QUITAPENAS, one word – all caps, four syllables – all claps, gives you a taste of their rhythmic contagion. This tropical Afro-Latin combo was born under the warm California sun. They borrow aesthetics from the radical 60s, 70s and 80s. Each song echoes a remix of history and invites one to engage in the liberating evenings of Angola, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and beyond. The name means “to remove worries.” Everybody has a “pena” and the mission of QUITAPENAS is simple: to make you dance and leave you without a worry.

QUITAPENAS was founded in 2011. The band was formed around their shared love of dance rhythms from the Tropical Afro Latin diaspora. They assembled a group of like-minded friends to share the vision that went on to be QUITAPENAS. The group is made up of first-generation sons of immigrant parents from Guatemala and Mexico.