MUSIC SIN FRONTERAS Premier: “She is Guadalajara” by Joshua Josué

I usually don’t release songs here, but, it’s about Guadalajara, only about 45 minutes down the
road from me and a city I visit often for music, so I couldn’t resist this song about Mexico’s
second or third-largest city (there is a debate on that). But it’s a creative center, especially for
music.

Joshua Josué says: “To fall in love with something as timeless as ‘The City of Roses’ only to
walk away from her is nothing short of heartbreaking. I wanted to create something that would
really connect with people on a deep level. I think ‘She is Guadalajara’ captures the essence of
what it means to love and to feel loss, and I hope listeners find solace and comfort in the music.”
I know just what he means. Every time I drive into Guadalajara for music, food, or whatever, I
say to myself, how come I am not here more often? I was there last week for the Concurso de
Mariachi Infantil y Juveniles – the contest of Mariachi Schools, and I hated to leave. “She is
Guadalajara” exactly captures that feeling of being in the sprawling, confusing, joyful, musical
Mexican creative metropolis.

And he captures the magic of Guadalajara. I was once misdirected by Google coming home from
a Guadalajara music club at 2 .m.. I found myself deadended on railroad tracks in a dark, burned-out, deserted factory slum. There was no one around so I wasn’t afraid, but I was lost. Then a very well-dressed young Mexican couple appeared and in perfect English told me how to get home. Then they disappeared. I had met the angels of Guadalajara and experienced its magic. Josué has embedded that magic in this song.

“She is Guadalajara” is not Mexican music – it is more dreamy alt-rock with a heart-tugging
country twang. And it is hypnotic. It pulls in the spirit of the alt-rock and post-rock that I hear in
the clubs in Guadalajara and at the FIMgdl Latin music conference at the University of
Guadalajara.

Combining smooth vocals with haunting melodies, Joshua sings of the love he has for the city of
Guadalajara and heartfelt sadness of leaving that city. A romantic song written for a city and
reflects the themes of the Mariachi bands while also combining the emotional transparency of
The Smiths (very popular in Mexico).

This is a song to put on your daily playlist and repeat. It is hypnotic. The deep heartbeat drums,
the almost spooky guitar riffs and his vocals will give you chills even if you have never been to
Guadalajara. If you have, it will bring back happy memories of post-rock bands in the C3
Upstairs or the Anexo Independencia and dancing down the median of Avenida Chapultepec at
midnight with underground bands pouring tequila down the throats of the dancers.

Joshua Josué is a Chicano rock/Americana artist in the tradition of Hermanos Gutiérrez, Los
Lobos & Enrique Bunbury, but he has a very distinctive style that pulls together his inspirations from his idols. He got his start fronting the band Los Perros Olvidados and his infamous music
tours by motorcycle through Latin America. Joshua has been opening for regional and national
acts such as Teddy Thompson and Metalchi in Portland, Oregon, and headlining shows on the
West Coast of the United States. Entertaining and engaging, Joshua’s live shows keep the
audience on their feet dancing while weaving in stories of lonely desert highway heartbreak, lost
love in small Latin American towns, and tequila-fueled tales of his days riding with Mexican
motorcycle clubs.