"Music is one of the strongest weapons that we have in our arsenal. It shouldn’t be squandered.” 
 

Traversing New York City’s teeming streets is always a musical adventure. The pulsating strains of Salsa blaring from a dilapidated tenement window, Hip-Hop booming from a ghetto blaster, gritty jazz from a street musician’s rusty tenor sax, and the muffled squawk of Punk  rock from inside some seedy dive. This is New York—its beauty is  its diversity.  Few bands embody this multi-cultural aesthetic better than New York’s  own Ricanstruction, a raw and radical foursome consisting of Alano Baez (vocals), Eddie Alsina (guitar), Arturo Rodriguez (bass), and Joseph  Rodriguez (drums), who have truly been inspired by and initiated into  the power and pulse of the city.  Their unique sound is a potent mixture of Afro-Caribbean groove, raging  hardcore punk and Hip-Hop attitude that carries the authoritatively sung/ rapped vocals that attack America’s social decay. As vocalist Alano Baez points out, “Growing up in the city, you’re exposed to so many different worlds, cultures and attitudes. If you have an open ear, you will hear practically every kind of music under the sun.” He adds, “Ricanstruction doesn’t look at music in terms of this year’s fad or  fashion. We haven’t created any superficial boundaries. If something  moves us we’re open to it.” But it should be understood that Ricanstruction is no spicy, world-music quartet. This is tough, raucous, experimental music that blurs the lines of genre. Alano confirms, “When I was a kid, my parents listened mostly to traditional Puerto Rican folk music, and my sisters and brothers were into salsa and other styles of Latino music. Meanwhile, I was diggin’ Hip-Hop and funk along with everything I was hearing at home and on the street. I was always listening  for different vibes.” He adds, “The first time I heard Hardcore I was blown away by the power and the fuck-you attitude. This was music with the potential to knock your head off. I always felt that with some minor alterations, it could be an almost perfect soundtrack for revolution. Though from a cultural and spiritual perspective it didn’t quite speak to me as fully as I would’ve liked, I still dug the concept and I saw the many  possibilities.”  Ricanstruction performs for audiences that mirror that liberating sense of possibility. At their shows, punks, squatters, and the homeless mingle with homeboys, gangbangers and street activists. Some come for the unchained melodies, but others come for the unbridled call to arms that is a vitally important part of Ricanstruction’s essence. These four  Nuyoricans rally against colonialism, the police state, and violence  against the youth, and shout out in solidarity with the Zapatistas and political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. “We don’t see ourselves as a political band, per se, but our music is our voice and sometimes we speak for folks who would otherwise not be heard,” declares Alano. “I believe music can be a catalyst for bringing people together as well as a tool in the fight against injustice. There’s no doubt that music should be fun and liberating, but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t reflect the world  around it. Music is one of the strongest weapons that we have in our arsenal. It shouldn’t be squandered.”