SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Goth subculture originated in Britain more than 40 years ago, and it is undergoing something of a resurgence. NPR's Vanessa Romo takes us to Los Angeles, where a regular party blends goth with a much more traditional genre.
VANESSA ROMO, BYLINE: The scene outside of The Regent in downtown LA on a recent Saturday night is wild. The venue, which holds a thousand people, is sold out, and the gaggle of goths waiting to get inside is getting antsy, swaying to the Joy Division bleeding through the doors.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
ROMO: Tina Estrella, who's known in these circles as Hauntina, made a 50-mile trek to be here.
TINA ESTRELLA: I commute an hour over here. But yes (laughter).
ROMO: Where do you live?
ESTRELLA: So I'm, like, an hour east. Yeah (laughter).
ROMO: It's Gothicumbia night - a mostly monthly dance party combining goth and cumbia music. Cumbia is a genre of Latin American dance music that first became popular in the '60s. It combines guitars, synthesizers and African-based percussion, and it's most recognizable for its ch-ch-ch ch-ch-ch (ph) kind of rhythm. The night is a chance for LA's Latino goths - or darks - to turn out in their best outfits and sweat the night away.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Shouting) Welcome to Gothicumbia.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
ROMO: Gothicumbia is the witchy brainchild of a Latino American creative collective called LosGothsCo. Its founders keep their identities anonymous. They say they want to maintain a sense of mystery.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
ROMO: In a statement, they said their goal is to celebrate their dual identities with, quote, "those who find joy in the blend of tradition and darkness." The mashup is clearly resonating with Latino partygoers. Hundreds of first-generation kids who grew up listening to Bauhaus in their bedrooms and Los Angeles Azules at family birthday parties are all flocking to the dance night.
ESTRELLA: You get that nostalgia of, like, this is the music I grew up on, you know? So it's really fun to have, like, that good balance of, like, the dark wave subculture, but you're also listening to, like, the songs that you would listen to in your dad's car (laughter).
ROMO: It's like the commitment of goth, but with a sense of humor. Goth pero vaquero, or cowboy - that's Rey Garcia's inspiration. He's become internet famous as Goth Tio. It takes him three hours to do his makeup, but his outfits...
REY GARCIA: I went inside my father's closet and got the leather jacket, got the boots, but the pants and the belts, and try to make it look Western goth - add my own flavor into the already established vaquero look.
ROMO: Out on the dance floor, the LosGoths crew have decorated the stark space with black balloons. The team throws out multicolored light sticks for people to wave around, which they do gleefully. Up on stage, there are two 12-foot tall skeletons - the kind you get at Home Depot around Halloween. There's even a guy on stilts dressed as a robot who cumbias his way through the crowds.
ALEXIA RODITIS: I don't know. I've never seen it before. If it has been somewhere, I just haven't been there.
ROMO: That's Alexia Roditis. They've been trying to make it to Gothicumbia for months. As a musician, Roditis loves the collision of their two favorite genres. It may seem counterintuitive to others, but if you know, you know, they say. Because in a lot of goth music, and even goth-adjacent stuff like The Smiths, there's a lot of crossover, according to Roditis.
RODITIS: Because there's a two-step element to it. And, like, the two-step is like a cumbia step. You know what I mean? 'Cause they just - oh, they meld together in, like, such a beautiful way.
ROMO: It's definitely a vibe, and one that's gaining momentum. Next month, they'll be in Texas, so get your dark tejanas ready.
Vanessa Romo, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GRUPO SONADOR SONG, "EL GIGANTE DE HIERRO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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