For Felipe, a bass player in the band Todos Santos, “music is like mathematics; it is a universal language,” capable of breaking down barriers.

With those words, the first AL DÍA Jammin’ was inaugurated on Aug. 9 as a new series that aims to provide a space for local Latin music talent. Those featured seek to break cultural barriers in the community through their music.

Todos Santos started almost four years ago with the purpose of just playing for fun. In an attempt to break the trend of reggaeton and other regional music classic to their community, the band devised a project to reach a new market.

With José as first voice and guitarist, Felipe on bass, Andrés on drums, and Alejandro on guitar, Todos Santos was born. The name is a reference to the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico, held every November.

 “The name seeks a connection with our culture that despite the distance is present in the heart of every Mexican who is far from their land”

The band started playing covers of mainstream songs, but soon began to write their own lyrics. As Andrés puts it: “our genre, if you want to put it in those terms, is Latin rock but with a little bit of a social message.” This is heard in their many lyrics about corruption, poverty, and social injustices.

For them it has been a challenge to stay relevant in a community with different tastes, but fortunately, the public has responded positively to their music.

Recently, the group had to overcome one of its biggest challenges. Three of the members were arrested by immigration on the way to Ruido Fest, a Latin Rock festival in Chicago. They had entered a contest to play at the festival, and after making it to the second round, were invited to perform in Chicago along with a host of other bands.

However, the band was stopped by police for speeding on their way to the festival. The officers asked for their identification and proof of immigration status.

As a result,  immigration agents were called to the scene, and the three members were arrested and taken to a detention center.

The most difficult part for them, apart from calling their families to tell them the news, was the profiling conducted by ICE agents to make sure of their clean records. The fear of being deported at any time ate them inside.

Inside detention, other detainees did not offer much hope, telling them that the bails to get freedom were not cheap.

"They talked about amounts of $ 30,000 to $ 35,000," Alejandro said, still with concern on his face.

But they were not alone.

Their families went out of their way so they could be released. They sought legal help and their followers did not hesitate to contribute their "grain of sand". Using a GoFundMe page they raised funds and several events contributed to pay their bails.

After two months of being in the detention center, they were finally released.

This experience marked them, but taught them many lessons. The band learned to value freedom, to enjoy every moment with their families and to appreciate all things, however small.

Todos Santos is extremely grateful for every person who supported them during their detention - family, friends or followers.

The band will have their first EP (extended play) available very soon. But for the moment, they have decided to take a break to spend some time with their families.

Soon they will return to take the stage with the same passion to continue bringing their message to the community.

More information about Todos Santos is available on their Facebook and Instagram pages.