Jesus Ortiz Paz, leader and founder of Fuerza Regida —because officially the band does not accent the word Regida, although it does pronounce it with an e—, is not very patient when answering questions from the press.
Or perhaps the tight schedule of the group, which is a few dates from the end of “From the neighborhood to here”, a tour that has led this combo born in 2015 in the city of San Bernardino —located some 25 miles east of Los Angeles—, to scenes that he had only visualized in dreams, has Jesus more rushed than usual.
For example, Fuerza had a presentation last night at Crypto.com, the arena in downtown Los Angeles with a capacity for 20 a thousand people. He was also preparing the premiere of the song “I prefer to get drunk”, which in good Spanish would be something like “I prefer to get drunk”.
It is precisely in the rude, raw and unfiltered language, and in the stories of the street and of “thugs” in the lyrics of the songs, where the overwhelming success of this band has resided. Jesús, the son of Mexican immigrants, knows no other life other than living it on the streets of the city that saw him grow up.
“I come from the streets,” said Jesús, from
years. “I never lacked for anything, my father always worked very hard [in construction], but it was difficult for one to want to be something in life; many people where I am from stay the same.”
Jesús had many dreams and illusions, but few expectations because he says that he grew up in one of the most violent cities in the country. San Bernardino, according to figures reported by government sites, is one of the most dangerous cities in the US
“It is very difficult for someone to get out of there,” he said. “Where I come from, I am the first to come out of there, with my music […] There the streets beat you; death or prison wins you. Or you spend your time working in a p… warehouse [warehouse], and that’s not life, well. People look at him as normal but since I was a child I didn’t see him as normal”.
Jesús wanted luxury cars, a mansion and a lot of money.
When he finished high school —he graduated only because his mother begged him— he started a job cutting hair, and it was one of his clients who told him that a local band was looking for a bass player. Jesús showed up and not only stayed in the group, but they made him a vocalist. He knew how to sing because his father had taught it empirically.
In 2018, after singing For three years at private parties, the video for the song “Radicamos en South Central”, which tells a story of drug traffickers, mafias and weapons, went viral, and overnight Fuerza Régida became a music phenomenon urban and banda.
The combo’s tour ends on December 9 in Fresno, California, but meanwhile, Fuerza continues to release singles that are part of the group’s next album. The album does not yet have a release date.
The band’s goals have been achieved little by little, but it still hasn’t reached where it wants to be, said Jesús, this because more and more challenges arise.
“We started with thug music, and now we do a little bit of everything,” he said. “We will never stop singing where we come from, the music that made us […] But now we want to expand to go global one day.”