“Like the peaceful joy of love. It never dies.”
Formed in the late 60s by Francisco “Frankie” Bareño in Tijuana, Baja California, The Ritual stands as one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, progressive rock and hard rock in Mexico, revolutionizing the scene with its energy, consciousness and intention. Today, 54 years later, it comes to light The Ritual in Avandaro (2025), an album recovered from its presentation at the Avándaro Rock and Wheels Festival (1971). In interview for Indie Rocks!the musician and producer of the album, Victor Moreno de Leóntells us about this trip.
The legacy of El Ritual to current music can be defined as the result of a search for the universal self through a musical work that implies mystique and integration with the cosmos, very much in accordance with the context in which we lived in 1971, cultivating fusion with hard rock, jazz and progressive rock, as we knew them at that time.
“And now the time has come slowly to turn his eyes to the sun.”
The band arrived in Mexico City in 1971 and, a few months later, performed at the historic Avándaro Rock and Wheels Festivalthanks to the invitation of his then manager, the late musician, writer and journalist Armando Molina. This festival, originally planned as a car event enlivened by rock bands, took place on September 11 and 12 in Avándaro, Valle de Bravo, State of Mexico.
Several problems arose during the festival that Victor Moreno de Leónwho was in charge of backline along with Fernando Rivera “El Cabezón”, technical and staff of peace and lovethey had to solve as they came.
“No one thought that this event would attract so many people, an average of 20 thousand people were expected and, in the end, it is estimated that there were between 250 and 300 thousand. Everything was overflowing, including the light plants of Mexican Telesystem. The festival was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday the 11th and end at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday the 12th, but the light plants began to be used on Friday the 10th. On Saturday night, the equipment began to collapse until, around 3:00 a.m., they stopped working during the shift. The Yaki. We were without lighting or audio for 40 minutes and, as a result, certain sectors of the public began to get impatient. In fact, someone threw a loggerhead onto the stage, which crashed against the roof structure, splashing us not only with the liquid, but also with broken glass. Shortly after, when power was restored, everything returned to normal, although the recording console stopped working. For this reason, there is no audio record of some bands.”
The Ritualintegrated at that time by Gonzalo “Chalo” Hernandez (bass and backing vocals), Martin Patrick Mayo (keyboard and flute), Abelardo “Lalo” Barceló (drums and singer) and Francisco “Frankie” Bareño (guitar, flute and singer), was a pioneer in the use of facial makeup, even before bands like Kiss.
“Although certainly in Avandaro marijuana, acids and all kinds of 'candy' circulated profusely, the members of The Ritual They didn't use drugs. Of course, the majority smoked, except for Frankiewho was a vegetarian and practiced esoteric disciplines that are reflected in his compositions. He had the idea of putting on makeup to go on stage, painting half his face in a color with the intention of representing the four elements of nature: water, earth, wind and fire. The group had an above-average mystique and discourse.”
“I'm gonna, gonna get you again, I'm gonna, gonna get you my friend.”
After its presentation at the Avándaro Rock and Wheels Festival (1971), The Ritual released his self-titled debut album. This material, recorded entirely in English, presents a mix of duality, identity and symbolism.
My favorite song on the album, 'Bajo el Sol y Frente a Dios', stands out for its composition, which fuses the best of Anglo-Saxon rock, influenced by the Canterbury school. His lyrics have a deep philosophical content that invites reflection. Unlike Christian rock, it is not overtly proselytizing, but addresses the belief in a universal consciousness or 'divinity' from the perspective of someone who understands their place in the universe and the meaning of love. This love first manifests itself as self-love and, in turn, extends to others, nature and the universe. The bands of that generation took their role as guides and leaders of their audience very seriously, showing great commitment.”
Conceived from the beginning as a rock opera, The Land I Told You Aboutwas going to be his second album but, starting in 1972, Martin Patrick Mayo (keyboard and flute) left the band and entered in his place Luis Hernandez.
“This work, authored by Frankie (Bareño), it was not easy to perform live, it required several changes in instrumentation because it was designed to be performed in theaters and not in pits. funkies. The recording, which would be the first with lyrics in Spanish, was not completed due to commitments from the band and the record label.
In mid-1972, Frankie (Bareño) found it necessary to return to Tijuana and was replaced by Ricardo Ochoa. The band still sounded very powerful but, without the author of the work, the project stopped.”
“Of all that's happening here. I would rather disappear.”
The Ritual in Avandaro (2025) is a historical sound document that was lost for more than 30 years. During that period, various versions emerged about his whereabouts. The most widespread suggested that, on instructions from the Secretary of the Interiorthe audio and video tapes of the Avándaro Rock and Wheels Festival (1971), collected by Mexican Telesystem (today Televisa), had been requisitioned and, presumably, destroyed.
“In 2003, Armando Molina He released a double CD with the audio from this festival, which he personally rescued, although the source of the material was not specified. This work was the first to reliably document what some groups played at the event.
The album includes selected songs from Los Dug Dug's, Tequila, La División del Norte, Bandido, El Epílogo, Peace and Love and The Ritual. However, it does not contain the complete performances of these groups, being limited to two or three songs for each one. In addition, Los Yaki, Tinta Blanca, Three Souls in my Mind and Love were not included in this work, since they could not be recorded due to the gradual collapse of the light plants after the action of peace and love.
A couple of years ago, an acquaintance in Guadalajara, a rock radio show host, provided me on a USB with the complete performances of several bands, including The Ritual. Listening to that recording, 50 years later, and knowing that Ricardo Ochoa had already released a CD with what his band peace and love played on AvandaroI understood that I had to carry out the same sound rescue for the work of The Ritual.
Over the years, I have maintained contact with the band members (who live in the United States). Upon informing them of my intention, they gave me the green light for the project, and I got to work. The original audio, quite primitive and below current standards, was processed in the studio Musical Orbit of Raul Ochoaguitarist of Megatonin Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. Thanks to digital technology and the expertise of Raul“, we managed to optimize and improve the audio quality to offer a product that sounds good, although without losing sight of the fact that there are aspects of the original audio that are impossible to correct.”
This album includes three unreleased songs: “Our People”which would originally be part of their self-titled album (1971), “Agony”one of the rock opera movements that was not recorded and “Hidden Paths”with the Latin vein that, at that time, was in vogue thanks to Carlos Santana.
It also contains a bonus track that is not part of their iconic album: a spontaneous improvisation. Due to electrical failures, the Hammond organ stopped working. The recording captures the moment when Frankie (Bareño) announces to the audience that they will improvise while the instrument is being repaired.”
“There's no life without love”
Currently, the music of The Ritual It is a valuable contribution to the history of psychedelia in Mexico, thanks to its short but intense and fruitful career.
“The work of these four boys (who at that time had an average age of 20 years) contains much more than hard rock or long hair, since their recordings left the table set so that those of us who came behind could not only taste their dishes but also learn to cook.”
The Ritual in Avandaro (2025) is now available in the Chopo Cultural Market and, soon, in the Alicia Cultural Multiforum.
To my dad, Mario Villegaswho was also in the Avándaro Rock and Wheels Festival (1971).
