2MX2 + LOLITA A BRIDGE FROM OUR ANCESTORS AT THE CENTER of the logo for Denver-based Latin rock and hip-hop band 2MX2 is its version of Ollin, the Mexica symbol that loosely translates to movement, motion or transformation. When Europeans colonized what is Americas, now known they as the called Mexica people “Aztecs” and the land, which was and is still recognized JOSHUA ABEYTA DENVER VOICE MUSIC REPORTER by indigenous people as Aztlan, “Mexico.” Mexica people Nahuatl, which blended with Spanish to create the current version of “Mexican Spanish,” with Nahuatl words woven in like cholo (xolo), chocolate (xocolātl) and aguacate (āhuacatl), which shapeshifted to become the English word avocado. For all the ways things can get lost in translation, 2MX2’s music transcends borders, language and time. Founded in 2012, the band was originally a rap duo featuring cousins Owen Trujillo, aka O1, and Juice E Hugo. The band took its name from the much debated panic around the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar in 2012, which many speculated would lead to apocalyptic and cataclysmic events. “We just wanted to flip the perspective that it’s not the end, it’s the beginning,” O1 said. Lolita Mendoza Castañeda, who became the band’s third member in 2017, said, “it feels like a bridge from our ancestors to where we are now.” “Sometimes it feels like maybe in those moments when the speak name and the logo [were] chosen for the band, it almost felt like maybe we didn’t even know how deep that significance was,” she said. “It’s like remembering and reintroducing it, and popularizing it to the public, getting other people to remember too, you know?” Hugo added. “We were drawn to this, then other people will be too, but maybe they just haven’t been exposed to it.” The band set out on its own path of discovery, eventually recruiting enough musicians to fill out a seven-piece band and round out its sound. The current roster includes DMDTheProducer, the group’s bassist, drummer Kenny O, also of the Flobots, guitarist and arranger Adrian Garay, and Eastlin, a multi-instrumentalist and “computer guy.” With a deep history of intersectionality, the band naturally blends its various musical influences and inspiration with its members’ lived experience. The group delivers club hits alongside modern takes on time-honored protest songs through a Latin/rap/rock lens. The title track from their 2025 full-length record “Si Se Puede” is a tribal-sounding roll call blending rock and reggaeton, with O1, Juice and Castañeda’s rapid Spanglish rap verses alternating in an anthemic call to action over DMD’s infectiously progressive beats. Over time, the group naturally found there were two different projects underway with Castañeda creating her own sound and solo project. More of a parallel project than a side-piece, this vehicle allows her to fully curate her own artistic vision while still being musically supported by her SMX2 bandmates, especially DMDTheProducer. Even with the overlap, figuring out which songs should go with which project happens intuitively, according to Castañeda. “It’s a complex feeling, and I’ve always told myself I’m going to honor the expressions that need to come through me because 2MX2 and Lolita perform at Denver’s Underground Music Showcase. Photo by Jordan Altergott it is alchemy, and it is doing something for me, and it is very important for my soul,” she explained. “I know when a song resonates with me and feels like me. I also know when a song feels more like a 2MX2 track. It’s almost just like this feeling that happens.” 2MX2’s music is mostly community-centered and it has been translated into interactive curriculum for kids, community members, elders and everyone in between. Castañeda’s music is almost exclusively for more mature audiences and is guaranteed to get your back up off the wall at the club, like her pop/ reggaeton single and video for “Chi-Chi Suelta,” a tantalizing ode to the sexiness of femininity. The community-centered component of 2MX2’s music shows up in a variety of ways. Their first foray was a performance with the Voco Coalition. The partnership was a success, and doors in the educational realm started opening. “They would just see the impact we had on the kids, and we enjoyed it because we just saw ourselves on the other side,” O1 said. “We’re the guys that come to the schools and talk about music now. Those people that went to our schools [when we were young] were the reason that we kept wanting to be musicians.” Since then, the two groups have branched out beyond Denver, making lasting connections in the San Luis Valley and Mexico City. They continue to spread their message of unity, while finding the spaces where they can be whole and complete humans, showcasing all the beauty and wonder that is possible beyond any human-made border. Keep up to date with the group at www.2mx2.com. DENVER VOICE OCTOBER 2026 5
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