Los Angeles: Spaghetti Cumbia, a band born from cultural fusion

Ivan Kashinsky /

This is part of a special series, Cumbia Across Latin America , a visual report across six countries developed over several years, covering the people, places and cultures that keep this music genre alive.

Marcel Campos, the lead singer of Spaghetti Cumbia, often talks about being caught in between two cultures — not Mexican enough for Mexicans and not American enough for Americans. Ni de aquí, ni de allá . The Spaghetti sound was born out of a fusion of the two cultures. The members of the band all have deep connections to their Mexican roots. They grew up listening to Latin music in their homes and at family parties in Boyle Heights and East LA. Paulo Paredones, the bass player, known as El Maniacs, remembers yelling at his dad to turn down the cumbia. But gro