Let the city speak

Akira Boch

How did the idea for this project come about?
When I first interviewed Quetzal Flores, the leader of the band QUETZAL, in 1994, I had no idea that it would begin a journey that would last for over 30 years. I documented him and his band over the course of time because I loved their music and message, and I felt they were an important band emerging from the East Los Angeles music scene. I had no clear intention of making a feature-length documentary about them. It wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that we realized we had amassed a huge archive of material and decided it was time to put together a film. The result is Let the City Speak.

What did you discover (or unlearn) while doing it?
As I analyzed the trajectory of the band, I realized that they were much more than just a band. They have qualities and principles that set them apart from the majority of their musical peers. They are deeply committed to their community and, more broadly, to humanity. They are actively engaged with various grassroots political organizations and use music in a variety of ways to uplift their community.

What images, sounds or emotions guided the construction of the piece?
The evolution of their music, most easily identifiable through the musical genres that they play, illustrates the ways in which their musical and personal identities have changed over time. These changing sounds, the sonic journey of Quetzal, helped guide the construction of their story for this documentary.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
Martha Gonzalez, the singer and co-leader of QUETZAL, is also a professor. She published a book called Chican@ Artivistas that lays out the story of the band and the deep influence that the Zapatista uprising had on the band and its career. For me, this book helped highlight some of the band’s most important moments and turning points in their career.

As I was editing Let the City Speak, I became deeply inspired by the work of Agnes Varda, in particular her film The Gleaners and I. It’s a very unconventional narrative, and just as the subjects of her film make use of the “trash” that most other people discard, she does the same with her own material. Shots that most editors would leave on the cutting room floor are used in her film creatively and impactfully. I also had a lot of footage that could’ve been seen as “trash,” but instead I figured out ways to use it.

What was the biggest challenge during creation (filming, editing, production, or idea)?
The biggest challenge in creating this film was definitely the editing stage. I had a ton of archival footage to work with, which can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because there’s much to choose from, but a curse because it can absorb a lot of time to wade through all of it. The story of the band is also not the typical music biography because they had no major scandals, nobody died from a drug overdose, etc. In keeping with the artistic approach of the band, I also wanted the film to be somewhat unconventional and non-standard, so figuring out how to do that while also creating a compelling storyline was challenging.

Recommend us an artist you follow who inspires you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
Agnes Varda is a filmmaker whose work deeply inspires me. In particular, The Gleaners and I showed me how unconventional narratives can be constructed from material that might otherwise be discarded. I was inspired by the way she transformed footage that could have been considered “trash” into something creative and impactful. Agnes Varda is a film goddess. May she rest in peace!