La Mala Suerte is the brainchild of South East, Los Angeles native, Juan Pablo Gómez. His take on cumbia, salsa, and other Latin rhythms is rampant, addicting, unapologetic, and always original. It’s the party you shouldn’t be at, the dirty jokes best left untold, and the best time you’re not supposed to have.
La Mala Suerte invites his listeners to welcome, watch their step, and put their hands up, as they delve into projects like his 14 track album, “La Mala Suerte De Juan Pablo Gómez De Anda.”
Through this project, we get to experience various themes that build upon the resonance that makes up the music catalog of La Mala Suerte. Introducing us to the upbeat rhythms and enticing dance ambiance that takes over your speakers, the collection of songs that are presented to us on this album instills a deeper sense of genre-defying kernels in the Latin Pop realm.
Dynamic with the sultry and seductive ambiance that is introduced to us on “Sin Educación,” La Mala Suerte encourages his audience to unleash the movement of their bodies in a way that feels custom to them. Getting rid of the traditional route that is instilled into various cultures, the complexity that is laced into this track also reflects repetitive elements that allow this song to linger on your brain long after the song comes to an end.
Accentuated with booming percussion and horn-heavy big band enthusiasm, “Una Bala,” leaves a legacy that plays upon a lively environment that’s chalked full of golden baritone saxophone hues, courtesy of La Mala Suerte’s cousin Alex. The dynamics exposed in this piece pull us into a hypnotic state of movement.
“Bienvenidos a la Campana,” follows the musical suit of the rich, horn-infused ambiance presented to us while holding a special place to La Mala Suerte as it reflects on a scandal that took place in his hometown of Bell, California. Being a celebration for all those in Bell who organized, marched, made a positive difference in their own city by ousting crooked politicians and sending them to prison, we’re grateful for the reality that La Mala Suerte brings into his music.
“Hands Up,” “El Señor Curita,” “La Mala Suerte,” and “Tumba Sin Flores,” takes the intricately woven storytelling factored into this album to a newfound dimension as we get to indulge in the mind-altering rhythms that act as a bed for the narrative that comes from La Mala Suerte. As we delve into the chronicle unleashed, what’s reiterated leaves us entertained in a robbery gone wrong, a lady’s man traveling the world, a string of bad luck, and how loneliness can still find you if you live by the book. Allowing the mesmerizing essence of these tracks to coincide as individual pieces, all while showcasing the common denominator of intense narratives, the atmospheres that La Mala Suerte intends to bring to life on the dance floor, has us falling into the well-rounded talents he portrays.
“Botellita,” has us slowing down the tempo to embrace an eclectic essence of musical elements that are rich in the syncopated swing that glides through your sound system. With the unconventional organ keys infiltrating the instrumentation at impeccably placed musical breaks, we admire the altered approach that La Mala Suerte takes to this piece as he effortlessly performs with a laid-back finesse to his vocals.
“El Pan Dulce de Doña Juana,” resides in a mid-tempo universe that taps through the intriguing rhythm present. Executed by full-bodied harmonies that place an emphasis behind this play on words. What we admire the most about the collection of songs brought to us on “La Mala Suerte De Juan Pablo Gómez De Anda,” has to be the descriptive themes addressed. Tackling mass ground in the thoughts conveyed, La Mala Suerte has a knack for delivering intoxicating melodies that douse you in important messaging, as much as they submerge you in the accented grooves present.
Taking songs such as, “No (Te) Pares,” into account where the obsession of consumption is brought forth. Then “A Correr,” and “Patas Pa’rriba,” take on a political stance to the corrupt governments worldwide while embracing a unique approach to the buoyant swing it has us feeling. Creating a darker environment for us to feast upon, there’s still a plethora of vivacious energy that takes over the sound system.
Leaving us on a high note with the bonus track “Viernes,” the featured outro that incorporates live-off-the-floor performance aspects, truly ties the album together. Being an ode to the weekend after a long week working at a dead-end job, this is an anthem for all of the weekend warriors whose horrible bosses constantly take them for granted.
Featuring the sounds of Robert Campos, we appreciate the surge of energy that soars through us as we’ve finally found the perfect track to feed our soul when the weekend is near. Do yourselves a favor and tune into the seemingly danceable environment of “La Mal Suerte De Juan Pablo Gómez De Anda,” on your favorite streaming platform today.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, La Mala Suerte, and congratulations on the profound release of your album, “La Mal Suerte De Juan Pablo Gómez De Anda.” You carry such a unique array of themes into this project. Could you please share the overall concept behind this body of work?
Thank you for having me! This may be better summed up as a collection of short stories. I like creating characters and stories in my music; I just feel like it makes the songs a bit more relatable to others. If I had to choose an overall theme for the album, I’d say it’s the effects of struggle in life. Some people have a “got lemons, make lemonade” mentality, while others may not have that same ability to see the bright side of things. Some may struggle being stuck in a shitty job, some may have a severe drug problem, some struggle with money, others with social injustice; the list is almost infinite. Everyone has their struggle; what is imperative is how one handles it. Your struggle can make you stronger and wiser, or it can literally kill you. I feel that it is important to know that sometimes it’s not enough to throw out catchy clichés. Sometimes thoughts and prayers simply don’t suffice. These are the stories you really don’t hear about as much as the happy-ending type stories, but they need their platform too.
Out of the 14 songs that we eagerly get to take in, do you happen to have a favorite piece that speaks to you the most? What’s your reasoning behind this?
I have to pick 2 tracks for different reasons: My favorite song on this album is "El Pan Dulce de Doña Juana." It's all rhythm, it's fun, there's wordplay and double entendres, all of which remind me of the old-school cumbias I used to hear growing up that would be played at parties or through my parents' radio. The song that speaks to me the most, however, is "Bienvenidos a La Campana". This song is an homage to those from my hometown of the city of Bell, CA. Much like the rest of Southeast Los Angeles (SELA), Bell is a relatively small city, but full of life, culture, and strong, hard-working people. I've long felt that SELA has been a somewhat forgotten/ignored community, that only recently has begun to come into the spotlight. There was a time when Bell had a corrupt city government, paying their politician's triple-digit salaries for mostly part-time work. When the community found out, the streets exploded in outrage, took to the streets, and aided in not only the outing of these politicians but also in their incarceration. It was an ugly scandal that made national headlines, but it was also a proud moment for the city as they took the power back into their own hands, yelling "Ya Basta!" ("No More!") down our streets.
“Botellita,” has a seemingly slower tempo than the rest of the tracks that you introduce us to on this project. Did you find the creative process for this particular song any different than the process you embarked on for the rest of the musical creations?
This song is probably the oldest of the album and actually goes back to one of the first bands I was in called Buen Estar. It was just trying to flip the genre on its head. Cumbia is traditionally upbeat and easily danceable. So we made it slow and almost haunting. With this song, there was always a sense of “how else can I weird this song out?” So I added melting pianos, recorded som Udu drums, got a bit tipsy while recording my verse in hopes of getting a little slur in my pronunciation; it was all trying to push the envelope on what cumbia should be, without making it unrecognizable. The original recording files were almost all lost, so I took what was left, and rebuilt the song, and it came out amazing! I'm really pleased with that one, especially because it stands out so much. How long did it take you to piece together this album? Were there any moments along the way that you’ve found to be extremely memorable for the process?
All in all, this album lapses a total of 13 years. There are songs like "Botellita" and "Tumba Sin Flores" that I made over a decade ago; then there are other tracks like "Hands Up" and "Patas Pa'rriba" that were finished about a month before the album was released. I'm constantly creating music, and every time I finish a song, it just stays saved on a hard drive. I've played a couple of these songs in a band or two, but never the way I originally created them. So instead of just sitting on these songs, I decided to move forward and make an actual album, artwork, and all and put it out there for everyone to hear. I think the most memorable part was when I submitted everything to have CDs printed, not so much for that process itself, but because it was at that moment that I really was finished with the album, and it sunk in. It was kind of a bittersweet moment because, on one hand, I was super excited to get this out to the public. On the other hand, these songs and the album artwork had been living works of art and part of me for so long, and then I finally let them go to stand on their own, sending them out to share with people other than myself and my immediate family. It's like watching your kids graduate and sending them off into the world: you're proud, but you're going to miss the creative process and be nervous about what the feedback will be.
What message do you aim to send out with the music that you create?
Overall I think La Mala Suerte is about setting a platform for the under-recognized, the under-appreciated, the unprivileged, and those who struggle and need a way out. Yes: I want you to dance however the hell you feel like dancing to these songs. Yes: I want you to sing the lyrics and I don’t care if you’re pitch perfect or completely off-key. I want you to enjoy this music and feel where these characters and stories are coming from. It’s music you can dance to while hopefully being able to relate to your daily lives. You can dance with your struggles, sing with an authentic message, and have fun with a purpose. It’s a genre of music that is traditionally shiny and polished, and dragging it down Florence Ave., down Slauson Ave., down the railroad tracks of Randolph St. to give it the flavor of our streets, of the lives we walk, and the struggles we’ve conquered. Go ahead and dance, go ahead and sing and shout and laugh and cry, and all at the same time: La Mala Suerte is here for all of it, and we’d like you to join in on our version of fun.