History was made on Saturday, June 22nd in downtown San Jose. Music fans of all abilities gathered for legendary Mexican rock band EL TRI’s Music in the Park performance with sign language interpreters at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. This was the first time the rock band, whose lyrics are in Spanish, performed with American Sign Language interpreters in its fifty-five-year history. It was also a first for Music in the Park, a summer concert series that has provided entertainment for over thirty-five years in downtown San Jose.
“This is so important to us. We know what it is like to be excluded. Anything we can do to make people enjoy music and forget their problems, we will do it. The idea that deaf people can rock with us is very exciting and emotional for us.”
Alex Lora, EL TRI
Comcast is proud to partner with EL TRI to create greater accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing fans. In collaboration with Pro Bono ASL, Comcast made the EL TRI concert a more inclusive music experience with the addition of live ASL interpreters. The trilingual interpreters Alberto Medero, Dany Castro, and Neil Cordova from Pro Bono ASL provided sign language interpreting services throughout the concert, each taking turns on stage to interpret EL TRI’s lyrics into American Sign Language for the audience.
“It’s more of painting a visual picture of the lyrics. It’s really about knowing the vibe—knowing what the artist is going for with their songs.”
Neil Cordova from Pro Bono ASL to The Mercury News on a recent article about the concert.
During this exciting evening, EL TRI fans also enjoyed live Lucha Libre wrestling matches, food trucks, and a Xfinity lounge where fans could have fun with a 360 photo booth, rest, and recharge their mobile devices.
EL TRI’s historic performance with sign language interpreters comes on the heels of Comcast’s recent announcement of live ASL interpreting services at eight Bay Area Xfinity Stores. Customers who need ASL support can visit any of the eight stores, where representatives will use ASL Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) to access a live interpreter, provided by partner Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). Comcast is the first telecommunications retailer in the country to offer live, on-demand, remote ASL interpreting services in stores to increase accessibility and better serve customers.
“The interpreters perform with so much enthusiasm that I love watching them,” said Chela Lora, who is married to Alex Lora and also serves as the band’s manager. “When they are interpreting, they do it with the euphoria and feeling of what the song is saying, not just with the words but also the feeling behind the lyrics.”
The Loras closed out the interview by thanking Comcast for bringing the interpreters. “It is a great satisfaction for us to have Comcast bring this experience to our concert celebrating 55 years of EL TRI here in San Jose.”
