Exclusive interview with Leo Rosales - MomotomboSF / Malo

Enjoy an Exclusive KGGV Interview

with

Leo Rosales

This week on River Theater Radio, KGGV 95.1 FM, we sat down with Leo Rosales — percussionist, vocalist, and co-founder of Momotombo SF — for a conversation that travels the full arc of San Francisco's Latin rock legacy. From growing up in the Mission District and finding his voice behind the timbales, to his years as an original member of Malo — the band that gave the world "Suavecito" and helped define the Chicano rock movement — Leo takes us inside the music, the culture, and the moments that shaped a generation. We talk about what it felt like to be part of something historic before anyone knew it was historic, the discipline and fire it takes to lead a 10-piece band built from Bay Area legends, and why Momotombo SF is anything but a nostalgia act. This is a conversation about rhythm, resilience, and the spirit of a sound that refuses to stop evolving — straight from the man who has lived every chapter of it.