Mexican rock band, Mana, calls for “justice for the undocumented” while attending Billboard’s Latin Music Conference in Miami.
“The U.S. needs an urgent immigration reform that does justice to the millions of undocumented [people], the ones that put the bread on the table of the Americans,” said Fher Olvera, the band’s lead singer.
The band asked every Latino to support politicians who support the Dream Act, while assuring to be committed to back up the dream act, and to support all the undocumented workers in America.
Olvera recounted the time when Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton confessed to him that once, her family had been illegal immigrants, in a nation that “if ever belonged to anyone, it was the Native Americans.”
Olvera, drummer Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bass player Juan Calleros also spoke about their new album “Drama y Luz” (Drama and Light), their eighth world-wide release, and the first one since 2007’s “Amar y Combatir” (To Love and Combat).
“It was worth the wait,” the band said, before describing it as their “most intense” effort.
“Drama y Luz” is their darkest work yet, drawing heavily from the murkiness of current times, as well as from the band’s personal experiences; Olvera’s mother passed away last year during the initial stages of the album’s production, an episode that sent him into the arid wastelands of depression.
But just as the rest of the band was wondering whether they would be able to help the singer overcome his darkest hour to complete the album, Fher channeled his sorrow into the music, donning the album with a certain darkness that is new to Maná’s music, that far from making the album sound depressing, comes out as mature and seasoned.
The band told reporters that the secret to their success, is to be authentic, humble and to not give into cliché rock-star excesses; additionally, the band focuses heavily on working really hard to promote their albums: Maná puts their own money towards production, while encouraging the record label to put their budget towards promotion.
“When you’re doing music, you’re doing art. It’s not like making shoes or sausage. It’s not a factory,” Fher said. “We’re totally honest between what we do in the studio, and what the consumer receives. There’s no intermediary in between. We are an honest band. We are what you see here. Maná is Maná”
