With tacos and indie tunes, music fans ended this year’s festival season at Tropicalia Fest in Pomona.
The two-day festival kicked off Saturday with a line-up of Latinx bands and artists and featured indie acts on Sunday.
Usually a one-day festival, this year’s two-day event is a new innovation that some festival-goers were very content with. “This way, people can just come on the day they want to see and they don’t have people sitting around and waiting,” said Cal State LA student Avery Troha, who attended on Sunday.
Day one consisted of bands, vendors and attendees who reflected the lively Latinx parts of culture.
People of all ages were in attendance and 30-plus bands who were playing on Saturday, being fed by dozens of taco vendors who served a variety of different options. “I liked that there was plenty of vegan food,” said attendee Jennifer Gomez.
Tropicalia revived the Golden Age of Rock en Español on Saturday with its lineup of bands that covered the various versions of the genre from rock, hip hop, indie psychedelic, and everything in between.
Even those who were not familiar with any of the music said they could enjoy themselves. “I didn’t know any of the bands and I still had fun,” said Elizabeth Sarmiento, who had accidentally purchased tickets for both days.
Sunday drew a slightly younger crowd. Headlined by Tropicalia regular Kali Uchis, Sunday’s line-up covered a variety of genres ranging from surf punk over R’n’B to indie pop, featuring several SoCal natives as well as artists from all over the world.
The energy was high and the crowds were packed, only broken up by the occasional moshpit.
Some of the shows featured stage visuals, others incorporated theatrical elements. The Shears brothers of the band The Garden were jumping up and down on the stage while one lesser known artist shattered his guitar.
No matter how well-known, all artists performed to a pit of enthusiastic fans singing and dancing along. Especially as the temperatures dropped to 58 degrees at night – because how better to stay warm than to just keep moving?
Joshua Mejia contributed to this article.
