Panama 77

Though it�۪s a debut work in the eyes of the world, Villarreal has long been a widely known and beloved character on the Chicago music scene. On almost any night of the week, you�۪ll find him DJing at atleast one spot on bustling 18th Street in his home neighborhood of Pilsen. (The decadent track ���18th & Morgan�۝ is an homage to that strip, with its lowrider meets Roy Ayers vibe, vividly depicting Villarreal�۪s daily life driving to a gig in his classic baby-blue Mercedes sedan, wearing a beaver-skin Stetson and tinted aviators.) If he�۪s not there, he�۪s playing drums with Dos Santos, Valebol, The Los Sundowns or Ida y Vuelta (all bands he co-leads), or sitting in with Wild Belle or Rudy De Anda.

Villarreal may be most known for his big style and magnetic personality, but to musicians on the scene, it�۪s as much for his talents as a malleable and reliable drummer, with a deep pocket in many styles and sounds. Through Dos Santos and Ida y Vuelta, he�۪s demonstrated a range of knowledge and skill in various stripes of folkloric Latin music; but, ironically, he didn�۪t��really play traditional Latin music until he moved to the States from his hometown Panam�� City. His deepest roots in drumming are from the progressive punk and hardcore scenes of Central America, where his bands NOHAYDIA and 2 Huevos 1 Camino were active in the late 90s. Those formative experiences are the foundation of his career in music.

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Credit:�� International Anthem Bandcamp