St. Pocho’s Day! Chicano Folk Punk Band Ollin Honors Mexican-Irish Connection With Pogues Tribute for 21st Year

2:02 PM PDT on March 16, 2023

The story below was originally published in 2021. This year L.A. TACO has confirmed that Ollin will be performing their legendary annual Pogues tribute set at Blipsy's Bar at 369 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004 in Koreatown on Friday, March 17 at 10 PM. The cover will be $10. For more information, follow the band's account on Instagram.

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]n an undisclosed backyard along Monterey Pass Road’s industrial stretch in the San Gabriel Valley, members of the 90s Chicano punk band Ollin performed their annual St. Pocho’s Day show to a crowd of about a dozen people—mostly family. Since the early 2000s, the Chicano folk-punk band has performed their Mexican American Spanglish versions of famous Celtic-punk ballads by The Pogues.

Led by East Los Angeles hardcore punks-turned-teachers and twins Randy and Scott Rodarte, the band only gathers and performs the powerful tribute on St. Patrick’s Day. Throughout the years, this project has received many accolades for their ability to emote the working-class connection and immigrant struggles shared by both Mexican and Irish Mexican immigrants. The project also honors the captured soldiers from El Batallón de San Patricio, or the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, that were hanged after fighting alongside Mexicans during the Mexican-American war in 1847.

This year’s performance was stripped down due to the pandemic but rest assured that come St. Pocho’s day 2022, the band will reunite and play as loud as ever.

Photos and video by Erwin Recinos.