The following is the transcript of an interview between Sergio Muñoz and Moisés Baqueiro
Sergio: How do you identify?
Moises Baqueiro: I was born in Polanco but I did not grow up there. I was raised in Colonia Militar Marte in Mexico City. I identify as a human in search of the truth through happiness. I think self-labeling causes a lot of dilemmas and problems.
Sergio: Tell me about the home where you were raised when you were 16YO….
Moises Baqueiro: Roomy. Comfortable. At times, cold. Full of memories, strong enough to survive the 1985 earthquake. Nice garden, garage, very ample kitchen, two refrigerators, a srvice room with two laundry rooms. The house was built in an L shape and that contributed greatly to my musical career later in my life. 4 bedrooms, two story home. I live there with my my brother, my mother, my aunt, her partner and me. We had a bar and a three car garage.
Sergio: Where did you find yourself socio-economically at the time?
Moises Baqueiro: Upper middle class but I didn’t have that knowledge at the time. You don’t learn about your socio-economic class until you don’t have it any more. But we traveled about three times per year, all over Mexico and Europe and the United States. I got my first passport at the age of five. My mother was very conscious about being open to all experiences. She passed that to me and I raised my daughter the same. When we used to travel, my mom’s focus was to help us absorb and perceive everything. My mother is my greatest influence. She cultivated culture from all angles. She would stage these parrandas and we would start to Mercado Dos de Abril. Everybody would be laid out like bodies in a war zone, it would smell terrible, and we would have barbacoa. Then we would go to Bellas Artes and watch whatever was there. I was exposed to everything. Then, teatro de seguro social for free community theater. Then at night, we would go to B-movies and then we would go to a nice fancy dinner at Sanborns. Later, after I had a child and I noticed I would do the same thing and it clicked in my head that I was following my mom’s lead. She wanted us to really understand Mexico. I remember going to see the magic of Paricutín. She wanted to know what was ours.
Sergio: What was expected of you at age 16?
Moises Baqueiro: To be a genius. She wanted to raise a genius. She failed but that is what she wanted to accomplish. She fed me to be a genius and all she got was a well-rounded human.
Sergio: Did you go on to college?
Moises Baqueiro: After the earthquake, we had to flee Mexico City and we moved to Puebla and that was a horrendous experience. Imagine going to the most Catholic universe of all time, it was very difficult. It was very discriminating and I became a different person. My most malicious inner chilango came out during this time. I studied communication science because of my love for the radio.
Sergio: When does music enter your life?
Moises Baqueiro: I owned a bar in Puebla at the age of 21. I had a musician that I hired that helped me get close to music. We became really good friends. He would show me music at four in the morning. I got really into it. I became a huge fan of music. A melómano. The bass became my core instrument but eventually I became a bandleader and in my current band, El Conjunto Nueva Ola, I am also the frontman and singer.
Sergio: What is your immigration story?
Moises Baqueiro: After the bar, after a huge illness with hepatitus, I bought a one-way ticket to Tijuana. I had an undefined visa and at the time, accessing the United States was easy. I ended up in Orange County. It was very sad. I knew I wanted to play music so I ended up buying my first bass in 1993 during this time.
Sergio: How many bands are you in present-day?
Moises Baqueiro: El Conjunto Nueva Ola, El Mariachi Manchester, Las Cafeteras, Los Guau, Los Meows. I think I have ADHD. I was undocumented for over 30 years so I had to generate my own opportunities. I am working on writing something meaningful. El Conjunto Nueva Ola is the hystrionics of theater. Something happens when you put on the mask. The audience loses their mind when they see men in masks. I remember my mom used to take me to Lucha Libre. There would be all these housewives with their aprons and they would yell obscenities at the wrestlers. This band started as a joke. 47 people came to the first gig. It became my goal to get more than 50. I decided to make it the worst possible music in the worst possible way but as long as we were from Mexico City, it was going to lift our value. In the pandemic, my bandmates stole my band and they started performing without me. Using the stage names that I gave them. They logged me out of social media. They became La Nueva Ola de Cumbia with the same concept, same parodies. It created confusion and this is just my version of the story. Right now, we play in a loose spirit and when gigs come up, we find ways to perform.
Sergio: Tell me about the home where you live present-day…
Moises Baqueiro: Two story green home in Eagle Rock. Much bigger than my childhood home. Six bedrooms with a guest house, back yard, front yard. I live in the basement. I live there with a woman named María, my partner and my infant child.
Sergio: Who is doing better, Moisés today or Moisés at 16?
Moises Baqueiro: Moisés today, for sure. Music became my modus vivendi. I strive for contentment. It’s about the moments and not the material things. I want to leave things that are not palpable. I love the importance of things that are not palpable. I don’t believe in artifacts that have no use. When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I wake up, have coffee and then I am free for the rest of the day. Sometimes, I fly somewhere in-between to play a gig.
Sergio: How do you understand the concept of prosperity?
Moises Baqueiro: I learn to live with the things I need and not the things I want. I don’t think a $10 cup of coffee is going to make me feel better. Even in times of celebration, I question it. We go through inner conflicts as humans among humans, I know that we are conditioned to believe that we need more but I question it. I drive a bad vehicle and I am not ashamed. I make the car work for me and not me working for the car. I do believe in generational wealth but ….
My capitalist dream was interrupted by this thing called music. But, I have spent more than twenty years living this thing called music. I wake up in the morning and I know that all I need to do is make music. That is a wonderful accomplishment and not very many people are as fortunate as I am.
#Intelatin #Media #Music #MoisesBaqueiro #Cumbia #ElConjuntoNuevaOla
Sergio C. Muñoz is a Mexican banker writing on Latina/o Prosperity. His work has been featured in the US Hispanic Business Council; Caló, the Los Angeles Times, the OC Register, PBS, NPR, WNYC, Revista - Harvard Review of Latin America, Studio 360, Latino Leaders Magazine, Poder Hispanic, Sopitas, Animal Político & ¿México Cómo Vamos?
To support my work, please consider purchasing a sample of salt from our sponsor, Santa Prisca & Co: https://bit.ly/Intelatin
Explore More Stories From America’s Small Business Community: Made in America