Raised in Westminster, Thenmozhi Soundararajan has grown to become a multifaceted creative force. After completing high school in OC, she traveled north to the Bay Area to become executive director of Third World Majority. Soundararajan later returned to Southern California and enrolled in film school at USC. Her latest creative outlet, Midnight Radio, is a neo-noir rock band formed in the sound department of that university. Soundararajan's onstage persona, “Dalit Diva,” has attracted international press, including a profile in India's The Sunday Guardian earlier this week.
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As she explains in The Sunday Guardian's write-up:
“My first name, Thenmozhi, is a conventional Tamil name that means 'a voice like honey'. While Dalit has a negative connotation for many people, I connect it with the history and tradition of resistance and musicianship that is over 2,000 years old. My ancestors played drums in funeral processions, and I have a rich musical and political legacy to follow.”
Returning to Orange County with her musical vision in tow, Soundararajan enlisted Midnight Radio in a Battle of the Bands hosted at Bernie's Bar in Fullerton in October 2009. Despite being a very early performance of the group, they displayed a disciplined multigenre approach, mixing rock, funk and ska sensibilities. The Dalit Diva's stage persona, meanwhile, communicated a penchant for the pure fun of playing music, including an interactive cover of TLC's '90s anthem “Waterfalls.”
Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!