When musicians, comedians, and Friends of Nature gather to party, you know it's gonna be a true tree-hugging bash, especially with holistic-minded headliners like Café Tacvba.
"We as humans and society belong to nature and Mother Earth, and we have to be cautious and try to take care of it all the time," says guitarist Emmanuel "Meme" del Real.
"We have to keep it safe and love it. It's one of our main goals."
That must be why Meme and the rest of the Café Tacvba crew will be making their way to the 305 for the first time in four years to headline the second day of the Friends of Nature Arts & Music Festival.
See also: Review & Photos: Friends of Nature Festival Falters, Cancels Matisyahu and Café Tacvba's Headlining Sets
The November 9 and 10 weekend fest will unite musicians, activists, speakers, and other like-minded eco souls for the sole purpose of having a good time while raising environmental awareness.
And hailing from one of the largest cities in the world, this legendary Mexico City rock band knows, from experience, the importance of being environmentally aware.
"It's not a cool thing, but we live in a city that has such a limited consciousness about [the environment]," Meme admits. "Being there and seeing that, it helps you to take a position about the way you wanna live your life.
"I hate it," he says. "I just wanna be sure that what's in my hands, the small things, I can take care of. I will strongly defend all those things and try to have a little bit more of an impact, at least with my family, and try to be an example."
Like droplets of water that fill up a bucket and eventually cause it to overflow, the small things add up, Meme points out, and they can make a huge difference.
"If you see something, like a paper in the street, pick it up. That's something small, but if everybody does that once a day, cities would be cleaner."
And with its power to reach the masses, music, the guitarist suggests, might be among the most effective ways to make a statement and get people to listen.
"It is our tool to express our thoughts and feelings, and, of course, the relation with nature," he says. "Music comes from nature. You can hear it in the ocean, the jungle, the woods, and there's a certain type of melody that conveys these places."
"But as long as we keep on hurting the planet," Meme adds, "we're our biggest enemy. So we have to be conscious about it."
And as musicians, the Café Tacvba guys practice what they preach. Their current tour is centered on the four elements of nature: earth, air, water, and fire.
"Nature has always been a part of our philosophy and music has become our way of life. Through our music, we really want to carry a message, which is the love we have for Mother Earth."
Aside from joining in on all the FON, Meme admits that putting on a show in Miami gives he and the band a shot to share their music with a larger American audience.
"It's not easy [for us] to have shows in Miami, so it was perfect," he says. "[The FON Fest] had the concept and we had the invitation and we really wanted to go and play in Miami.
"It's an example of how something like nature can bring us together and give us the chance to have fun and be with more people."
But though the fest will feature tunes from Café Tacvba, Matisyahu, Palenke Soultribe, and dozens of other acts, at the end of the day, it's still all about preserving Mother Earth.
"I hope everybody leaves with a little more sensitivity to what it is around you. If that happens, that will be beautiful," Meme muses.
"The message is let's have fun and be conscious with how lucky we are to be living in this planet."
Friends of Nature Music Festival. Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10. Virginia Key Beach Park, 4020 Virginia Beach Dr., Virginia Key. The show starts at 10 a.m. and tickets cost $45 to $170 plus fees via fonfest.com/tickets. Visit fonfest.com.
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