Los Crudos

Los Crudos is an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois, active from 1991 to 1998 and from 2006 onward. Made up of all Latino members, the band helped widen who was visible and heard in a punk world that was often treated as mostly white, and they also opened doors for later Spanish-speaking punk bands in the United States.

How the band got started

Los Crudos formed in the early 1990s around vocalist Martin Sorrondeguy and guitarist José Casas. They stayed the consistent core while the rhythm section changed over time. From the beginning, the band’s identity was tied to where they lived and played. Their first shows happened in Pilsen, the Chicago neighborhood where the members lived, and that community connection shaped the way they approached lyrics, shows, and day-to-day band life.

Sorrondeguy has said one of the main reasons they sang in Spanish was to communicate directly with kids in their neighborhood. Most of the lyrics were sung in Spanish, with “We’re That Spic Band” as the lone exception. That song was written in response to someone in an audience calling them a slur, and the band turned it into a blunt, confrontational answer that did not ask for permission.

What their songs were about

Los Crudos were explicitly political. Their lyrics addressed class, police brutality, homophobia, and California ballot propositions aimed at immigrants. Their live sets also carried an extra layer: between songs, Sorrondeguy often talked at length about what the songs meant. Part of that was practical, because not everyone in the room understood Spanish, but it also made the shows feel like more than a sprint through short tracks. Not everyone loved the speeches, but the band kept doing it anyway.

Musically, they played loud, fast hardcore built on simple foundations, often three chords or fewer. “We’re That Spic Band” and “Asesinos” have been singled out as among their best-known songs, with “Asesinos” described as addressing the disappearances of radical youth during military dictatorships in Latin America.

DIY, community work, and touring

DIY was not a talking point for Los Crudos, it was the whole operating system. They handled promoting and booking shows, recording, touring, and even silk-screening shirts. In Pilsen, they also worked closely with community agencies, including Project Vida, an AIDS prevention organization, and Project Hablo, a domestic violence support group. That mix of neighborhood involvement and relentless touring made the band both local and far-reaching at the same time.

They toured Mexico (in 1994), South America, Europe, and Japan, and they toured the United States many times. Their recordings came out through independent labels including Flat Earth Records, Ebullition Records, and Sorrondeguy’s own label, Lengua Armada Discos.

Breakup and the return

Los Crudos played their last shows in October 1998, back where it started, in Pilsen. After the breakup, Sorrondeguy became the vocalist for Limp Wrist and released the documentary Beyond The Screams: A U.S. Latino Hardcore Punk Documentary. He has also been in the bands Harto and Tragatelo. José Casas later played in the Chicago punk band I Attack. Drummer Ebro Virumbrales became the vocalist for Chicago band Punch in the Face.

The band returned for an unannounced reunion show in June 2006 at Southkore, a Latino punk festival in Chicago’s Little Village that drew more than 400 fans and also featured Tropiezo and La Armada. They played more reunion shows in 2008, including Chaos in Tejas in Austin and a show in Los Angeles. In 2016, Crudos played shows in the Midwest and prepared for a tour of the U.K. and several Scandinavian cities.

Members

• Martin Sorrondeguy – vocals (1991–1998, 2006, 2008–2009, 2013 to present)
• José Casas – guitar (1991–1998, 2006, 2008–2009, 2013 to present)
• Juan Jimenez – bass (1997–1998, 2006, 2008–2009, 2013 to present)
• Ebro Virumbrales – drums (1995–1998, 2006, 2008–2009, 2013 to present)
• Oscar Chávez – bass (1991–1993)
• Lenin – bass (1993–1996)
• Mando – bass (played bass on split with MK-Ultra)
• Joel Martinez – drums (1991–1995)
• Bryan – drums (filled in for 1994 tour)

Discography

• CD Discography – compiles everything except the split 7-inch with MK-Ultra

Singles

• 7-inch Nunca Nada Cambia… split with Huasipungo
• 7-inch split with Manumission
• 7-inch split with MK-Ultra
• 7-inch La Rabia Nubla Nuestros Ojos…
• 7-inch Las Injusticias Caen Como Pesadillas

Albums and longer releases

• 12-inch LP Canciones Para Liberar Nuestras Fronteras (Lengua Armada)
• 12-inch split with Spitboy (Ebullition Records)
• 12-inch LP discography 1991–1995 Los Primeros Gritos
• 12-inch LP Last Stand – limited edition bootleg of the last show (315 numbered copies)
• 12-inch split with Reversal of Man – accidental pressing sold to raise money, with proceeds donated to a rape crisis center