Biography
Rana Santacruz, born in Mexico City and now based in Brooklyn, weaves together an eclectic array of traditions that span mariachi, bluegrass, Celtic folk, and Eastern European wedding music. This fusion has kept him performing regularly both in his adopted hometown and at festivals throughout the region.
Early on he encountered a broad spectrum of sounds, yet rock & roll exerted the strongest pull. While still in high school he started his first group, which specialized in covers of the Cure, the Smiths, and other pioneering indie-rock acts.
During his university years, while pursuing a communications degree, he assembled La Catrina. The ensemble specialized in buoyant alternative folk and acoustic rock, delivering an array of drinking songs and barroom dance numbers. Their visibility led to a contract with Warner Music Latina; the self-titled album was tracked in Miami and Madrid under producers Juan Ignacio Cuadrado, Alejo Stivel, and Oscar Lopez. After receiving radio and television exposure, the band toured extensively across Mexico until disbanding in 2002.
That same year Santacruz relocated to New York City and made Brooklyn his home. He plunged into the borough’s diverse musical communities, launching several projects that blended his affection for traditional Mexican repertoire with Celtic and Russian folk, French musette, and early jazz, all while completing a master’s degree.
In 2010 he issued his first solo recording, Chicavasco, on his own label. Its songs drew inspiration from Veracruz-style Son Jarocho rancheras, Mexican cinema, and the Pogues, among other sources. He performed with his ensemble throughout Brooklyn and across the United States, including an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. His follow-up, Por Ahi, broadened the palette further by incorporating Appalachian mountain music and New Orleans R&B; it appeared in May 2015.
Early on he encountered a broad spectrum of sounds, yet rock & roll exerted the strongest pull. While still in high school he started his first group, which specialized in covers of the Cure, the Smiths, and other pioneering indie-rock acts.
During his university years, while pursuing a communications degree, he assembled La Catrina. The ensemble specialized in buoyant alternative folk and acoustic rock, delivering an array of drinking songs and barroom dance numbers. Their visibility led to a contract with Warner Music Latina; the self-titled album was tracked in Miami and Madrid under producers Juan Ignacio Cuadrado, Alejo Stivel, and Oscar Lopez. After receiving radio and television exposure, the band toured extensively across Mexico until disbanding in 2002.
That same year Santacruz relocated to New York City and made Brooklyn his home. He plunged into the borough’s diverse musical communities, launching several projects that blended his affection for traditional Mexican repertoire with Celtic and Russian folk, French musette, and early jazz, all while completing a master’s degree.
In 2010 he issued his first solo recording, Chicavasco, on his own label. Its songs drew inspiration from Veracruz-style Son Jarocho rancheras, Mexican cinema, and the Pogues, among other sources. He performed with his ensemble throughout Brooklyn and across the United States, including an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. His follow-up, Por Ahi, broadened the palette further by incorporating Appalachian mountain music and New Orleans R&B; it appeared in May 2015.
Albums