More 'Songs' about barrios and food

Quetzal has the worst quality a rock en espanol band can have. It's not from a Spanish-speaking country. In fact, the group is from Los Angeles.\nThat's too bad because while the new Cafe Tacuba album gets most of the attention among recently released rock en espanol albums, Quetzal's Worksongs is hardly far behind.\nQuetzal's musical range is endless. Its ability to write songs in both English and Spanish gives the band dual word palates. Musically, it can handle everything from Mexican folk ballads to uptempo conjunto party numbers to a little psychedelia to jarocho, a specific blend of Spanish and African sounds emanating from Veracruz. Martha Gonzalez sings alluringly and confidently without delivering the socially conscious lyrics in an overbearing manner.\nEven if you didn't know otherwise, you could guess these guys are Los Lobos fans, and in fact, that band's Steve Berlin produces this record. Queztal's a noble heir of Los Lobos, lacking only that band's jones for raw guitar.\nQuetzal sings and plays a convincing case for diversity throughout their lyrics. "Alimentate tu mente, alimentate," they sing. ("Nourish your mind! Nourish yourself!") \nOf course, its claims for world peace can be a little cringe-worthy, though self-respect from a band so humble wins out.