PORTLAND, Ore. — When you hear the sound of Y La Bamba, the musical experience sneaks up on you like the first few drops of a rainstorm. There's a steady drumbeat accompanied by ethereal guitar riffs and then — that voice — that's when the sky opens up. That melodic downpour is the sound that Luz Elena Mendoza Ramos has been honing for their whole life. They feel those melodies in a deeply personal way.
"I think me playing music, it's like ... I love being connected with sound," said Mendoza Ramos, 42. "I feel like I'm close to the womb, to the earth when I'm singing."
Mendoza Ramoz grew up in southern Oregon, the child of Mexican immigrants. They moved to Portland as a 20-something and for the 14 years that followed, turned Y La Bamba into the musical, cultural, experiential thing it remains today. Mendoza Ramoz doesn't assign a genre to their sound, a reflection of other facets of their life.
"I carry the insecurity of not delivering traditional Mexican music," said Mendoza Ramos. "It's like I'm in the in-between. As a non-binary person, I feel that way — also, as a multi-bicultural person."
Mendoza Ramos felt a calling during the pandemic, an urge to explore their roots. So they moved to Mexico City where they found freedom to reimagine who they are.
"It's beautiful to have grown through all that history and being informed through my parents' lens," said Mendoza Ramos. "Not every Mexican family's the same, but I had to leave Portland because there was something calling me, very ancestral. It's spiritual, I don't go there to be like, 'Oh, I'm playing Y La Bamba!' I'm learning myself. I'm learning my environment. It's humbling."
No matter where they play, the music of Y La Bamba goes on, from a Rose City rehearsal space to the back of someone's mind — that melodic rainstorm, no umbrella needed.
KGW's Breaking Barriers series features Oregonians making a difference in the world of sports, arts, government, business and more. You'll see stories for Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15-October 15.