Carlos Rodríguez is a multi-instrumentalist, musical director, and educator from Visalia, California, whose musical path has been shaped by deep cultural curiosity, intergenerational learning, and an unwavering commitment to community. Raised in a home surrounded by mariachi, R&B, and classic rock, Carlos began experimenting with music by sneaking his father's guitar out from under the bed. Over the decades, that early impulse evolved into a lifelong journey of musical exploration and cultural stewardship.

Carlos is best known as the founder of Mezcal, a group formed in the late 1990s as a high school project and now a long-standing presence in the Valley’s Latin rock and dance music scene. Blending influences from Santana, El Chicano, and Afro-Caribbean traditions, Mezcal became a vehicle not only for performance, but for cultural experimentation—bringing Latin rock, cumbia, and folkloric percussion to diverse audiences and age groups.

A life-changing trip to Guinea, West Africa profoundly shifted Carlos’s view of music as entertainment toward music as a communal responsibility. There, he studied traditional drumming and lived in the village of Orko, where music was woven into every life event. The experience transformed his sense of purpose, leading him to center teaching and mentorship in his work. Upon returning, Carlos expanded his efforts in community music education, offering percussion workshops, donating instruments, and working with organizations across the Valley to make music accessible—especially to youth and non-professional learners.

Carlos’s teaching approach is rooted in oral tradition, emphasizing rhythmic feeling, storytelling, and cultural memory over formal technique. Whether composing for local theater productions, performing with Mezcal, or preparing for his new teaching role in juvenile hall, he remains committed to fostering environments where music becomes a source of connection, healing, and self-expression.

Carlos Rodríguez’s work honors the sounds of Greater Mexico, Africa, and the Central Valley—not as static repertoires, but as living traditions that must be shared, adapted, and kept in motion.