MtyMx is an all-ages indie-rock and arts festival that brings together bands from the U.S., Mexico, and as far away as New Zealand and Japan, on the grounds of a drive-in movie theater called Autocinema Las Torres. For three days beginning March 20, 78 bands, including established indie acts like Andrew W. K., Dan Deacon, Liars and No Age, along with dozens of Mexican groups, among them Chikita Violenta, Los Fancy Free, Quiero Club and XYX will rock-out on staggered sets perched on the side of a mountain in the Sierra Madre Oriental.MtyMx was put together in Brooklyn by Todd Patrick, better known as Todd P., an underground music tastemaker who's widely credited with helping to develop the New York indie-rock scene over the last half-decade. He teamed up with promoter Yo Garage, his like-minded counterpart in Monterrey, and purposefully scheduled MtyMx around the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Tex., which begins March 17. The pair even chartered buses to ferry bands and fans on the seven-hour trip from Austin. As a regular visitor to Mexico and Latin America, Patrick wanted to offer bands a foreign alternative for their post-SXSW tours, one which thousands of young Mexican fans, who would typically have trouble getting visas to enter the U.S. to hear them perform, could benefit from.
The festival includes a substantial visual art element as well, with the perimeter of the space decorated by huge original murals and projected video pieces on the drive-in screen by such artists as Stephanie Davidson, Sumi Ink Club, Jesse Spears, Katja Mater, and JD Beltran. Known by some as the Seattle of Latin Alternative music, Monterrey, went from being the hub of grupero music a decade ago, to becoming a hotbed for cutting edge indie acts ranging from rock to hip-hop to fusions not easily classified. Monterrey is home to bands such as Kinky, Control Machete, and Plastilina Mosh.
