# Ozomatli
**Ozomatli** is an American band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, known for a genre-fusing sound that combines salsa, hip-hop, funk, reggae, rock, cumbia, and other Latin and international styles, and for political and social activism rooted in the city's grassroots organizing scene.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ozomatli-mn0000426564) • [2](https://www.arcamax.com/entertainment/entertainmenttoday/s-3739071) The band's name comes from an indigenous [Nahuatl](https://www.edgepedia.org/nahuatl) term referring to the monkey figure on the Aztec sun calendar.[3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1995 in Los Angeles, California[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ozomatli-mn0000426564) |
| Origin | Grew out of a workers' strike and sit-in in downtown Los Angeles that produced the Peace and Justice Center[2](https://www.arcamax.com/entertainment/entertainmenttoday/s-3739071) |
| Core members | Asdrubal Sierra, Raul Pacheco, Justin Porée, Wil-Dog Abers, Jiro Yamaguchi, and Ulises Bella have appeared in every lineup[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) |
| Debut album | Self-titled *Ozomatli*, released June 1998 on Almo Sounds[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) |
| Grammy Awards | *Street Signs* won the 2005 Grammy for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album; the band's second and third albums both won in that category[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) • [3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/) |
| Diplomatic role | Named US State Department Cultural Ambassadors, touring on government-sponsored trips to Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) |
| Television | Served as house band for *Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution* from 2011 to 2014[5](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ozomatli-mn0000426564/biography) |
## Origins
The founding members met through labor organizing. A strike and sit-in at a building run by the LA Conservation Corp ended with the workers gaining rights to the building, which they turned into a youth cultural center called the Peace and Justice Center. The band began playing benefit concerts to keep the center open, and requests for further bookings turned the group into a working band.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/ozomatli-the-party-politicians-5348497.html) • [2](https://www.arcamax.com/entertainment/entertainmenttoday/s-3739071) Founding members included Raúl Pacheco, Asdrubal Sierra, Wil-Dog Abers, Justin Porée, Jiro Yamaguchi, Ulises Bella, DJ Cut Chemist, Chali 2na, William Marrufo, and Jose Espinoza.[3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/)
The band's membership reflects Los Angeles itself. A 1997 Los Angeles Times profile described members of Mexican American, Japanese, Jewish, African American, and Cuban background, including a political activist, a schoolteacher, a used-car salesman, and a former member of Disneyland's "Lion King" parade.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-10-ca-11535-story.html) Tenor sax player Ulises Bella put it this way: "As much as I might want to say we're a Chicano band, we can't because we're not... Ozomatli is very L.A. in its racial mix. It's very universal."[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-08-ca-57720-story.html)
## Sound
Ozomatli's music moves between styles within single tracks: salsa, hip-hop, psychedelic rock, Mexican songs, ska, and rai all appear in the band's recorded and live work.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/ozomatli-the-party-politicians-5348497.html) Concord's roster description calls it "a collision of urban-Latino, Hip Hop, Salsa, Dancehall, Samba, Funk, East LA R&B, New Orleans Second Line and Jamaican/Indian Raga."[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) Five members of the band are Mexican American, and many songs carry Spanish lyrics alongside merengue, salsa, and rancheras.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-08-ca-57720-story.html)
**North African influences.** After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the band deliberately incorporated North African sounds, most prominently on the 2004 album *Street Signs*. Sax player and vocalist Ulises Bella explained the intent: "after 9/11, it was really important to incorporate that sound, especially in America, because there was a big backlash... we're definitely a band of inclusion, and as a band we wanted to give cultural and artistic backing to that part of the world."[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/ozomatli-the-party-politicians-5348497.html)
## Albums and recognition
The self-titled debut appeared in June 1998 on Almo Sounds and drew fans from alternative rock, hip-hop, and Latino audiences simultaneously.[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-08-ca-57720-story.html) The Grammy.com retrospective credits the album with updating the Latin fusion of predecessors such as Santana and [Los Lobos](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-lobos) for the 1990s, blending Latin genres with hip-hop, funk, and reggae in a distinctly Angeleno way.[3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/) The debut featured guest appearances by Los Lobos' David Hidalgo on requinto jarocho and accordion.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-08-ca-57720-story.html)
The second album, *Embrace the Chaos*, was released on September 11, 2001; by that point founding members [Chali 2na](https://www.edgepedia.org/chali-2na) and Cut Chemist had moved on to focus on [Jurassic 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/jurassic-5), though both later reunited with the band onstage and in the studio.[9](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cbs-sf-talks-to-ozomatli-guitarist-raul-pacheco/) According to Grammy.com, both the second and third albums, including *Street Signs*, broke the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 chart and won Grammy Awards for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album; Concord dates *Street Signs*' win to 2005.[3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/) • [4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/) *Street Signs* was also nominated for a Latin Grammy.[10](https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/ozomatli/)
In 2010 the band released *Fire Away*, its fifth album, which critics described as less focused than the mid-career records but still characteristic in its fusing of salsa, funk, hip-hop, soul, and punk.[11](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/ozomatli-fire-away/) • [12](https://www.mmusicmag.com/reviews/03/Ozomatli-M-May-2010.pdf) The album *Non-Stop: Mexico to Jamaica* set Mexican songs to Jamaican rhythms and was produced by the Jamaican rhythm section [Sly Dunbar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sly-dunbar) and Robbie Shakespeare; guests included [Herb Alpert](https://www.edgepedia.org/herb-alpert) on "Besame Mucho."[13](https://www.allmusic.com/album/non-stop-mexico-to-jamaica-mw0003026835)
## Activism and diplomacy
Political content has run through the band's career. Its lyrics have addressed police brutality, anti-immigrant policies, and U.S. imperialism in Latin America, themes that grew out of the members' background in labor organizing and, in part, the Zapatista movement in Chiapas.[3](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/) The band was formed, in the words of one profile, "in response to the right-wing Californian state government" and is described as inherently political, with much of its invective delivered in Spanish.[14](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-1068-331855)
That activism extended into official cultural diplomacy. Ozomatli was named a US State Department Cultural Ambassador and undertook government-sponsored international tours to Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East.[4](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/)
## Live reputation
Ozomatli built its reputation on live performance. The Independent described the ten-piece band pulling off impromptu improvisation at a Roxbury community center and noted the common description of the group as "the world's best live band," combining a party atmosphere with political intent.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/ozomatli-the-party-politicians-5348497.html) A 2004 trade profile observed that the band's studio albums had suffered in comparison to its passionate, exuberant live shows.[15](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Mix-Magazine/00s/2004/Mix-2004-08.pdf) In 2000 the band toured with Santana and Maná, a bill crowned by three consecutive sold-out nights at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim.[16](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/2000/CMJ-2000-10-23.pdf)
In 2025 the band marked its 30th anniversary with continuing touring; guitarist Raúl Pacheco described the group's sound as "this blend of those different kinds of music that make up the gumbo of what Ozomatli's sound is."[17](https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2025-06-13/ozomatli-celebrating-30th-anniversary-returns-to-fountain-valley) The band also appeared on the 2026 anti-ICE benefit compilation *Contra-ICE Vol 1: ICE OUT*, whose proceeds go to organizations working with immigrant groups at risk of deportation.[18](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singles-albums/music-has-always-been-my-first-language-justice-has-always-been-my-inheritance-contra-ice-is-where-those-two-lineages-meet-ad-rock-tom-morello-kathleen-hanna-and-others-team-up-for-anti-ice-benefit-album)
## References
1. [Ozomatli Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ozomatli-mn0000426564)
2. [Ozomatli celebrates 30 years, ArcaMax Entertainment News](https://www.arcamax.com/entertainment/entertainmenttoday/s-3739071)
3. [How Ozomatli's 1998 Debut Album Heralded A New Generation Of Latin Fusion, GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/ozomatli-debut-album-new-generation-of-latin-fusion-25th-anniversary/)
4. [Ozomatli, Music Publishing Roster, Concord](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/ozomatli/)
5. [Ozomatli Biography, AllMusic (full biography page)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ozomatli-mn0000426564/biography)
6. [Ozomatli: The party politicians, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/ozomatli-the-party-politicians-5348497.html)
7. [The Wild Bunch, Los Angeles Times (1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-10-ca-11535-story.html)
8. [Musica for the Masses, Los Angeles Times (1998)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-08-ca-57720-story.html)
9. [CBS SF talks to Ozomatli guitarist Raúl Pacheco, CBS San Francisco](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cbs-sf-talks-to-ozomatli-guitarist-raul-pacheco/)
10. [Ozomatli album review, NOW Magazine (2004)](https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/ozomatli/)
11. [Review: Ozomatli, Fire Away, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/ozomatli-fire-away/)
12. [Ozomatli review, Music May 2010 issue](https://www.mmusicmag.com/reviews/03/Ozomatli-M-May-2010.pdf)
13. [Non-Stop: Mexico to Jamaica Review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/non-stop-mexico-to-jamaica-mw0003026835)
14. [Ozomatli review, NME (2005)](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-1068-331855)
15. [Mix Magazine, August 2004](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Mix-Magazine/00s/2004/Mix-2004-08.pdf)
16. [Ñ Alternative, CMJ, October 23, 2000](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/2000/CMJ-2000-10-23.pdf)
17. [Ozomatli, celebrating 30th anniversary, returns to Fountain Valley, Los Angeles Times / Daily Pilot (2025)](https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2025-06-13/ozomatli-celebrating-30th-anniversary-returns-to-fountain-valley)
18. [Anti-ICE benefit album announcement, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singles-albums/music-has-always-been-my-first-language-justice-has-always-been-my-inheritance-contra-ice-is-where-those-two-lineages-meet-ad-rock-tom-morello-kathleen-hanna-and-others-team-up-for-anti-ice-benefit-album)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › National, regional, and scene band clusters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license