When Cristobal Gonzalez was 10, his father taught him how to play guitar in Chile. At age 23, the guitarist furthers his roots and shares a fresh blend of cumbia rock with Los Panas 352.
With an appreciation for the music he grew up on, the singer-songwriter wanted to introduce some of his musical roots to Gainesville. That’s when he approached local musician and co-founder of The Jam, Eduardo Arenas Reyes, with an idea to start an up-tempo cumbia band in Gainesville.
“We saw space for a Latin group,” Gonzalez said. “We saw there was room for one.”
Along with having performed at several local venues, the band has also played for UF’s Hispanic Student Association and Hispanic Latino Affairs.
“We definitely have Hispanic fans. We’ve done house parties for a bunch of Latin people,” Gonzalez said.
With a high-energy show that combines big horns, drums and guitar and bass, the band started with the mentality of sharing music people can dance to.
“Now it’s changed a little bit,” Gonzalez said. “We still want to have that dancing element for sure, but we want to have a little bit more body to the song — a little bit more musicianship.”
The band originated as a cover band for Chico Trujillo, a Chilean band that combines elements of cumbia, reggae, rock and other styles. The band also draws influences from salsa legends like Hector Lavoe and Joe Arroyo. Now, Gonzalez writes original music for the band.
While the majority of the band’s songs are in Spanish, Gonzalez said he’s working on writing English material.
Gonzalez said the boys were “just chilling, having a beer” when they came up with their band’s name. “Los Panas” means “the bros” in Spanish.
“We were just thinking about what the band’s about and we’re all from Gainesville,” he said.
So they agreed on Gainesville’s area code: 352.
The band will be performing at 9 p.m. Thursday at The Jam, situated at 817 W. University Ave. Tickets are available for $5 at the door.
Joining Los Panas 352 on stage are psychedelic beach goths Mantra Love and Miami-based band Sunghosts, which the band played with in Gainesville last year.
Gonzalez calls their live show a musical experience, with a lot of dancing and dynamic changes from cumbia to reggae.
“(It) makes you wanna dance, makes you wanna chug your beer,” he said. “Get lit, basically.”
In July, the band shared the stage with reggae artist Pato Banton, which Gonzalez said might have been their best show yet.
“We had a huge crowd and the energy was off the roof,” he said.
When asked one word that best describes the band’s live show, the musician called it “lit.”
“That’s the mindset of the band,” he said. “Go big.”
