Some of the press quotes below contain links to the full articles.

"Pistolera frontwoman Sandra Velasquez has not given herself an easy assignment: write searching, often politically conscious lyrics in Spanish with traditional Latin music instrumentation (such as jarana, accordion and tuba) for a diverse audience...the results are often glorious and galvanizing ("Guerra," a translation of Bob Marley's "War," couldn't be more relevant). The musicianship is superb here, and it's a pleasure to listen to a whole museum of brass, bongos, congas, caxixi, maracas and pandereta incorporated beautifully into a sound that doesn't fit neatly into any genre."-Billboard (review of "En Este Camino")

"Pistolera melds the sass of indie rock with traditional Latin sounds to create compelling pop melodies, all of it sung entirely in Spanish." -Billboard Magazine

"...a foot-stomping sound that's one part ranchera and one part indie-pop."
-The New Yorker

"Listening to Pistolera's self-released debut, "Siempre Hay Salida" ("There's Always a Way Out"), or watching lead singer and guitarist Sandra Lilia Velásquez stamp out a beat in her boots to bandmate Maria Elena's accordion melodies, you inevitably feel as though you've landed in the heart of Mexico.
The blend of soulful ranchera, peppy cumbia, and Spanish lyrics evokes a feeling that's distinctly south of the border, yet not too far south." Click here to read full article
-The Boston Globe

"Stand back, shoegazers and head-bobbers: Pistolera is taking the famously apolitical indie-rock scene by storm. The Brooklyn-based, four-piece rock band puts on a show that feels like an outdoor Latin music festival smack dab in the middle of a heated immigration rally. Click here to read full article
-Mother Jones

"Sandra Lilia Velasquez leads the fantastic New York based band Pistolera, which fuses traditional Mexican music with pop rock into something gorgeous and inventive."
- Houston Chronicle

"...when Sandra Lilia Velasquez stomps her boots to drummer Ani Cordero's rim shots on jumping songs from their debut album...by the time they finish "Tatuaje" your clothes will be soaked with sweat, the soles of your dancing shoes will be smoking, and you won't care whether they're from Brooklyn or Matamoros as long as they don't let the party end. This band makes a vigorous, moving fiesta wherever the bandstand may be." Click here to read full article
- Houston Press

"Firing funky, folky latin pop, this electrifying New York quartet features songs "En Español) by frontwoman Sandra Lilia Velasquez. Backed by driving accordion riffs of Maria Elena, and backbeat that blends indie-pop with old- school Mexican rancheras. Velasquez is helping redefine the urban latino sound."
- CMJ

"Groove along with Pistolera, Sandra Lilia Velasquez and Ani Cordero's funky band, which blends together ranchera, cumbia, banda and rock sounds. Velasquez's intoxicating voice and her passion while playing the electric guitar matched with Cordero's driving drumming style make for quite a spectacular live performance." - The New York Post

"In their debut album, Siempre Hay Salida, this stylish foursome deliver positive messages that make you want to think and dance. I predict that Mexican-American Vocalist & Guitarist Sandra Lilia Velasquez will be the Joan Jett/Lila Downs of web savvy Latino Gen Y'ers who can't get enough of artists who rock out with their accordions." Click here to read full article
- Urban Latino

"Pistolera es fuerte. Pistolera es peligrosa. Pistolera es roquerota y rancherota a la vez. El cuarteto neoyorquino...bien podría estar tocando toda la noche en una cantina de mala muerte o bien podría convertirse en la banda más popular del canal MTV."
- San Diego Union Tribune, Enlace

"Pistolera revoluciona la escena indie de Nueva York. En menos de una año y medio este cuarteto ha transcendido las barreras del lenguaje con su musica." - El Diario

"Pistolera se caracteriza por su pop latino que parte del folkor mexicano recreado en el rock. El estilo con que Maria Elena toca el acordeón, la dulzura de los coros de la baterista Ani Cordero, a la vez que no descuida la relación del ritmo con el bajo, ejecutado por Inca B. Satz, hacen junto a la majia progresiva de Sandra una Buena propuesta musical." - ASCAP Latino

Watch Enchufate Interview with Sandra in Chicago. 2008