New York City-based “accordion punks,” Ratas En Zelo, kicked off 2025 with a California tour. In just four days, played two shows in Southern California and two in the Bay Area. Each date featured different opening acts and looked to be at capacity. Punk rock legend Alice Bag was even spotted at their Los Angeles show. “I actually went outside to take a video of the line and Alice Bag was in the line waiting to get in,” explains Ratas drummer, Maria. “It was so exciting to see her, we were just honored to have her there. She's an important figure in punk history, she's been doing this for so many decades, she's a strong Latina woman, so she's definitely a role model for us.”

Ratas En Zelo formed back in 2014. They are comprised of vocalist Yadee, accordionist Hiromy, drummer Maria, and bassist Natalie. Yadee and Hiromy are sisters who grew up in El Salvador and Maria grew up in Peru. All three came to the United States as teenagers. Because of their instrumentation and wide range of influences, Ratas En Zelo have a unique sound that they’ve coined “accordion punk.” With no guitar in the mix, Hiromy hammers out riffs and melodies on the accordion while Natalie holds down the low end. Maria, who cites The Ramones as her all-time favorite band, drives each song forward with unwavering beats that would make Tommy Ramone proud.

In August, 2024, the band released their second full-length album, “Desvergue.” It features 8 songs which represent their signature sound. A couple stand out tracks include “Año de la Rata,” and “Punk Police,” the latter of which condemns those who attempt to define and control what is and what is not considered “punk.” Even though the lyrics are in Spanish, they should be pretty easy for most English speakers to understand. “El racismo/ No es punk/ El machismo/ No es punk/ Si sos un bully/ No es punk/ Xenofobia/ No es punk/ Homofobia/ No es punk/ Si sos acosador/ No es punk.”

The final stop of their California tour was in San Jose, at a barber-shop-turned-diy-venue called The Beat Shop, booked by West Coast promoters Last Locals. Local ska punks, The Hellas, opened up the night. They played a high-energy set with plenty of group vocals and skanking, which set the tone for the rest of the night. One of their vocalist / guitarists, Gabriel, also broke out an accordion for a cumbia song. The Hellas released a new single, titled “Puerkkkos y Rata$,” the day after this show.

Up next was Philthy Dronez, who singlehandedly transformed the night into a cumbia dance party. A one man show, he sang, played accordion, synthesizer, and finger drums, and triggered backing tracks. One of the many highlights of his set was a cumbia version of New Order’s Blue Monday.

Punks dance cumbia - Photo by Goody James

At one point, Philthy noticed Michael from Bay Area band Mala Greña playing a guacharaca, a Colombian percussion instrument made from the trunk of a small tree, in the crowd and invited them up to perform with him. A room full of punks dancing to cumbia is bound to make for a fun and memorable night.

Finally, Ratas En Zelo started their set and the crowd couldn’t have been more hyped. A mosh pit spun through each song and the room erupted when Yadee brought a sign on stage and shouted, “Hail Cheesus!” Most of Ratas’ lyrics are in Spanish, with a total of two being entirely in English, but this didn’t stop the audience from singing along. “Often English speakers tell me ‘I have no idea what you’re saying but I love it,’” Yadee explains. “Or other people tell me they have translated the whole song and learned some Spanish in the process, etc. Plus singing in Spanish is so powerful and delicious, but of course we're always gonna include songs in English, it is our second language by nature and we love it! We love them both! We literally speak SPANGLISH every single day.”

This California tour was just the first of more dates Ratas En Zelo will be performing this year. They’ll be performing with comedian Felipe Esparza in San Diego on April 5. Back in 2021, they played four dates in Texas with Piñata Protest and San Antonio-based Chicana punks, Fea. There aren’t any specific dates yet, but they’re planning on sharing the stage with Fea again later this year.

In the meantime, Hiromy offers this advice for starting your own band: “I think that you meet your your future band peers by being an active in your local scene. Start by going to shows, meeting people and nurturing true friendships away from alcohol, take the time to go get a cofee and meet people. Thats the base for a successful band, to have a genuine friendship as the base. Next, don't limit yourself on how you should sound, take references, but dont be scared to sound different, play the instruments you can and adapt punk to you, not the other way around.”

Three Accordions In a Barber Shop: Ratas En Zelo Play San Jose

Support my sponsors by purchasing Games, cassettes, records, Collectibles, and other forms of physical media

Three Accordions In a Barber Shop: Ratas En Zelo Play San Jose

Support my sponsors by purchasing Games, cassettes, records, Collectibles, and other forms of physical media

One Man Underground’s favourite gig photos of 2024