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According to Spotify, an estimated 16 million people routinely listen to Spanish language pop music—and that audience is growing all the time. New listeners, even non-Spanish speakers, are always discovering everyone from Selena to Los Tigres del Norte.
One American musician—Jason Fountain—is finding success in blending Spanish language pop with rock.
In 2021, he produced TikTok videos where he demonstrated what a particular Spanish language pop tune would sound like if it were played as a rock song.
One such video—a tribute to the iconic Paquita la del Barrio and her hit song, “Rata de Dos Patas”—went viral. Even the song’s composer shared the video on Facebook.
By 2023, Fountain founded the three-piece band, Los Pink Cheese Green Goes.
Yes, sounds like an expletive at first if you say it fast. But Fountain’s point is to be self-effacing as he realizes that not everyone will appreciate his love of singing Mexican hits in Spanish and in his “roquero” way.
“I've had it from both sides, actually,” said Fountain during a recent interview with TPR. “I've had probably more negative comments from people who speak Spanish.”
But Fountain takes a very open view about these attitudes. “I understand that people have reasons for feeling how they feel about things,” he said. “All of our lives are full of experiences that shape our opinions on things.”
Even so, he is aware that sometimes the mean-spirited comments can come from some other motives. “I remember once someone said … ‘just a heads up. In America, we speak English.’” In such cases, Fountain makes a clear distinction: “That's hateful, hateful, hateful, not hating. Hating is just–you don't like my style or something like that. But hateful is when you're talking about someone's language and their culture.”
Not even this negativity can deter Fountain who’s had an affinity for the Spanish language and Mexico since his childhood.
“I like to tell people that it started when I was 17 when I decided to learn Spanish,” said Fountain. “But really the story goes back to when I was probably in sixth grade and my friend Edgar, he was an immigrant from Mexico, and we did not speak the same language, but somehow we hung out with each other.”
Fountain shared that his parents dropped him off at Edgar’s house and the two would play video games. Sometimes they even talked on the phone. “That was funny,” said Fountain. “If we're not speaking the same language, I don't know how we were able to communicate, but obviously I learned a few words from him here and there.”
He learned about “Lucha Libre.” That’s a draw for a lot of kids. But there was more to it for Fountain. “I think I've always been a friend of immigrant people,” he said. “I remember I lived with my aunt when I was a teenager when I was like 13, and I'd always make friends with the kids that would come in from Bosnia, Russia, all kinds of countries. I had a Pakistani friend as well.”
When he was 17, he decided to learn Spanish. He uses the Spanish word, compromiso, when he mentions this, as he can’t think of a word with this shade of meaning in English. So Fountain made a compromiso—something unlike a compromise and much more like a commitment—but stronger somehow.
“I decided to learn Spanish," he said. “I saw other people that did it. Every once in a while, you'd run into a gringo that could speak Spanish. And I saw how impressed the people were with him, and I thought that that was so cool and that I want to do something like that too. And so I decided, hey, I'm going to learn the language. I made the decision. I think that's anytime you're going to take on a new skill, you need to commit to it. And so I committed to learning the language.”
Part of learning the language was through music. “I think Selena from Texas was probably your gateway drug for a lot of people to get into Spanish speaking music,” said Fountain. “So of course I listened to her.”
Fountain and the rest of Los Pink Cheese Green Goes continue their celebration of the Spanish language and Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
The numbers of their followers continue to grow on social media.
And they are selling out shows from Georgia to Texas to Southern California.
Their Texas tour dates includes stops in Houston Thursday June 12 at Metropolis & Extravaganza, in Dallas on Friday June 13 at Bad Habits Lounge and in San Antonio on Saturday June 14 at Tandem San Antonio.
