The Caribbean meets the River

The Caribbean meets the river By Robert Fewer Downtown Forestville’s two blocks of storefronts is the last pit stop before you plunge into the sparsely occupied woods that separate Forestville from Guernevffle. One of the first things you see upon entering this small village is the mural that decorates one side of the Forestville Club. On an evening there, not long ago, the moon a distant crescent, nine musicians filled the stage: two percussionists, a bass player, a keyboardist, three horn players and two singers. The band is called Batacha, a word they coined themselves from “bata,” which is a type of drum, and the ballroom dance, the cha-cha. Their focus is on Afro-Cuban sounds, a mixture of the popular music of the Spanish people who conquered the little island and African slaves who brought their drumming traditions. "Sometimes you've got to take chances, throw yourself out there." Batacha, consisting of musicians from Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as several gringos, began five years ago with an impromptu performance at Mexico Lindo restaurant in Graton. The band, which at that time had only four members, dropped in unannounced, with their instruments. “Sometimes you’ve got to take chances, throw yourself out there,” says Joel Bennett, the keyboardist. They were friends with the restaurant’s owner, Mario Ramos, who later became one of the musicians in the group. It was only their second gig, but the customers loved them, beginning a regular show every Friday night. Ramos came from Puerto Vallarta fifteen years ago to teach Spanish at a school in Graton, and decided to stay. He opened Mexico Lindo, a family operation, nine years ago in that single¬ block town, where upscale restaurants, antique stores, an art gallery and a wine tasting shop jostled for position among boarded up shacks, remnants of forgotten businesses of the past. Word got out about the band and people came from all over the Bay Area. Other musicians got involved in the jam and gradually joined the group, bringing it to its current baseball team size. They began to hire out for parties, often at restaurants and wineries, and performed at celebrations such as Cinco de Mayo. After two years at Mexico Lindo, a small space for such a large group, the shows trailed off, though they still occur for parties, special events and occasional forays to places such as the Forestville Club. Members of Batacha refer to their music as a mixture of salsa, bolero, cha-cha and Latin jazz. The music of Latin America has long been an influence on the popular music of the U.S. The cha-cha, played most notably by Perez Prado, broke here in the 1950s, along with the Afro- Cuban jazz of Dizzy Gillespie. Carlos Santana brought his hot melodies and rhythms to the forefront in the 1960s, and since then the sounds of Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez have become mainstream. Latin music sales rose 12 percent this past year, the only pop category to do so. No one ever got rich playing this style in Sonoma County though, so the Batacha musicians have kept their day jobs. Several are artists — a painter, a ceramist, and a woodworker. Some work with other bands. One is a bus driver, making an early morning run to the city for Golden Gate Transit. One works in the computer world. Another drives a street sweeper for the city of San Francisco. Possibly the high point of their years together was a performance at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, “a great club with a wonderful sound system,” says Joel Bennett. An anniversary show at Mexico Lindo in January is now being discussed. Watch the music listings for further information. ■