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Worldly Todo Mundo links humanity through music

Todo Mundo will play at 5 p.m. Friday at Buckley Park, 12th Street and Main Avenue, as part of the KSUT/Music in the Mountains Party in the Park.

Santiago Orozco had an organic vision for what became Todo Mundo.

When he arrived in San Diego from his native Columbia, he had ambitions of building a music career, but he had no desire to cold-call venues. He wanted to play. So that’s what he did, with the street as his stage.

That was the early start of Todo Mundo, the band that in 2014 was voted “Best World Music” in San Diego. They’ll return to Durango on Friday night to play the Party in the Park, a collaborative event between Music in the Mountains and KSUT radio in Buckley Park.

“I didn’t want to spend time going to the bars, with people asking, ‘Who are you? Do you have a CD?’ So I started to play right away on the streets, in the farmers market, mainly,” Orozco said in a recent phone interview. “People asked to play with me, and I said ‘yes.’ The band started that way. The people have changed, but that was the beginning, in the streets – nothing arranged, it was just like, ‘Let’s do this,’ because there was no time to lose.”

In addition to vocalist and guitarist Orozco, they are Stephan Gentillalli on bass, Matt Bozzone on drums, Melissa Barrison on violin, Pablo Cantua on guitar, Bradley Nash on saxophone, Willie Fleming on trombone and Ross Plunkett on trumpet.

It’s dance music, a fusion of heavy Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms leaning into rock, reggae and ska, with an ideology that is more than write, record, tour, repeat. Simplicity found within music is glorious, whether it’s a ’50s crooner moaning about lost love or songs about a Camaro. On a grander scale, music should also be an education. Let it be a vehicle to cure narrow-mindedness, a way to crawl out of your comfort zone and gain some understanding about the people around you.

Todo Mundo was recognized by the city of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission in 2014 because of their drive to promote diversity and share their beliefs within their music. It was a special commendation from the city, a thank-you for attempting to break down walls between cultures via music.

“It’s important to stand for the message we spread, that we are one. In every show, I like to speak about it, and people need to hear it,” Orozco said. “That, for me, is the most important thing – recognition. We have fun playing music. Music is the instrument, the vehicle and the connection with people. So many people are drawn to you for the music. But I live for what we stand for, that’s my life, to spread the idea that we’re from different places, but we’re all the same in the end. We have the same needs as human beings. It’s important.”

Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.

Bryant’s best

Friday: KSUT/Music in the Mountains Party in the Park with Todo Mundo, 5 p.m. $20 advance/$25 door. Buckley Park, 12th Street and Main Avenue, 385-6820.

Friday: Rock, folk and soul with Copper and Congress and Hello Dollface, 7 p.m. No cover. Moe’s, 937 Main Ave., 259-9018.



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