La Santa Cecilia carries on the Los Angeles music tradition at CSU Monterey Bay.

Mexican-American rockers La Santa Cecilia weren’t sure if the group had any fans in Ketchikan, Alaska. Just a few months earlier, the outfit picked up its first Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock Album (Treinta Días), but did that news make it to Alaska’s southeasternmost city?

“We don’t even know why the show was booked,” admits percussionist Miguel Ramirez. “But it was packed. From the beginning of the first song until the end, everyone was dancing.”

La Santa Cecilia come from the same Los Angeles school of thought that hatched border cross-pollinators like Los Lobos, Quetzal and Ozomatli – fluid genre-jumping rife with everything from cumbia and punk to reggae and rock to punk and son jarocho.

Ramirez, accordionist Jose “Pepe” Carlos, bassist Alex Bendana and lead singer La Marisoul play like they believe music, above everything else, has the ability to bridge cultural gaps.

“When you’re playing music, people open their hearts and their lives to you in a different way,” Ramirez says.

The last couple years have been fruitful for the band. They earned the coveted Grammy, reached No. 3 on iTunes’ Latin music charts (alongside Pitbull) and made it onto Billboard’s Latin Albums Top 10. They also recently secured a record deal with major label Universal Latino.

Long before all the accolades, LSC’s members began as working musicians. Everyone knew each other from gigging around L.A., and everyone was fluent in an array of genres, from traditional Latin American and salsa to jazz and funk.

“Growing up in a diverse city has allowed us to have an open playing field,” he says. “There are a lot of possibilities.”

LSC’s “El Hielo” glides with a bossa nova tempo as the story of three immigrant workers unfolds. The unexpected cover of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” is sultry, Brand New Heavies-style pop-funk that makes for the most original interpretation of the tune.

“It’s mind blowing to think how far dreams can take you,” Ramirez says.

LA SANTA CECILIA 7pm Wednesday, Oct. 29. CSUMB University Center Ballroom, Sixth and Butler, Seaside. $20; $15/military, seniors; $10/CSUMB faculty and staff, non-CSUMB students; $5/CSUMB students, children. 582-3009.