Ariel + The Culture Tore It Up and Fans Tore up the Toro 

Ariel + The Culture (DAL) tore it up and the fans tore up the Toro

Jason ‘Ariel’ Bobadilla, known professionally as Ariel + the Culture, should be celebrated for his music, his showmanship, and just dance moves alone. (Ariel is his middle name.) I headed to Tulips Fort Worth to see Luna Luna, and what usually happens is I fall head over heels in love with the music of the opening acts. This was inevitably going to be the case with talent, stage-presence and self-assuredness of an act like Ariel + The Culture. After his set, before Luna Luna had even stepped foot on the stage, I told him at his merch booth, “I feel like I can totally go home now. You rocked it tonight.” I meant every word; he was that good. Of course I stayed for Luna Luna and their traveling opener Dent May (LA), whom also carved a spot on my heart with dreamy songs like “Crying Laughing” that can best be described as “rare optimism and distinguished sound” according to his website.

Ariel + The Culture cascaded on stage before the show with a piñata of a bull (toro). Like a bull, Ariel + The Culture charged the audience with horns and a thick cranium before the audience even had a chance to know what was heading in their direction. His playful and yet nonchalantly confident persona wound the audience up and the energy was eclectic. He danced across the stage in a gray suit. He was the boss, and we all grooved with him. He mentioned at the start of the show that four years ago he had played an office gig with Luna Luna, and now, Luna Luna is playing at sold out shows in much larger venues. He expressed his gratitude to the band for allowing him to be a part of the journey. 

Ariel + The Culture recently sold out his first ever headliner show at Ruins in Dallas (Deep Ellum) on April 16th called “Latin Prom Night.” In addition, he said he was one of the youngest, and maybe only, latinx headliner to sell out at that venue. On stage, he mentioned that he was an official SXSW artist. This was accomplished without a label, and he encouraged the enthralled audience to clap for “brown people at SXSW.” 

In an interview with Radio UTD published on April 9, 2021 (a little over a year ago), Ariel + The Culture talked in depth about being a first generation Mexican-American. In terms of his indie cumbia “Dame Tu Amor”, he opened up during the interview about being in this state of the murky middle in the culture:

“You’re not American enough. You’re not Mexican enough.You’re just kinda in a weird middle. And that’s who I am making music for…and like in ‘Dame Tu Amor’ one thing I always wanna make clear when I talk about it…people pointed out…purists…puro Mexicanos…some of the Spanish is like grammatically incorrect there, and someone told me before I released it when I was showing it to people. And I decided to leave it in there because that’s how I grew up speaking…broken “Spanglish” in some words…it’s okay if you speak broken “Spanglish.” I am not trying to be someone I’m not.”

There is so much to be obsessed with in terms of the song “Dame Tu Amor”, and just the music video alone is enough to throw you in a nostalgic tailspin. (The bull does it again.) His actual partner costarred with him in the video, and there are two older actors that are supposed to represent the characters they play when they are older. (This video reminds me of watching novelas with my grandma as a kid.)

At the end of his set, Ariel + The Culture threw the bull out into the audience. It was devoured. It was broken to pieces and tossed in the air towards the back of the venue. Candy shattered everywhere. The good kinda shatter that takes one back to childhood birthday parties with piñatas on a rope, strung on a tree, a carport post, a public park. Be like the audience—devour—but instead of candy, devour his music…and the culture. 

Source: Radio UTD “Interview with Ariel & The Culture - Becoming a Solo-Artist, Dame Tu Amor, & Push to Start” Radio UTD on YouTube, April 9, 2021, link.

All photos and content created by Jess of SSIYH.