On July 7th, 2025, federal agents descended onto MacArthur Park in what was to be a planned immigration raid and show of force meant to strike fear into the hearts of local communities. While the operation didn’t stop locals from confronting the agents at the time, it was a heartbreaking and terrifying sight in a time when many are afraid to leave their homes or return to work.
As communities form rapid-response networks, create fundraisers for legal expenses for those detained by the feds, and demonstrate in the streets for their abducted neighbors, joy seems like a dwindling resource. But on Saturday, August 16, hundreds of Latinx punks gathered at MacArthur Park’s Levitt Pavilion for an evening of anti-authoritarian cumbia and hardcore ska punk as one of the venue’s 10 free summer concerts. The show was booked by Clemente Ruiz, the founder of Evoekore Media, who also recently raised more than $15K at his "Sin Miedo" ska-punk benefit at Jewel's Catch One for families affected by ICE raids.
The flyer claimed that it would be “THE BIGGEST BADDEST SKACORE SHOW OF THE YEAR.” For local impacted communities, it would be one of the most important.
The opener was Lxs Cochinxs, a trans lesbian cumbia group who brought pulse-pounding rhythm with songs like their anti-colonial anthem “Cancela La Guerra” and their rendition of “La Vaca.” After that was the headliner: hardcore ska punk group La Resistencia, which was founded in South East LA 25 years ago. As soon as they went on, the crowd formed an enormous mosh pit. The perpetually spinning circle of shoving, jumping, head-banging, and cheering hardly let up the entire show, only ever pausing to pick someone up if they fell down.
The band threw piñatas of Trump and a demon dressed as an ICE agent into the crowd, who immediately tore them up. At one point, the image of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata shone bright on the screen above the band. People waved Mexican, Salvadoran, and Palestinian flags. Many wore shirts with “FUCK ICE” emblazoned on the backs. For punks, the pit is a place of solidarity, healing, and loud, intense, radical, resistance-fueled joy.
Among La Resistencia’s most intense songs was “No Te Enfades,” which proudly proclaimed, “Somos más, somos mucho más! ¡No tenemos miedo!” (“We are more, we are so much more! We are not afraid!”). At the end, La Resistencia thanked Los Angeles, and yelled, “Take care of each other!”
After so many witnessed MacArthur Park being occupied by militarized agents, it seemed like one couldn't look at the park without being reminded of the day. But seeing MacArthur Park reclaimed as a place of resistance through music gave the feeling of a unifying, liberating experience. Everyone went home full of joy.
Despite famously losing a few products at a recent anti-ICE protest, one of the concert’s many sponsors was Waymo.
