Peligrosa All-Stars: The Renegades of Latin Funk

Trey Lopez, Orion Garcia, and Patrick Murray, better known as the Peligrosa All-Stars, have been heating things up on dance floors throughout Austin over the years with their mix of cumbia, merengue, salsa, reggaeton, and Latin funk sounds.

Fresh off the blue stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest and having played along side Monte Negro, Ozomatli, and John Speice, percussionist for Latin funk band Ocote Soul Sounds and cumbia rock outfit Kanko, it has been a busy year for Peligrosa. They ended 2009 with a bang, the DJs are threw a huge fiesta at the Parish to celebrate their two-year anniversary.

I recently met with the boys at Rio Rita on East 6th Street to talk about the past, present, and future of Peligrosa. They were all sitting outside, each one of them on a Macbook, when I arrived. Orion Garcia, with the thick eyebrows and ever-changing facial hair, is the man with the plan. Orión, who has lived in Panama and Germany, had the Peligrosa vision and continues to set new goals for the group.

In addition to starting Peligrosa, Orión is also the founder of Raw Word Records. Sitting by his side was girlfriend Erin Jantzen, whose lovely voice was part of the original lineup of the house, R&B, electro-pop
dance group L.A.X, which has now grown to six members and played this past year at the Austin City Limits music festival.

Formerly DJ Derelict, Peligrosa co-founder Patrick Murray got tired of the Zoolander references to the Derelict clothing line featured in the film and changed his name to Hobo D. The token white boy of the group, he moved to Austin from Dallas seven years ago and is currently a student at Texas State University.

Dressed smart in a pinstripe blazer and sporting his recently cut ‘do, Monolo Black is the eldest of the group. Originally from Robstown, Texas, Monolo had been DJing in Austin for ten years under his real name, Trey Lopez, before joining Peligrosa and going by his new moniker.

Although they joke that the met in church camp after praying for each other, it appears that this fun-loving DJ group is a match made in music heaven. Collectively, Peligrosa owns over 4,000 record albums and is the “premiere Latin dance party”.

While each DJ has a foundation in cumbia, individually, these guys have their own music preferences. Monolo leans towards Brazilian, Orión plays the salsa and merengue, and Hobo D brings on the funk, Caribbean, percussion, and Columbiana.

I asked the boys if they had any guilty pleasures, but Monolo was quick to say “it’s all good”. If he likes a beat, he likes a beat; simple as that. He doesn’t feel guilty when he listens to music, whether it’s
Jay-Z or Rhianna.

While Orión does not plan on growing Peligrosa from more than the current trio, you can often find the group including Corpus Christi/San Antonio counterparts Dusty Oliveira (DJ Dus) and Jaime Mayo (Pagame) in the lineup.

Currently, DJ Orión has weekly gigs Wednesdays at Malverde and Fridays at the Creekside Lounge. The entire Peligrosa crew plays the Scoot Inn the second Saturday of the month and the Parish the third Saturday of the month. These talented DJ’s have headlined for Prince at his Las Vegas club’s weekly Latin night in 2008, with Austin local band Brownout. When asked what the future holds for Peligrosa, Orión said that they are working on production right now for Peligrosa’s first EP, expected to be released in February 2010.

Peligrosa has been asked to play SXSW in March and then Orión will be going to New York City to start spreading the Peligrosa vibe. The group is also considering a mini-tour of five or six cities to promote their highly anticipated first release and they welcome new collaborations with other creative groups. The future is looking bright for this tag-team trio.

By Vicky Garza, [email protected].