The Latino Chicago hardcore scene is helping breathe new life into the city’s do-it-yourself music culture, creating spaces where community, expression and resistance intersect.

Loud, fast and deeply communal, the scene offers more than music. For many, it is a place to release stress, connect with others and find a sense of belonging.

At the center of that effort is Francisco Garcia, 27, an organizer and musician who has helped bring the community together through independently run shows across the city. Garcia began by building makeshift stages at Casa Café in the Pilsen neighborhood and has since grown into curating and organizing events featuring his own bands and collaborators from across Chicago.

Hardcore, long known for its emphasis on resistance and standing up to injustice, has proven especially welcoming to newcomers, Garcia said. Shows are collaborative by nature, with bands supporting one another and audiences encouraged to participate fully — from two-stepping in the pit to shouting lyrics alongside strangers who quickly become friends.

For Garcia and others in the scene, the goal goes beyond performance. It’s about building spaces where people can express anger, joy and the realities of daily life — and, in the process, rebuild Chicago’s DIY music culture from the ground up.

TRANSCRIPT:

00:00:25:03 – 00:00:47:17

Francisco Garcia

I’ve been to different scenes throughout Chicago and the Chicago Hardcore scene is the most welcoming and they help out each other a lot. It is never about who has the most clout or just their own click. Everybody helps out each other and welcomes newer bands.

00:00:47:17 – 00:00:52:16

Francisco Garcia

It does a lot of things for the community.

00:00:52:18 – 00:01:17:07

Francisco Garcia

I feel like hardcore is high energy. Is very quick because if you were to go to a show, it’s like six, five bands, but it’s over within two hours. Compared to like four bands and other scenes is like three hours shows, you know, where there’s just like bands play quick, lot of energy and it feels like, wild when you’re there.

00:01:18:02 – 00:01:20:22

Francisco Garcia

Again like high energy, very fun, very welcoming.

00:01:35:22 – 00:01:40:02

Francisco Garcia

When I discovered hardcore, I was like, this is what I want. This is what I like.

00:01:40:04 – 00:01:48:14

Francisco Garcia

This is like the thing I want to like, listen to, play, and it’s just fell in naturally.

00:01:51:00 – 00:02:02:21

Francisco Garcia

One it’s very fun because your homies, people you really close with and you guys playing

really cool shows, but also, it’s a big responsibility because

00:02:02:23 – 00:02:10:21

Francisco Garcia

we gotta inspire the young generation to form new bands or to do the right things, do the things for

00:02:10:23 – 00:02:20:23

Francisco Garcia

the community or, you know, call out like the wrongs in like the world that’s going on right now. Like with ICE or, you know, with, 

00:02:21:01 – 00:02:36:02

Francisco Garcia

With how ICE is affecting the community and all that stuff.

00:02:38:14 – 00:02:41:02

Francisco Garcia

One day ICE was all over like the neighborhood

00:03:05:12 – 00:03:12:19

No one came through to Casa Cafe and they had no business and that day we had a show and like 100 people came and everybody bought food, everybody like tipped.

00:03:12:21 – 00:03:33:17

and the worker was telling me how much it means to her because, they had no business at all. and now we’re able to provide business for them and be able to have the workers 

00:03:33:19 – 00:03:37:08

be able to work and provide for their families so that something that to me I love being able to do that because

00:03:40:07 – 00:03:46:13

They always express to me how much like it means to them that we are able to provide them business

00:03:46:14 – 00:03:53:20

and for them to be able to work. Make more money because more people are coming through and knowing the spot and everyone loves the spot.

00:03:54:11 – 00:04:11:03 

Part of why I moved here was to like, be a part of the music scene or go to a show every day if I wanted. The fact that like I moved here almost ten years ago and that’s still a thing is amazing. Yeah, it’s really awesome you guys are awesome. 

00:04:11:05 – 00:04:34:16

Thank you for being here. I just want to say you know, take care of each other. Our world is really, really fucked up. That’s like an understatement. Fuck Trump. Fuck ICE. We have free whistles at our table come pick one up If you live here in the city, you know, like how we’re letting community that ICE is being spotted around. 

00:04:34:18 – 00:04:37:16

So it’s really important to help out.

00:05:18:10 – 00:05:49:19

Casa cafe is one of the best DIY spots in Chicago right now. It’s the hospitality and

just being able to go there feel safe and just be able to be yourself. It’s awesome. I’ve haven’t been to a show where it’s like a bad experience, any other DIY spots where you just feel like something’s going to happen or feel like, you’re not welcome there. But this spot is just like,

you feel safe, you feel secure it’s one of the best spots, which I really like and everybody loves it 

00:05:49:21 – 00:06:00:11

and hope it goes on as a legendary spot where every band, all the bands come through and want to play here, from other states, other countries.

Copy edited by Brandon Anaya