Making Movies at Mercury Lounge

When Enrique Chi was six years old, his family immigrated from its native Santiago, Panama, to Lee's Summit, Missouri, 20 minutes southeast of Kansas City. Throughout their childhood, Enrique and his brother Diego Chi navigated the not-always parallel words of Latin American culture at home and North American culture at school and in the wider community. The brothers merged these sometimes polarizing worlds in 2009 when they created Making Movies, a band whose music is rooted in rock, cumbia, psychedelia, Americana, son cubano, and spoken word. Making Movies presently consists of vocalist/guitarist Enrique Chi, keyboardist/percussionist Juan Carlos Chaurand, bassist Diego Chi, and drummer Duncan Burnett. The band is based out of Kansas City, Missouri. The band released its third album, Ameri'kana , on May 24, 2019.

At a time when American politicians continue speaking about building a wall, Making Movies is tearing down walls. At Mercury Lounge tonight, the Latin pop quartet defied the boundaries surrounding several musical genres. These were legal crossings, if somewhat improbable. The band's performance was captivating as intricate arrangements smoothly folded light pop melodies with afro-Latinx rhythms, and Latin American folk traditions segued into psychedelic rock instrumentation. The result was music that sounded rooted in ageless mysticism and festive energy. Most significantly, Spanish and English lyrics originated from the immigrant experience. There has never been a better time for these voices and the dynamic of this musical mix to be heard.