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Saturday, Dec 15, 2012 5:15 PM UTC

Chicano rock pioneers Los Lobos marking 40 years

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Topics: From the Wires,

Chicano rock pioneers Los Lobos marking 40 yearsFILE - This April 7, 2004 file photo shows members of the band Los Lobos, from left, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, David Hidalgo holding a guitar, and Steve Berlin posing for a photograph, in Los Angeles. They are the progenitors of Chicano rock ‘n’ roll, the first band that had the boldness, and some might say the naiveté, to fuse punk rock with Mexican folk tunes. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)(Credit: AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — They are seen as the progenitors of Chicano rock ‘n’ roll, the first band that had the boldness, and some might even say the naiveté, to fuse punk rock with Mexican folk tunes.

But when Los Lobos formed in the hallways of an East LA barrio high school, all they wanted to do was play rock ‘n’ roll.

Later, when the group’s members decided to pick up some obscure Mexican instruments, it was just to perform a few songs for their mothers.

When they put their electric guitars and twin reverb amps back in the mix, however, a new sound was born — one that endures into this, the band’s 40th anniversary year; one that also has been credited with opening doors for every crossover Latin fusion band that followed.

More By John Rogers.

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