Latino Accent on Oom-Pah-Pah

Already a sensation in spots from Tijuana to Los Angeles, banda --a brand of music that blends German and Mexican influences--and its accompanying style of dance have hit Orange County in a big way over the last year. And nowhere is banda’s popularity more evident than at Peppers in Garden Grove, where some 300 fans flock to listen and dance to it every Sunday evening.

The heavy brass-and-bass-driven banda music sounds a little bit country, a little bit mariachi. And the dance--known as la quebradita (“the little break”)--is guaranteed to work up a sweat. Peppers’ management started the banda Sundays, featuring both live and recorded music, hoping to cash in on some of the great success they continue to have with banda programming on Monday nights at their other club in the City of Industry.

Banda actually hit big four years ago among Mexicans but has only reached mass appeal, particularly among young Latinos in the Southwestern United States, in the last two years. The music’s roots, however, go back to the 19th-Century immigration of Germans to northern Mexico. The music that developed generations later is a hybrid of German marching band sounds and Mexican feeling.

Its appeal has been partly fueled by the dance, which contains elements of country two-step, polka, lambada and flamenco-style heel stomping. What separates it from other Latino dances is the way you hold la chava (a young woman), says one local. You dip her frequently. Even the women get to lead, with some guys straddling them at the waist then dipping backward. The women then swing them around, the men’s heads only inches above the ground.

Actually, the staccato movements of feet kicking up constantly and bent arms bringing a pointed finger to face level and then down again resemble those of a go-go dancer.

Dancing is serious fun among banda aficionados, and Peppers obliges with a dance competition at 12:30 a.m. Prizes include a dinner at Peppers restaurant, Stetson cowboy hats and fringed leather vests.

But the scene is very friendly and not intimidating. So whether you’re Latino or just like new cultural experiences, banda at Peppers can be just the ticket.

In a corner one recent Sunday, a group of kids just out of high school sang in Spanish, their voices accompanying the recording artist blasting from the system. Though the crowd is young, parents also come to share a drink and a taco with their kids.

Dress ranges from Sunday best to cowboy. Many hombres sport 10-gallon hats of ivory straw and black felt, while some young women opt for snug denim shorts and cowboy boots.

The overflowing dance floor is a tribute to Dr. Mario and DJ Hex, who spin a lively playlist of the latest banda from 7 p.m. to closing seven hours later. They only break for the two live bands that go on beginning at 9:30 p.m. Each performs a 30-minute set, with new bands featured weekly.

There’s a scrumptious taco bar on the patio from 9 p.m. to closing serving up tortilla shells filled with chicken, carne asada or tongue for $1 each. Bottled beers, domestic and import, are $2.

* BANDA AT PEPPERS

* 12361 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove.

* (714) 740-1333.

* Sundays only, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

* Cover: females 18 and over get in free before 8 p.m., then it’s $5; males ages 18 to 20 pay $10, ages 21 and over, $7.