With roots going all the way back to Africa, and head in the urban jungles of Los Angeles, Ozomatli is a band with a message. "We represent the ghettos," says Wil-Dog, Latin bass specialist and band spokesman. "We want to make a change in our neighborhoods, show people a positive way to live."

Ozomatli is the Aztec god of dance, and that is exactly what this group inspires in their ecstatic audiences. Funk, salsa, hip hop, jazzy freestylin' poetry with rhythm. The big band includes guitar, bass, horns and turntables, with a big emphasis on percussion. Going from playing strictly political benefits a couple of years ago, Ozomatli now commands crowds thousands strong all across the US. Their frequent performances in home turf always end in spontaneous carnaval-esque expressions that explode out of the clubs and into the streets in the form of parades or drumming circles.