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March 8, 2021 19 mins

Nick - lead of the band Buenos Diaz - has been playing rock 'n roll all his life, but that hasn’t stopped people from typecasting him and his music to fit their own assumptions.

Check out the latest from Buenos Diaz at www.buenosdiazmusic.com 

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Nick (00:10):
I'm American, as much as I my parents were born or
grandparents or greatgrandparents were born in
Mexico. I mean, I was born inAmerica, as an inner city kid in
Houston, Texas. I'm American,whatever you want to call that.
But America is a melting pot.
It's a lot of things. It's blackkids, it's white kids, it's
Mexican kids, it's Japanesekids. It's American.

DB Crema (00:35):
This is United States of Race, personal stories of how
our earliest memories determinea lifetime of relationships.
Each episode features one guestsharing their experiences with
race. Keeping these episodesanonymous lets our guests share
the real uninhibited stories oftheir life. And it gives us the

(00:56):
chance to listen withoutprejudice. I'm your host, DB
Crema. Today, we're joined byNick who's been playing rock 'n
roll all his life. But thathasn't stopped people from
typecasting him and his musicbased on their own assumptions.

(01:19):
So tell me about your experiencewith race.

Nick (01:21):
I don't think I've ever experienced racism, or cultural
profiling via my skin color. I'mlight skinned, my family's
pretty light skinned for beingMexican and definitely for being
Tex Mex. Like most Tex Mex aredarker in skin complexion. So
we've always gotten the get outof jail free pass, that people

(01:44):
really don't judge us or aren'tas quick to judge just because
they see us. Maybe if they hearour last name, then they might
have thoughts ready, as whatevergoes through the head of someone
that racially profiles people.
And I think I've run into that,even with my work as an artist
and having a Latino name. Imean, I have had people come up
to me and be like, "Oh, wethought it was gonna be Latin

(02:04):
music". Just because the name ofthe group is Buenos Diaz, which
is my last name. This oneinstance really comes to mind, I
was playing this really niceclub, and it's like a listening
dinner club. So you sit and youdrink and eat while the show's
going on. And after I playedthere, specifically, this lady
came up to me and she hadwritten a note. I don't really

(02:24):
remember exactly what it saidanymore, but she'd written a
note. And was just like, you'reholding yourself back by having
a Latino name as your band namebecause your music isn't
obviously, Latin anything, youknow? And I was like, why would
you think that? To me, that'sjust like, you're just judging a
book by its cover. Withouthaving any knowledge, without

(02:46):
researching anything, because ifyou did one ounce of research
and just listened to a songonline, it's all rock and roll.
There's not one lyric in Spanishor anything. But in her eyes,
I'm not succeeding, maybe whereshe thinks I could get. But the
reality is like I don't...I'mdoing fine without those gigs or

(03:06):
the extra things that might comebecause I just anglicized my
name, for your comfort level.

DB Crema (03:14):
You're holding your music career back by using your
own name.

Nick (03:20):
Right? Right. It's my own name, right? It's a play on the
name, but it's my name.\

DB Crema (03:23):
Which is then telling you that by using
your own name, which happens tobe Latino, there is only one
genre of music that you shouldbe playing and and can be
categorized within. Mmm hmm.

Nick (03:41):
Okay, so then here's the flip side, I
don't have any place in theworld of Latin music. Like, none
of my lyrics are in Spanish.
There's no Latin rhythms in mymusic. So the funny thing is
that it's like these people thatthink my name embodies this
certain style of music, it'slike but then you put my band in
the categories of Latin musicwhere, which this is what this

(04:02):
audience member was thinking.
It's like, I'm not gonna get anyLatin Grammy Awards. I'm not
gonna have like Latin producerscoming to want to produce my
music. I've hung out with peoplein that world and they love what
I do. And I think they thinkit's super cool because there
aren't a lot of Latin rock androllers either in America. I
mean, really, there are threethat I can often top of my head
think of. Me, Santana, and LoLobos. Aside from that, it's li

(04:25):
e, there really isn't. And acually, those bands though, in
orporate Latin rhythms in thir music still, and I don't. So
it's like, I mean, I play rok and roll, man, like, who ca
es what the name is? You know.

DB Crema (04:37):
Your band name is rather witty.

Nick (04:40):
It's really witty, isn't it?
I love that name. One of my bestfriends in New York when I lived
in Brooklyn, he coined that atsome point. The light bulb went
off and I said, that isbrilliant. I'm taking that and
he said, you should.

DB Crema (04:51):
Yeah, you know.
Absolutely. But also, so ifyou're Polish and you choose to
incorporate some aspect of yourPolishname into your American
band, should you only be playingthe polka? Like, what does that
mean? What is that even?

Nick (05:06):
What is that even, your right. I mean, it exists because
that's how people sell things,which really goes to the essence
of America, which is justcapitalism and you know, trying
to move product. And so that'sprobably where the confusion
comes in. It's like, I don'tknow what to do with this, like,
you don't really need to knowwhat to do with it, it's just
good. Just let it be good. Youknow? Stop thinking about that
it has to fit in this box thatyou're gonna sell, you know.

(05:29):
We're such a culture of boxes,and like, fitting it into this
thing, so that I understand it.
And it's like, that's what Isay, when people ask me, you
know, what is the style of musicthat we play? And I said, Well,
you know what, man, I've livedall over the country for over
15-18 years. And when I camehome to Texas, and put this
project together, it's anembodiment of all of this life
experience. And all thisculture, and this gumbo of, you

(05:51):
know, these awesome Americancities where I went to, like,
not only be a musician in thosetowns, but really, really learn
the local ways and local cultureof those great cities. Because
to me, that's the essence ofgreat, you know, regionally,
indigenous music is like,there's a reason New Orleans
music is amazing. And it onlycomes from New Orleans. Same

(06:14):
thing in New York City with thestyle of pop and you know, more
commercialized music, it's thereason that it comes from there,
you know. So, yeah, why do youwant to pigeonhole it to be this
one thing when it's this kind ofbeautiful cornucopia of just
American music? And, you know,being polite and being an
optimist is that, maybe that, Imean, yes, on the surface, that
woman was, that was a racistcomment. In hindsight, it's no

(06:36):
different than, you know, anyonethat's like, approached me and
said, you know, you're holdingyourself back. They just want
the best for me, I get that.
That's, I think, where they'recoming from more than being
racist, even though that isracist, you know.

DB Crema (06:53):
Which is funny, because I would see it the exact
opposite in terms of not holdingyourself back. Being an American
rocker is awesome. But alsothere's no shortage of musicians
and artists out there. So if youhave something that sets you
apart, not only in your sound,but also in your image, and that
includes, of course, your bandname, that can only help you.

Nick (07:16):
It's not holding anything back. Yeah. It's doing a pretty
good job of pushing it forward.
But, people are the way theyare. Yeah. People don't want to
hear,... they wanna hear whatthey want to hear.

DB Crema (07:27):
But they also want to be able to say what they want to
say.

Nick (07:29):
And they want to say what they want to say. I
mean, there's a part of me thatlikes to forward think a little
more. And I think we're humans,I don't care about cultural
identity as much as maybe thenext person.

DB Crema (07:42):
Hmm, interesting.

Nick (07:44):
And maybe that's because of how I was raised, you know,
like I mean, I was raised in afull Mexican home. But I went to
school with nothing, but youknow, pretty much Anglo kids. So
my upbringing as a kid, most ofthe time, because, you know, you
spend your time in school andaround your friends was around,
you know, white people. So maybethat has to do with kind of
blurring that line more for me.
I remember being in seventhgrade at this, you know, really

(08:07):
ritzy, you know, private schoolthat I was fortunate enough to
go to, but then being fortunateenough to go to the school, I
mean, I was the only Mexican kidin the high school. And I only
went to school there fromseventh grade to 12th grade. So
I had experience in publicschool and some other schools at
a younger age, and I mean, thepublic schools were a total mix

(08:28):
of kids, obviously, you know.
Poor kids, rich kids, blackkids, white kids, Mexicans,
whatever, you know. And thisschool itself is like, for the
most part, it was white. Andalso like, it's in this really,
really wealthy neighborhood inHouston called River Oaks. I
didn't live in thatneighborhood, we lived on the
other side of town in thepredominantly like, lower middle

(08:50):
class Mexican neighborhood,where my mom grew up. And so
every day, I was like, I wouldgo to this rich neighborhood,
and you know, this beautifulenvironment to learn, which
again, amazing. But then I wouldshuffle back to the other side
of town. And it's like, we livedin a very modest two and a half
bedroom house with a mom andthree kids. And a mom that

worked until 11 (09:09):
30 at night sometimes. So my reality was
this serious, like split of likegoing to this really
comfortable, great environmentto be safe and learn and, like,
be pushed, you know,intellectually and personally,
but then always, every dayreminded of where that's not
your reality, though. You know,maybe you can get there if you

(09:30):
play by their rules, and youlearn everything they want you
to learn and dress the way theywant you to dress and cut your
hair the way they want you tocut your hair, but then it's
like I'm in, you know, back inthe hood. And it's like, it was
a really interesting split. Idon't think I paid attention to
that as much as when I was inpublic school. But once I got to
that school, which was like12-13 was, I think, when I
really became more aware of theracial division via spending

(09:54):
time in those two way differentworlds.

DB Crema (09:56):
Do you remember feeling resentful?

Nick (09:59):
I never felt resentfull.
UmmmI don't think there was time to
feel resentful. I mean, myschedule was so full. I mean,
there were so many things to do.
Iron your clothes, make yourlunch, do your homework, play
sports, which I did, and then doit all every day. And I mean, I
loved my friends, my friendswere cool. And you know, there

(10:21):
was the weirdness of like, noneof them were ever comfortable,
or their parents weren'tcomfortable of them coming to
where I lived. But I was alwaysinvited to like a number of kids
houses, and I spent a lot ofweekends at their houses, and
some even footed the bill and,like, brought me to Colorado on
a summer vacation, or, like, outin the hill country in Texas,
and I'd vacation with theirfamily at the river house. And,
um, yeah, I mean, really, if Iwas resentful, I wouldn't have

(10:45):
made it through it. I don'tthin. And then also, I remember
thinking like, man I don't wantto live like this when I'm a
grown up, because I knew whatelse was out there already. And
so it was more like, I gotta dowhat I got to do to at least get
close to that. I mean, I don'tneed a mansion in the richest
neighborhood in Texas. But Icould sure use a comfortable
home and a clean environment anda safe environment to just exist

(11:07):
in. It was, it's literally justabout, like, I mean, I've
experienced living in the hood.
It's not cool. It's unsafe, it'sdark. It's like hungry, it's
cold, it's hot. It's like allthese things. It's like, you
live in a prettier, safer place.
It's like, it just kind of evensall that out. And you aren't
thinking about those thingsanymore, which allows you to do
other things. So, and I was afine student. It's like, I mean,

(11:29):
I had already discovered music.
So it's like, I was distracted,for sure. And especially in a
college preparatory school likethat. It's like where the focus
is academics. So I'd alreadyfound something else that I
really, already knew what Iwanted to do. I didn't want to
go to corporate America, Ididn't want to go get a law
degree. I didn't want to go toHarvard. Funny enough. That's
what even played into my collegeselection of university, was
like, I only looked at musiccities. I looked at Memphis, I

(11:51):
looked at Chicago and I lookedat it, Austin and New Orleans.
And I ended up with a tinyscholarship that I ended up
losing because I was playingmusic and hanging out all night
already, anyways.

DB Crema (12:02):
As a creative, as an artist, as a musician. Do you
feel like race ever influencesor shows up in your music?
You're playing American music,which clearly draws on a history
of, primarily on a history ofblack music, black American
music, but...

Nick (12:18):
I grew up playing blues and blues clubs in Houston. I
mean, Houston has a really richblues scene and rich history of
blues musicians that became -some super well known and some
not. So no, I mean, I grew upplaying black music. And there's
still that element and undertoneto what I do. And Funny enough,
like I've written a song andit's about, I mean, police

(12:40):
brutality song, you know. I'vewritten songs about, you know,
black profiling. I actually havea couple songs written about
Mexican women that, you know, inNAFTA, it opened up the, you
know, for there to be factorieson the borders. And then these
Mexican women were being busedin from the mountains and the
hills, you know, further away inMexico, and they would go work

(13:02):
for 14 hours a day, and thenbused back home. And some of
them would get kidnapped andraped and dumped to the desert
and never found, and never heardfrom again, like endless names,
countless names, and nobody eventalks about this. I've written
songs about that, you know. Solike, I mean, I touch on racial
motives. I think more it has todo with.... To me, it's more

(13:24):
about human targeting andpeople, innocent people that are
just targeted and murdered orkilled and then not even thought
twice about, which is all stillpartially racial, you know? I
mean, I'm not writing aboutwhite people getting dumped in
the desert.

DB Crema (13:39):
Are white people discriminated against ? Do white
people experience race -aseddiscrimination.

Nick (13:46):
I think white people probably...I would step out on a
limb here and say, I wouldimagine white people face more
classism than racism. I mean, Idon't know, I'm not white.

DB Crema (13:58):
I think as a white person hearing, the focus, the
current focus on Black LivesMatter. Really, the biggest
concern in your mind is that alllives matter. What about your
needs? It overlooks theirchallenges, it juxtaposes these
two things as mutually exclusive- it's one or the other.

Nick (14:19):
Yeah, I really, you know, I mean, I've thought
about the Black Lives Matterslogan. And I mean, yes, Black
Lives Matter. It's the truth.
There's not taking anything awayfrom that, that's not making
that any less of a reality. Butjust like any label, Black Lives

DB Crema (14:32):
But these are issues about systemic injustice.
Matter, the way it's written,just like a lady thinks Buenos
Diaz is Latin music. It meansyou're excluding everyone else,
and it's just black people. AndI can imagine that's why some
white people have been offended.
But it's not about white people.
It's really that's about like,acknowledging that black people
have had it harder than anyoneelse. We're not saying you
haven't had it hard, but rightnow, this is really important

(14:54):
because like black people arejust getting killed in the
street. White people typicallyaren't prejudiced against. And I
mean, nothing is black andwhite. That's not a black and
white statement to say thatthere hasn't been a white person
that has been racially profiled.
Maybe in a black neighborhood,or... that's a tough, I think
that's a tough place to be. I'vefelt that. Black Lives Matter,
and I'm like, but what about allthe brown Mexicans, man? Like,

(15:16):
we don't get jobs, and we getshit on and like we work 50
hours a day, picking oranges andcleaning dishes in bus
tations. And I'm not sayinghat, like, we need to be part
f this movement. But it's justike, will there ever be a brown
ives matter movement? Willhere ever be a recognition of
he entire like brown historyhat has been wiped off the face
f the planet, because all thesepanish Conquistadores and

(15:38):
eople from Europe came to Southmerica and just decided to
ike, take what they wanted,

Nick (15:41):
Absolutely.

DB Crema (15:43):
How do we grapple with that, even from an artistic
ust like everyone did inmerica, too. And it's like,
here's a lot of America, younow, and there's a lot more
han just what happens thenited States that doesn't even
et discussed, you know? So, Iean, I support bringing racial
wareness to the surface moreor black people, I completely
level?
upport that. There's so manyevels of it, you know, and that

Nick (16:00):
Artistic level and a family level, you know. I mean,
oes back so far, you know,lack people can only play r&b
nd hip hop, like, taking itack to music, you know. It's
ust like, I bet there's a tn of black musicians out there t
at love rock and roll musicnd want to go rock out and do
his and that, and they probaby don't feel comfortable
doing it.

(16:27):
a lot of systemic racism andsystemic injustices stem from
some kind of not getting taughtright at home. Something.
Something didn't get told tosomeone and passed down the
line, you know? Well, and notall the time, but that's part of
it.

DB Crema (16:44):
I would say, something got passed down. I think we're
all...

Nick (16:48):
Yeah, or something does get passed down that shouldn't
have been passed down.

DB Crema (16:51):
You know, like, I try to imagine what would America
look like moving forward, if weno longer taught our children
about race?

Nick (17:00):
At all, you mean?

DB Crema (17:01):
At all.

Nick (17:02):
Like, there's no black people, there's no... they're
just people. Is that what youmean?

DB Crema (17:05):
Yeah. I mean...

Nick (17:08):
I mean, that's utopia.
Good, good... Have at it. Iwould love to see that more than
anything, you know. Because it'sstupid. What does it matter what
skin color you are, you know?
Why does it matter to people somuch?

DB Crema (17:26):
I think we're always going to find something to try
to hold power over each other.
If it weren't race...

Nick (17:33):
Yeah, it'd be something else. Probably. I mean, I think
that's, I think it is more justhuman nature. You know, I mean,
humans have fought overwhatever, forever. There's just
this inner greed, for lack of abetter word or, you know,
thinking of the right word oflike wanting more and more and
more and at the expense of ourother fellow humans. And not

(17:54):
everyone is like this,obviously, there's some great
humans. But where racism lies,again, is like a thing, I think
just pushing people down so thatsome other people can get ahead.
You know, and get more of thisstuff that we've all created for
ourselves. This world, thesecars and things, you know -
material world, consumer world.
But how do you take that out ofthe equation? I mean, that's

(18:15):
human. Greed is human. You know?
You would have to address humandesire and human greed, I think,
to address racism.

DB Crema (18:31):
Thanks for listening to United States of Race. This
podcast was produced by me, yourhost, DB Crema, and our artwork
is designed by Aly Creative. Ifyou love great storytelling, go
ahead and subscribe to UnitedStates of Race on Spotify, Apple
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(18:52):
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(19:14):
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