaya like in all of Mexico. What really caught our eye was one time we were at a little plaza over there and there was a like a battle kind of like when they do wrap paddles, but it was one accordionist against another according to this who clinks basic. And they were, instead of fighting, they were actually playing music against each other. And that was like music. Yeah. And there was a big culture shock and what they were playing was Colombian Cumbia. Speaker 1: 02:23 So this is a sound unlike anything you guys had ever heard. Okay. Speaker 3: 02:26 Yeah. Nobody, yeah, it didn't exist. It's still to this day there's not many bands I play what we play right now. [inaudible] in this region. Yeah. So I mean like how would you describe your sound was a very rustic, um, roots, Colombian Goombas like the origins of Columbia. The sound itself is very traditional, very folk, but the essence of it is actually more inclined to like the, the punk rock. Like, because we're going against the current, we'll play in all kinds of events where you don't expect this. Like we've showed up at hip hop events that hardcore punk events, uh, ray m we'll just play wherever andW and we don't care if it's one person or we played up to 50,000 people, don't everybody in front of 50,000 people. It's just like, um, yeah, we just want to do a party and get everybody up. But what's so weird is like he, I hear Punk Rock, but when I listened to the music, I hear these, this African influence. Speaker 3: 03:17 Yeah. Like tell me about that. What are the origins of Cumbia? Well, the beginnings of what became Columbia were from Africa. Um, that's where the drum rhythms came from. Columbia like actually has the first free African nation in America, which was [inaudible]. They there, they had a style couple yet and gay, which was a lot of drums. More percussive. Yes. More profession. Goomba Ha has a lot of influence from Africa and it's orange. It's are African in part, but they're also indigenous because the sounds, the melodies are melodies that simulate the sounds that the birds of the region would make. So a lot of the melodies that we play now with the summer NATO style are basically kind of emulating the sound of birds from that region and the way they sing. And, and also the, another part of it that's indigenous, like there's a instrument called watch DACA. Speaker 3: 04:07 It's the kind of like a Guido where you just scrape it and, and that's also a native instrument. But the community we play also has the European influence because as a a diatonic accordion, which comes from Germany or from Italy, but mainly from Germany, the, the type of accordions that they use in Colombia, more German than, than anything interest. And to get all of that unique sound together, you guys have to use unique instruments. So let me hear some of that. What do you have? You've got something called a shout out guy and he's got an accordion Speaker 4: 05:00 [inaudible]. Speaker 3: 05:01 Very nice. And so what other instruments defined this music? The style that we use is so narrow. So, um, it borrows insurance from Vienna, apple music. There's an instrument called [inaudible]. It's kind of like a larger version of a Bungo, but it's only a single drum and the head is made of literally x-rays. So it has a very low pitch sound when you hit it in the middle, but high, high end on the edges. So it has a big variety of of sounds. Eh? Usually for Goomba they also use what's called a [inaudible]. Sort of like a Conga. Yeah, like a Conga [inaudible] same, we call it [inaudible], which is kinda like a fill drum fills. Sure. And then there's a [inaudible] which gives a constant beat. What gives Gumby a Kumbaya? My Lord is just like that. Kind of like a metronome. That's, yeah. My daughter will do that sound and then they have the Tombarra, which is the lowest pitch sound we use a four times. We use actually drum kit, like a, a five piece drum kit. Floor time. Yeah. But the way we played is the way they played over there. Yeah. Awesome. Well, Hey, I know that there's one song that demonstrates all of that very well. It's called La Pedrosa. Yeah. And it means the powerful one. Let's take a listen. Speaker 5: 06:14 We're not going to get [inaudible] Speaker 2: 06:53 [inaudible] Speaker 3: 07:02 what does the dog, Hey, I can definitely see how that would get everybody up on their feet. Hey, what's it like being a binational band? Yeah, it's very interesting because um, it gives us a whole different perspective. Um, US ourselves, we, we are of a specific subculture that kind of like Chicano, but at the same time we have another part which is where trans border, like we actually have [inaudible] every day, every day. Cause I was gonna ask him, you know, how, you know, does your music reflect life, uh, in a border region? It does because here there's a fusion of all kinds of cultures already in. And what Goombay itself is, is, is a fusion of three different cultures and that kind of reflects what we are. We're a mixed also ourselves. Like we're, we are American but we are also Mexican. [inaudible] nationality of some of us is not Mexican. Speaker 3: 07:55 We are from both places, but we're from neither at the same time, which is kind of weird. Like neither Kenya. Yeah. Yeah. That's what they say. [inaudible] not from here. And not from there. Trust me. I understand. Hey, what's it like bringing music from Mexico? Do People here in the current border? Climate? Music is a, is a international language. That's something that it doesn't matter where you're from, where you're from, as if you're just willing to have fun and, and are open to it. Um, you're going to in the beginning of the night. Yeah. Music is universal language. La Diablo. Thanks so much for stopping by Y'all. No, thank you. I appreciate it. Speaker 2: 08:39 [inaudible] Speaker 3: 08:40 La Diablo performs this Sunday afternoon in Barrio Logan at the hood stock music festival and fundraiser and tune in next week for our performance by San Diego bluegrass band, prairie sky. For more information, go to kpbs.org/summer music series. Speaker 2: 09:58 [inaudible].