Los Kung Fu Monkeys is an eight-piece punk ska-core band from Tijuana B.C. Mexico. Formed in 1997 by brothers Tarek and Hassan Limas, they play in and around Southern California, as well in Baja California Mexico. The band especially thrived during what Tarek Limas calls Tijuana’s “huge ska outbreak” of 1999-2002. They were the first Mexican band without a major label to get booked on the Warped Tour, and have played well over a dozen different countries, on three continents.
“We toured Australia last year [2017],” singer Bernie Leos told the Reader. “We never stopped playing.”
Their 13-song debut CD on One Shot Records contains high energy music with dual vocals, including a cover of the Cure’s classic “Boys Don’t Cry.”
Subsequent albums included Rebuilding the World and End Transmission. In 2010, they released a collection of songs, And They Came From Tijuana (1997-2007).
And They Came From Tijuana (1997-2007) features tracks from the band’s out-of-print first three records, one of them never available in the U.S.: Rebuilding the World, End Transmission, and a self titled album previously only available in Europe and Mexico.
In 2015, Tarek Limas opened his Mods Bar and Venue in Tijuana, although he sold his stake in the venue around three years later.
The Monkeys played at the April 2018 Sabroso festival at Doheny State Beach with the Offspring, Vandals, Pennywise, and Unwritten Law, for a crowd of around 15,000 people.