By Grace Esquibel, March 10, 2026
During a Feb. 22 event at The Echo, bands came together to use their platform, to speak out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the United States. For many attending the show, it served as both an escape and an act of resistance.
The event organized by Mosh Night and Revel Girl, had a lineup of indie and punk music by Integra Pink, Sept, Lovers Peak and Gottlieb.
Leonardo Mendez, an alumnus of CPP and lead singer of Integra Pink, said he met many people within the music community during his time at CPP. Those relationships connected him with groups such as the It’s Not a Phase Fest, a newly formed group who organizes shows with diverse lineups ranging from punk to corridos, Mexican ballads.
All the band members of Integra Pink are Latinx, which heavily influences the music they produce. Mendez resonates with the Chicano community, defined as a Mexican American who historically embraces social and political deviance.
“Chicano is inherently political,” Mendez said.
People first used the term to describe early Mexican Americans, often with little to their names, struggling to assimilate in the United States. It is derived from the Spanish word “chico,” a moniker often used to belittle working class Mexican Americans. The Mexican American community reclaimed the term to re-define themselves, turning it into a symbol of ethnic pride, belonging and resilience.
The band performed at The Fox Theatre in Pomona last year for the second It’s Not a Phase Fest, where they collaborated with the CPP mariachi to perform Latino inspired songs such as Sangre, an original indie flare of Mendez’s Spanish vocals echoing over cumbia tones. The band decided to donate their profit from the show to The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights LA.
CHIRLA is a nonprofit organization that has been serving Californian immigrants and families impacted since 1986. They provide legal services, assistance lines, “know your rights” fact sheets and options to donate.
“Whether we have 10 followers, 100 followers, a million, we’re always going to speak on things that are important to us,” Mendez said. “Sonically and lyrically it kind of comes to us.”
The event organizers, Revel Girl is an all-girls group, that began during COVID-19, a time when they expressed a desire for a community that nurtured spaces for women, artists and small businesses.
The group consists of Tamara Issi and Samantha Limon, co-founders of Revel Girl, and Valeria Velasco. They said their backgrounds of Latinx and Palestinian culture heavily influence the spaces they harbor for their audience.
In a joint statement, Revel Girl said, “Having the connections to plan fundraisers for those impacted by ICE raids or for Palestinian families in need is such a blessing and we hope to continue to bring that energy in all we do.”
Benjamin Del Pinal, founder of Mosh Night, partnered with Revel Girl, who helped him organize his first event. He explained he could not have made the event happen without them. Pinal started off as a novice photographer at one of the Revel Girl events last year and is now one of the organizers behind putting these shows together.
Pinal created Mosh Night just six months ago in collaboration with his friends who he met through their shared passion for music and concerts.
“Me and my friends would always talk about the dream lineup, and one day I just figured why not be the guy who puts these dream lineups together and give the people what they want,” Pinal said.
In between sets, awaiting the headliner Gottlieb, the crowd sat around on benches and in big groups laughing and chatting outside, taking a smoke break and expressing what their subculture meant to them. For many, this is their passion and their lifeline, somewhere they can go to mosh and crowd surf with like-minded people.
“It feels like a safe space,” Mars Ruano, an attendee, said. “You walk in, and it’s like (a) family reunion.”
That same energy followed into the venue, where the crowd held each other up as people hopped onto the stage and dived. The band often paused, and the crowd called attention to a hat or phone that fell off a stage diver.
The underground scene sang along like it was their own shared language, moshing to the softer indie tones, ending the night with hardcore punk screams.
The concert scene is a weekly ritual for people like Ruano, who with bold bright pink hair held up their crocheted bag with “Chinga la migra” displayed across the stitching as the first band Integra Pink performed.
Viv Ramirez, another frequent concertgoer, sported a Blink-182 band shirt and knee-high converse paired with striped socks. She said she continues to return knowing she will have a friend at every show.
“What better community than the underground indie (and punk) scene,” Ramirez said.
Revel Girl and Mosh Night events showcase various Los Angeles and Inland Empire bands and vendors. Revel Girl also hosts themed events, from live performances to workshop days where people can sit around a table and craft.
Revel Girl explained in a world they feel seems to mostly foster isolation, they want to bring people together. They understand how difficult it is to find spaces in their community that feel welcoming. Their goal is to create a space where CPP students who seek community, can show up to a show or craft event alone and leave with a friend.
Revel Girl and Mosh Night both plan on continuing to harbor these spaces for the community, presenting more fundraisers toward aid for immigrants and Palestinian issues.
Two upcoming events in Los Angeles, will direct all proceeds to immigrants and families impacted by ICE. Performances by Bed, Floats, Mexico City Heartbreak and .Com will take place at Espacio 1839 March 14. On the same night, Coyote Studios will host performances by A Year Ago today, Arcadia Fades, Xiomoura and more.
Feature image courtesy of Grace Esquibel