Ceci Bastida
about the artist
Born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico and now living in Los Angeles, Ceci Bastida is a Latin Grammy nominated musician, songwriter, recording artist, and activist.
In 2021, she was named a Cultural Trailblazer in the city of Los Angeles by the LA Department of Cultural Affairs. She is the host of Punk in Translation, a bi-lingual podcast dedicated to the history of the Latinx influence on U.S. punk music (debuting March 2022 on Audible via Fresh Produce/La Coctelera). As an advocate of immigration reform and prison abolition, she works with the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights as a child…
MoreBorn and raised in Tijuana, Mexico and now living in Los Angeles, Ceci Bastida is a Latin Grammy nominated musician, songwriter, recording artist, and activist.
In 2021, she was named a Cultural Trailblazer in the city of Los Angeles by the LA Department of Cultural Affairs. She is the host of Punk in Translation, a bi-lingual podcast dedicated to the history of the Latinx influence on U.S. punk music (debuting March 2022 on Audible via Fresh Produce/La Coctelera). As an advocate of immigration reform and prison abolition, she works with the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights as a child advocate and with Revolve Impact as a musical activist.
Bastida joined the iconic Mexican ska-punk band Tijuana NO when she was just 15 and became one of the first women to rise in the ranks of contemporary Latin rock. In 2000 she spent eight years as part of the touring band of acclaimed singer Julieta Venegas, including a featured role in her 2008 MTV Unplugged special. Bastida embarked on her solo career in 2006 with the ep Front BC, and in 2010 released Veo La Marea (I See the Tide), a mix of electronica, rock, and hip-hop that The Fader dubbed "bodacious, clicky, and gongy" and the Los Angeles Times described as "a marching-band traipsing through the Amazon rainforest." The album, which included hot-button songs about immigration and the drug war, featured guest spots by Diplo, Rye Rye, and Tim Armstrong. It earned her a Latin Grammy nomination, appearances on NPR's Weekend Edition and KCRW's Morning Become Eclectic, and a spot on the 2011 Lollapalooza bill.
Her 2014 solo album, La Edad de la Violencia (The Age of Violence) was produced by Luke Top (Fool's Gold) & XXXChange (Spank Rock) and includes songs inspired by the rise of everyday violence in the US and Mexico — from the drug war to the Sandy Hook shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing — and by Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore. Her 2016 EP, Sueño, featured collaborations with Aloe Blacc, Mexican Institute of Sound, Spoek Mathambo, and Mariel Mariel.
She produced her latest album "Every Thing Taken Away" with longtime collabortor Alex Epton (XXXChange) which was released in the fall of 2023.