Making Movies gives back to Kansas City with energy, music - and enriching young minds | Opinion
Making Movies is a Kansas City-based alternative rock band with a Latin-infused sound that is all its own. Fronted by Panamanian brothers Enrique and Diego Chi, the group has built a massive international following that has led to widespread acclaim from industry insiders all over the globe.
The band’s website quotes National Public Radio describing the collective as “one of the most unique groups around today.”
“Making Movies is sensual, smoky, and seductive,” the blurb reads. “Distorted guitars are buried under their Latin groove, colliding beautifully and urgently.”
After watching Making Movies perform live at Kansas City’s Crossroads Hotel in October, I’d say NPR’s assessment is extremely accurate. I’d heard of the group before, but it wasn’t until its rooftop performance that night that I actually caught Making Movies in person.
I was completely blown away.
In 2014, the band performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series — if you have about 15 minutes to spare, watching that video on YouTube is well worth your time. Making Movies’ 2018 Kansas City Star Sessions with local singer and harpist Calvin Arsenia is equally entertaining.
At times, lead vocalist and guitarist Enrique Chi seamlessly delivers smooth vocals or spoken word jams in English and Spanish. This fusion of Latin American and North American cultures has put Making Movies on the musical map here and abroad.
On Saturday, Making Movies will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its album, “A La Deriva” with a concert at The Ship in the West Bottoms. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 10. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com
Formed in 2009, the group’s staying power is evident. For me, more impressive is Making Movies’ work in the community through its 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Art As Mentorship.
What started off as a weeklong music camp about 14 years ago for schoolchildren in northeast Kansas City has turned into something so much more impactful, according to Enrique. A couple of weeks after the Crossroads show, I met with him to talk about the nonprofit he started in 2017.
The goal of Art As Mentorship is to connect students directly with a variety of internationally recognized musicians to bolster their job and life skills, and address some of the mental health challenges young people face.
The year-round program is on about a dozen sites in schools in Kansas and Missouri, according to Enrique.
Participants are guided through the entire artistic process as they build life and career skills through writing, recording, producing and promoting music, Enrique told me.
“Art has value outside of commercialization,” he said.
Former mentee Isabella Burch, 18, is a freshman business administration major at Rockhurst University. She graduated from Guadalupe Centers in May. She is just one of hundreds of students Art As Mentorship has mentored since its inception, according to Enrique.
For six years, Isabella said she took part in various aspects of the program. She started off as a singer and songwriter but through the program was introduced to piano, guitar, violin and other musical instruments.
Isabella credits the nonprofit for helping her cope with life as a teenager coming of age in Kansas City.
“It was my coping mechanism,” she said. “If anything was wrong, I always felt like I could run to music.”
Art as Mentorship “kept me busy and away from other things,” she said.
Isabella was a member of the first cohort that started off as a weeklong summer program. She’s known Enrique since age 12 and considers him a father figure.
“I tagged along with him,” she said. “He helped me get so many opportunities. He is like this bubble of energy and he is very committed and hardworking.”
Just as others have noted through the years, Making Movies and Enrique’s energy is infectious, according to Isabella.
“On stage, they’re loud and full of bright energy,” she said. “You can tell they are very passionate about what they are doing.”
Kansas City businesses or individuals interested in donating to Art as Mentorship to support this important program impacting young people throughout the metropolitan area should visit artasmentorship.org
