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"an eclectic blend of rumbero percussions, delicate organs and grungy fuzz rock"

- Rolling Stone

"Perhaps one of the most unique groups around today, Making Movies is sensual,

smoky, and seductive. Distorted guitars are buried under their

Latin groove, colliding beautifully and urgently"

- NPR

New York, NY (April 13, 2022) - Today, Afro-Latino rock group Making Movies shares their latest single “Sala De Los Pecadores.” The track is accompanied by an immersive video, directed by William J Stribling - watch/share via YouTube. “Sala De Los Pecadores” comes from their forthcoming album XOPA due June 17 via Cosmica Artists.

“Sala De Los Pecadores” is the second single from XOPA following the classic love song, “Calor.” Via a rollercoaster cumbia-rock, “Sala De Los Pecadores” is a caricature of rock ‘n’ roll rooted in the trope of glamorized excess — something a much younger, long-gone version of Making Movies may have once believed in. “Calor” is going to be featured in the band's PBS music documentary AMERI'KANA, to be aired this spring in various markets.

When describing the inspiration behind “Sala De Los Pecadores,” vocalist and guitarist Enrique Chi shared, “not feeling at peace with yourself manifests itself in so many destructive ways. It’s a toxic sweat and if you haven’t slowed down to truly look at yourself, your nervous sweats will leave sores.”

"It's a psychedelic, Latin, freakout," says XOPA album mixer Tchad Blake.

(Photo credit: Felipe Rubilar)

Produced by Ben Yonas and mixed by Blake, XOPA features performances by Marc Ribot, Rubén Blades, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Jeremy Kittel, Martha Gonzales, Asdru Sierra, Dolores Huerta, and Alaina Moore of Tennis.

XOPA is an evolution of the band’s long-standing intentions. This record transcends sonic heydays, connects long-ago and geographically distant cultural histories, and, in the process, delivers a sound that is undeniably future-forward. XOPA does more than challenge stale musical mores; it eschews them all together to make room for a broader vision of what music can be.

XOPA builds on the declarations of ameri'kana, its critically acclaimed predecessor. The latter, however, more explicitly tells, while the former instructs more subtly by showing instead. You can hear in the work the ways music connects cultures and crosses borders. And this LP, unlike those before it, is sung completely in Spanish.

Cyclical as is life, so is XOPA. The album embraces the in-between lows as much as one cherishes the highs that are critical to self-acceptance, to a degree of openness that makes living worthwhile. Making Movies offers a route to this enlightened place. Start by feeling the connections — the history and the future — in the music of XOPA.

This engagement is supported in part by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding

In a world where empathy can be in short supply, the brothers behind Kansas City Latinx rock band Making Movies see music and songwriting as a way young people growing up in a divided country can level the playing field.

The key is exposing them to mentors who can illustrate what’s possible, said Enrique Chi, emphasizing opportunities for youth won’t wait for the end of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which stalled the Latin Grammy-nominated band’s most recent tour.

Produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), The Album Features Collaborations With Rubén Blades, Flor De Toloache, David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Asdru Sierra (Ozomatli), Frankie Negrón & Las Cafeteras

"Making Movies are known for their socially conscious songwriting and community work, which they double down in forthcoming album ameri’kana" - Remezcla

"an epic music collaboration" - Grammy.com
"a strident independent ethos and Afro-Caribbean fueled mix of rock and reason" - NPR

ameri'kana, the highly anticipated album from Making Movies and Rubén Blades, is out today. It's an album that is as striking musically as it is narratively. It's the power of collaboration across generations/languages/borders- it's a call to action. 

The album is a collaboration with none other than Rubén Blades. The collaboration began at the 2017 Latin Grammys, when Blades said he wanted to work with Making Movies, setting into motion their first collaboration, No Te Calles, a calling to all artists and the general public to speak out against corruption. Inspired by the poetry of Blades on “No Te Calles” Making Movies entered the studio and dreamed up ameri'kana, an "oldies" station from the future, where the injustices sung about are long gone. The album features artists that align with speaking out against divisions, corruption, and injustices, with the hope that in the future those ills will be a memory. Steve Berlin of Los Lobos signed on to produce the album, his third time working with the group, along with co-producer Ben Yonas and together helmed the sessions that brought the featured cast of ameri'kana: Flor De Toloache, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Asdru Sierrra of Ozomatli, Frankie Negrón, and Las Cafeteras. Blades offered himself as a guide and resource to the band during the process, and appears on three tracks of the record, including one co-penned by Lou Reed.