Bonus: Port of Entry's Nortec Transcript
Julia Dixon Evans: Hello, The Finest listeners. Thank you for supporting the show over our first 12 episodes. We have so many stories in the works that we can't wait to share with you, but this week we're bringing you a bonus episode from some friends of ours. Port of Entry is a KPBS podcast that tells crossborder stories that connect us. The show is fascinating and it's fun, and it's always taking us to new places, introducing us to incredible people and stories from both San Diego and Tijuana. Today, we're sharing a recent episode of Port of Entry that the whole Finest team loved. But before we play it, we're going to talk for just a couple minutes with the host Alan Lilienthal to learn more about what the show's all about.
So Alan, we think that The Finest listeners would love your show. The Finest is about art, movements and people that are redefining culture in San Diego. Can you tell us what it is about Port of Entry that you think our listeners would like?
Alan Lilienthal: Well, Tijuana and San Diego are some kind of Siamese twins, in my opinion. You know, a lot of times in San Diego we forget that. We live in the most dynamic binational region in the world. And I think Port of Entry is about what's happening here. Not every American city gets to have the gate to Latin America right here. There's so much, there's so much to take in, to absorb and to connect to.
My favorite episode still to this day of Port of Entry is called "Hustle, hustle, hustle" with Art Pusher. His name is Seth Sullivan. He's just one of my favorite humans ever, but his story is wild. When you see him, he looks like this dude from the midwest, but then you close your eyes and he talks like a dude from the barrio in Tijuana. And his story really reflects that. His dad works for some secret CIA thing developing medical devices, and he got really into skateboarding and drugs as a kid. Got arrested at the border, went to jail for like two, three years, changed his whole life around and is now like one of the top-notch designer artists in this region working for the very top end restaurants. Just a fascinating dude.
Evans: And so much of the stories that you tell have to do with art and culture, music like this episode. This episode that we're going to play is about Nortec Collective. I'd heard them before, surely, but the first episode that you had done about them, that was probably the first time I really paid attention to their music, and I love the sound. I love what it means that they're pioneers and so deeply connected to Tijuana. Can you talk about, Alan, what they mean to you?
Lilienthal: Yeah, sure. Nortec are iconic, not only in Tijuana, but I think across Latin America. Technically speaking, they did something that no one had done before where they combined very traditional norteño music like Northern Mexican music — I guess the equivalent of what Southern music is in America. But it's weird 'cause in Mexico it's the opposite: Northern is country. They mix that with electronic music, which nowadays you hear genres being blended. But when they were doing it in the '90s, it was like, whoa, this is no one thought that was possible. But what I really love about them — beyond their great music and their super fun shows — is they have helped shift a little bit of the story around Tijuana. They have this song called "Tijuana Makes Me Happy." Really from happy to just really cool sounding electronic music, they helped shift a little bit the narrative around what, the identity of Tijuana — not only for the outside world, but for Tijuanenses themselves. Like, oh, we're more than just narcos and drugs. We have really, really sexy music. Can I say sexy on this show?
Evans: Oh yeah.
Lilienthal: Cool. And food and all that stuff. And like it really, Nortec was the first group that put that a world stage.
Evans: Do you take anything from this group and their history into your own music?
Lilienthal: Yeah, I think I do. I think being fearless in using new tools and blending those with old tools. A lot of the times people get in their little boxes like, oh, I'm a rock band. I'm only going to use my guitar and the drums and the bass, or whatever it is. But I think Nortec, a lot of the time, had no idea where they were going. They just had this new toy, this new piece of electronic equipment and they just let that take 'em to the future. And more importantly, just being, regardless of what anyone is saying about your roots or what you come from, being super proud of that. "Tijuana Makes Me Happy" is the most iconic song. So to say that unapologetically is — to me — the most, the coolest, most punk thing to do.
Evans: Alan, thank you for being here. This was great.
Lilienthal: Thank you guys. Hope you enjoy the episode.
One of Tijuana's most important cultural icons hit a milestone this year.
Natalie Gonzalez: Tijuana's own Grammy-nominated band Nortec Collective reached 25 years of professional career.
Lilienthal: And last March, we were there at the legendary Las Pulgas dance hall, where the band celebrated in true Nortec fashion, with a brassy tuba and piercing accordion spliced by pulsing digital beats.
Gonzalez: A norteño colliding with a rave.
For those living under a rock, Nortec is a Tijuana electronic collective that came to world prominence with their groundbreaking combination of the regional norteño genre with techno electronica.
Lilienthal: Norteño, technology. Oh, Nortec. The result is a distinctly familiar yet seductive rhythmic sound that not only put Tijuana on the international stage, but helped consolidate the city as a hub for arts and cultural trends. Many of which were set or influenced by the Collective.
Gonzalez: The party at Las Pulgas was a concert for the ages.
Lilienthal: Nortec deployed a full band set of brass, strings and signature accordion along with their trusty drum machines and samplers. The main stage had two massive LED screens that dramatically framed the elevated platforms for each of the group members: Ramón and Pepe. Each dressed in what seem to be astronaut suits. And below them: a full band rooted the performance with acoustic elements.
Gonzalez: The band packed the venue with concertgoers from different generations bumping and dancing to their well-known hits.
Lilienthal: But when the speakers started blasting the first beats of the timeless "Tijuana Sound Machine," the crowd lost it.
The hall was set ablaze with the cheers and euphoric woos of the crowd.
Gonzalez: It was an unforgettable night for those who were there to see it.
Lilienthal: Since the launch of their first album…
Gonzalez: … titled "Nortec Remixes"
Lilienthal: Founding members Pepe Mogt…
Gonzalez: … known by his stage name "Fussible"...
Lilienthal: … and Ramón Amezcua…
Gonzalez: … known by his stage name "Bostich"...
Lilienthal: … have kept busy creating rich, sonic landscapes and collaborating with artists across genres and artistic disciplines, from museum installations to feature films.
Gonzalez: To this day, they continue to defy obsoleteness by constantly reinventing themselves, garnering nominations, awards and recognition.
Lilienthal: They operate from Tijuana, where we joined them to reflect on 25 years of their professional careers, how they blazed the trail for new artists to challenge traditional genres.
Gonzalez: If this is your first time tuning in to this season, we are showcasing stories of Visionaries and Shapers of the Borderlands. Today's episode is all about how Nortec shaped the cultural landscape of Tijuana, and a tip of the hat to one the city's most important cultural icons. Stay tuned!
Lilienthal: From KPBS, this is Port of Entry…
Gonzalez: … where we tell cross-border stories that connect us.
Lilienthal: I'm Alan Lilienthal.
Gonzalez: And I'm Natalie Gonzalez.
Lilienthal: You are listening to Port of Entry.
Gonzalez: Alan and our producer Julio met both Pepe and Ramón at Ramón's home in Otay.
Lilienthal: Ramón greeted us at the edge of his garage. Once inside, he led us through his house to a studio. The entrance was decked with Nortec memorabilia. In his studio, the walls were covered with all sorts of sound machines and synthesizers. It gave you the feeling of being in a spaceship, with knobs and buttons literally everywhere.
Gonzalez: Julio pulled out our new 6-channel Zoom recorder and, with Alan's help, they set up the on-the-go podcast puesto...
Lilienthal: … our makeshift interview pop-up.
Gonzalez: Then, we got to our questions, starting with a big one: What does it feel like to celebrate the 25-year milestone?
Pepe Mogt: 25 años se fueron volando, Pero ya teníamos otros 10 años antes, haciendo música electrónica. Entonces, creo que ha sido una una trayectoria bastante, Nutrida de de de ciudades tocadas discos colaboraciones. Y pues aquí andamos aquí seguimos.
Lilienthal: Pepe reflected that 25 years flew by. He describes it as an odyssey of creativity, putting records together, touring cities and many, many collaborations.
Ramón Amezcua: En nuestro caso, pues es la tecnología, los avances, todo lo que está sucediendo que nos alimenta. Y aparte de nuestra ciudad, que de alguna manera proyectamos lo que vivimos en nuestra ciudad y se ha hecho en cada uno de nuestros discos, ya sea con Nortec o antes de Nortec.
Lilienthal: Ramón chimed in, stating that, in their case technology, the vibrancy of Tijuana and the city's dynamic culture have fed their inspiration throughout this 25-plus year journey.
Gonzalez: But let's go back to the beginning, to the turn of the millennium when Nortec first became Nortec — before there was Fussible and Bostich.
Lilienthal: You see, Pepe and Ramón both led diverse professional lives before the conception of the Nortec Collective. Pepe was a budding systems engineer turned 3D graphic artist, and Ramón lived in a seemingly distant reality as a dentist. But both had taken a keen attraction to technology and synthesizers
Lilienthal: In the early 2000s, Nortec played some of Mexico's biggest stages, toured the world, got nominated for Grammys. And to think, this was all happening while Ramón's other career was thriving.
Amezcua: Dentistry at that time was very good here in Tijuan., I used to have a lot, a lot of work, so the electronic music was like a side project, like a hobby.
Lilienthal: That's a clip of Ramón's own Port of Entry episode from some years ago. In it, he goes into detail on what music opened the door for him to delve into electronic music.
He found himself gravitating towards records that had some level of electronic instrumentation going on.
Amezcua: Bands like Tangerine Dream, Emerson, Pink Floyd.
Lilienthal: But Ramón says his bonafide love affair with electronic music began with a song called "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk.
How old were you when you heard Kraftwerk for the first time?
Amezcua: I think I was 16 years old. I didn't know where that sound came from. Only that that sounds like from space, mostly from the future.
Lilienthal: Those sounds of the future — synthesizers, drum machines, weird effects — completely fascinated him. He was hooked.
If you haven't checked out this episode — it's one of my favorites — we'll leave the link in the description.
Gonzalez: Hey, why doesn't Pepe have his own episode?
Lilienthal: Well, curiously enough, we are putting together his own episode for a future season on the Music of the Borderlands.
Anyway, Pepe and Ramón's common love for technology and synthesizers built the foundation for their collaboration and eventually, the birth of the Nortec sound.
But if Pepe had to pinpoint one moment that sparked the birth of Nortec, he would say it all began at a wedding, where a norteño band was performing to liven up the festive atmosphere.
Mogt: Todo fue muy rápido. O sea, de hecho de esa llamada que le hice Ramón, la verdad que fueron como unas tres semanas antes que yo estaba en una fiesta típica Mexicana de una boda.
Gonzalez: Pepe mentioned that he was stuck seated next to a norteño band.
Mogt: Una boda de mi hermana, por cierto. Y a mí me tocó sentarme al lado de la banda norteña. Entonces la banda estaba tocando, tocando, tocando y a mí. Pues nunca yo, la verdad ni estaba en la música norteña. Este ni me gustaban ni mucho menos.
Lilienthal: Pepe confessed he never liked norteño.
Gonzalez: What?
Lilienthal: Yup, that's what he told us.
Gonzalez: You would think he would be all about norteño.
Lilienthal: Well, it did grow on him. Can I continue now?
Gonzalez: Yes, yes, go ahead.
Lilienthal: He was stuck sitting next to the norteño band at his sister's wedding. And since he was stuck there, he embraced the moment and started appreciating the sounds: the beats, the textures… when this idea struck him.
Mogt: Bueno, pues si ya voy a estarla escuchando aquí tres o cuatro horas, como que mi cerebro se ponía casi casi a procesarlo, como a decir, es que estas tarola con algún efecto con un delay con un reverb o ese acordeón si se procesa. Y si procesamos las voces todo o sea, yo lo pensaba como un filtro. Y me pareció que era una idea loca.
Lilienthal: If these traditional sounds were put through some processing like reverb or delay, he thought to himself, how would they sound? It could lead to something entirely new.
Mogt: De hecho, se le comenté a melo. Melo estaba sentado ahí y dijo, ya estás borracho, ya estás ahí con tus ideas. Y entonces…
Lilienthal: He floated this eureka moment to a friend at the wedding and the friend laughed and reacted with a, "You're dunk," after hearing the idea.
Gonzalez: Despite initial skepticism to his idea, Pepe trusted his gut, so he went with it. He even tried hiring the same norteño band that played in his sister's wedding, but it was out of his budget.
Mogt: Le dije a esa banda que si, cuanto me cobraban por por grabarlos y me cobraban bien caro, no se cobraban así como si fueran a tocar en otra boda, obviamente que no tenía presupuesto. Y ya una osea, tuve la suerte que un amigo que tenía…
Lilienthal: As luck would have it though, a friend with a recording studio hooked him up with free studio time and connections to different banda players and tapes.
Mogt: Prácticamente me dejó que grabara varias cosas. Entonces grabé muchos instrumentos separados y todo.
Gonzalez: And so the first banda recordings were ready to be mixed with electronica. He took those recordings and experimented at his home studio.
Mogt: Y primero lo llevé a la casa para ponerlo junto con un disco de mínimal techno para ver que sonaba. Luego ya lo empecé a meter en la caja ritmos.
Lilienthal: Once the first demo started to come out, Pepe was excited for what he had concocted. He called Ramón and told him about what he had come up with.
Gonzalez: But Ramón was skeptical.
Mogt: Le hablé a Ramón y le comenté que tenía todas esas grabaciones. No me creyó hasta que fue a la casa y ya tenía el CD quemado tenía un CD ahí con todas esas grabaciones que ese, ese fue como la semilla.
Gonzalez: Once at Pepe's, Ramón heard the first tracks.
Lilienthal: He was blown away.
Gonzalez: After hearing those first tracks, Ramón's reaction to Pepe's early experiments transitioned from disbelief to excitement over its potential.
Lilienthal: The seed had been planted.
Mogt: Que todavía tengo. Todavía tenemos el archivo original ha sido la semilla del sonido Nortec.
Gonzalez: That moment was indeed the spark that ignited Nortec's revolutionary sound.
Lilienthal: It wasn't just a trendy fad but a bold sound that took the music scene by storm. Around that time — in the late 2000s — Tijuana faced a wave of violence that paralyzed the city and forced businesses to close. It was a bleak time to party in the open and many were forced to do so underground. Nortec emerged despite the hopelessness, catalyzing a rebirth of the city's music scene, and as a cultural rebirth of the city as well.
Mogt: Todo quebró y empezaron a hacerse algunos como como que se empezó a reinventar como en el 2006, 2007 y empezaron ya unos clubs y empezamos a tocar otra vez, como que se empezó a re reactivar y ya en 2008 explota Tijuana con varios espacios de música electrónica y comienza una nueva escena.
Lilienthal: This new scene was an indicator of Tijuana's cultural blooming that grew in part with Nortec's rise, and cut against the narrative that the city was just a cartel wasteland. Nortec stood out, and by consequence, put Tijuana in the global music scene.
Gonzalez: The New TIjuana Brass…
Lilienthal: … is what music critics called it, alluding to Herb Alpert's legendary band. News outlets from all over the world wanted to catch a glimpse of what was happening in Tijuana.
[News clips]
Lilienthal: Nortec's evolution became so intricately interwoven with the cultural and musical landscape of Tijuana that the sound became inseparable from the city's identity. Tijuana itself became as much an instrument in Nortec's music as the technology they used.
Amezcua: Es que de igual no siempre repetimos esta frase de que nuevas tecnologías te dan nuevas ideas. Y también creo que los estándares de música han subido muchísimo en el aspecto, del impacto que tienen las frecuencias.
Gonzalez: New technologies give you new ideas, Ramón says, highlighting the continuous cycle of innovation that technology brings to Nortec's music creation and vision.
Amezcua: No es que la música esté evolucionando en el aspecto creativo como composición o de aporte, sino que más que todo es en el aspecto de calidad o del efecto que causan esas esas producciones a la gente sobre todo en vivo.
Lilienthal: Ramón says that every advance in tech is integrated into the hardware of new music-making machines, and those machines…
Gonzalez: … like synthesizers and samplers…
Lilienthal: ... become co-creators in a sense. Each machine — with its own personality and mood — influences where the song ultimately goes.
Gonzalez: But how do they figure out what sounds make it into a Nortec track?
Mogt: Por ejemplo, haciendo Nortec, pero de repente estamos envueltos en otros proyectos, que nos invitan a musicalizar alguna película o, por ejemplo, a veces tocamos con nuestros proyectos solos. Que no tiene nada que ver con Nortec, pero que son muy electrónicos y tocamos en club con nuestras máquinas.
Lilienthal: Pepe notes that synthesizers often guide their projects…
Gonzalez: … from scoring a film to solo beats…
Lilienthal: … yielding unexpected outcomes that evolve into new DJ sets, Nortec tracks or solo DJ projects.
Gonzalez: So in a sense, the machines ultimately drive the creative process.
Mogt: Nos llevamos, algunos sintetizadores o nuestras cajas de ritmos, la 808 o la 909 y la 303 y otros sintetizadores. Entonces experimentamos con ciertas cosas. Entonces, ya cuando se acercan…
Lilienthal: As they play and experiment with their different synthesizers and samplers, for say a concert or an exhibition, new ideas and sounds start surfacing…
Mogt: Pero siempre estamos inspirados, pues en las máquinas, porque las máquinas te inspiran, o sea, estas máquinas que nos rodean ahora en este memento, porque estamos aquí en medio lleno de máquinas. Una máquina de repente puede estar jugando con ella y te empieza a hacer algunos sonidos y al y algunas atmósferas que que esa, esa mismas atmósferas o sonidos o melodías que que comienzan a salir te dicen si va a ser para Nortec o si va a ser para otro proyecto.
Gonzalez: You might have an idea of where to go, Pepe says, but the machine is telling you to go somewhere else as different sounds come out from these interactions and experiments.
Lilienthal: This ongoing exploration of new musical territories exemplifies the adaptive creativity that has characterized them over the years.
Gonzalez: Nortec's reach has been far and wide as they collect quite the roster of appearances…
Lilienthal: … including a Y2K-defying celebration to ring in the 21st century in the iconic Festival of Lights that took place in Mexico City's own mythical plaza, El Zocalo.
Amezcua: Expo mundial de del del año 2000 con Nortec también. Y luego, pues estuvimos también la de Japón. Ahí tu. Bueno, estuvimos una racha de casi toda las expos. porque fue la del, fue la del 2000 fue la del 2005 en Japón. Luego fue la del 2010 en en Milán en Milán.
Lilienthal: At one point, they were Mexico's most sought-after electronic groups, receiving invitations from around the world.
Gonzalez: From Japan and Milan, to Shanghai and Barcelona, among many other cities around the world.
Lilienthal: Notably, over a decade ago, they delivered an unforgettable performance at Coachella, featuring an exclusive stage dedicated solely to them, where Nortec members rotated appearances throughout the night.
Gonzalez: They even headlined the opening party to the Pan American Games in 2011.
Mogt: Ah Shangai. 2010 Shanghai y 2015 este Milán. Entonces esos también son eventos importantes y bueno, los los Panamericanos también haber cerrado los juegos, Bueno, la apertura de los juegos Panamericanos no, y y que tocamos en un estadio.
Gonzalez: Pepe noted these milestones not only launched Nortec's unique sound to the world but also paved the way for more bands to emerge with their own take on the Nortec style.
Lilienthal: Some being as bold as trying to carve a new path into the post-Nortec era, as other bands would blend other Latin American sounds like salsa and cumbia with other versions of electronic music.
Gonzalez: But that will be part of a different episode.
Lilienthal: Wink, wink.
Gonzalez: Stay tuned for our season of Music of the Borderlands coming next year.
Lilienthal: What is undeniable is that a part of Tijuana's musical identity has been shaped by Nortec, and we wondered how people felt about it. So we set out to ask folks about that at one of their concerts in downtown Tijuana.
Gonzalez: On this occasion, Nortec closed the Tianguis Turístico, the state's Tourism Expo that takes place each year. And this time, Nortec shared the stage with Baja's classical orchestra.
Lilienthal: When we asked concertgoers, we got a varied array of responses.
Concertgoer Ivan: La primera vez que lo veo. No sabía realmente de ellos.
Gonzalez: That's Ivan from Chiapas, who had never heard of them, but enjoyed the unique combination of the sounds of the north of Mexico mixed with electronica.
Concertgoer Ivan: Me gustó mucho la combinación de la parte norteña y lo que es, a mi me gusta mucho la música house. Entonces, esa combinación, yo creo que es única en aquí, en el norte.
Lilienthal: And longtime listener Cristal appreciated how they have incorporated different aspects of the Tijuana folklore.
Gonzalez: From the stage set-up, to the graphics that were displayed on the LED screens behind them.
Concertgoer Cristal: Que combinan como los conceptos de lo que sucede en el contexto tanto a nivel social musical, las imágenes, la producción de las imágenes estaba súper bien pensada con la temática de cada ro. Y si transmiten emociones, entonces no se creo que. Escaparon varios aspectos de la cultura de Tijuana condensada música electrónica y también con música folclórica de la región.
Gonzalez: Tijuanenses like Cristal passionately pour their hearts into sounds they feel truly represents them.
Lilienthal: A sound or beat that echoes the spirit of their city. A rhythm that turns a place into their home. For Ramón and Pepe, it's deeply rewarding and humbling to know that when people think of Tijuana, Nortec often comes to mind first, becoming synonymous with the city's own unique voice.
Amezcua: A varios amigos que están en la música electrónica y sobre todo cuando tocan en otro país. Otra ciudad, a veces si ya dicen no de Tijuana, es música electrónica Nortec. Entonces, si es ya como un referente, nos da gusto y y nos gustaría también escuchar alguien nuevo, aparte de nosotros, hay mucha gente nueva, pero digamos que tengan como un referente.
Lilienthal: To them It's about creating a legacy that resonates beyond their sound. It's about marking an era and opening the door for new pioneers of the city and the ever-evolving music of Tijuana.
Gonzalez: We'll be back after a short break.
Lilienthal: You are listening to Port of Entry. Nortec has been pivotal in crafting the city's unique cultural and musical identity.
Gonzalez: Their innovative approach has not only made Nortec Collective stand apart from other musical projects over the decades, but also deeply influenced the music scene within the region and the country.
Lilienthal: Inspiring both Nortec-like projects and those looking to carry the torch beyond the Nortec sounds into different areas, experimenting with different genres. What's remarkable is that Nortec's work acts as a posterboy of Tijuana's ambitions to carve out its own identity, showcasing the ambition of the city's talent for harmonizing its rich traditions with contemporary or even futuristic outlooks.
Gonzalez: The impact of Nortec Collective's fusion has resonated across the music landscape, inspiring other artists and contributing to the evolution of Tijuana's music scene.
Lilienthal: Through their creativity, Nortec Collective has helped shape the city's identity, blending the past with the present in a way that points towards a vibrant and distinct future for Tijuana's cultural expression.
Gonzalez: That is why when you think of Nortec you think of…
Lilienthal and Gonzalez: Tijuana makes me happy, Tijuana makes me happy!
Gonzalez: This episode of Port of Entry was written and produced by Julio Cesar Ortiz Franco.
Lilienthal: Adrian Villalobos is technical producer and sound designer. Elma Gonzalez Lima Brandao is our interim editor.
Gonzalez: And Lisa Jane Morrisette is Director of Audio Programming and Operations.
Lilienthal: This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Gonzalez: This project was also made possible with support from California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit calhum.org.
Lilienthal: Soy Alan Lilienthal.
Gonzalez: Y yo soy Natalie Gonzalez.
Lilienthal and Gonzalez: Nos vemos pronto.
Evans: Thank you to the team from Port of Entry for sharing this story with us. Check out their feed for more episodes, going all the way back to 2019 and for new ones dropping soon.
Next week on The Finest, we're going to Comic-Con. We explore a booming fandom that's taken over TikTok, sparked some skepticism and almost single-handedly driven a remarkable rise in book sales across the country. That is romantasy, the fusion of romance and fantasy. We trace its history from "Harry Potter" to "Twilight" to "A Court of Thorns and Roses," and we talk to authors, fans and experts about why it's taking off and why we should take it seriously.
Netta Baker: But the through line is, in my eyes, reflecting an anxiety that I think is not unwarranted about women's place in the world right now and wanting to have more power and control over it. And most of those narratives give them that to a significant degree.
Evans: I'm your host Julia Dixon Evans. Our producer, lead writer and composer is Anthony Wallace. Our engineer is Ben Redlawsk. And our editor is Chrissy Nguyen.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
