To hear Ozomatli’s influence on modern pop music, turn on the radio.

“I think the youth, they’re less burdened by genre; they’re more about, ‘I like that song,’” saxophonist, clarinetist and keyboardist Ulises Bella said from the band’s home base of Los Angeles, shortly before leaving on a West Coast tour that stops at Munch and Music on Thursday. “Whether it’s examples like that new song that’s on the radio that’s played to death, that ‘Despacito’ song — tons of people love that song, and it’s in Spanish for the most part. I think, in a lot of ways, it’s really, really cool.”

“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and featuring Justin Bieber just spent its 10th week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The last time a mostly Spanish song topped the chart — Los Del Rio’s “Macarena,” in 1996 — Ozomatli had just formed in Los Angeles. At the time, the band’s hyperkinetic mix of funk, Latin pop and hip-hop, sung mostly in Spanish, inspired as much confusion as dancing.

“I think even when we first started, mixing a song with English and Spanish (lyrics) was just nuts,” Bella said. “We were getting all kinds of flak from it from radio programmers or things like that. Slowly, we’ve seen how that’s changed through the years, so definitely, there was a lot of resistance (in the beginning).”

The core founding group of Bella, bassist Willy “Wil-Dog” Abers, lead vocalist/guitarist Raúl “El Bully” Pacheco, percussionist/rapper Justin “El Niño” Porée, trumpeter Asdru Sierra and drummer Jiro Yamaguchi has continued to evolve over the past two-plus decades. In recent years, the band has integrated more English lyrics into its fiery sound, while still maintaining a strong foothold in Latin groove.

Its eighth album, “Non-Stop: Mexico to Jamaica,” released earlier this year, could be considered a return to form in some ways, as it primarily features Spanish lyrics. But as the title hints, the album is a genre exercise — a rarity in the Ozomatli oeuvre — featuring classic and contemporary Mexican and Mexican-American songs performed in a reggae style. The unusual mash-up was inspired by one of Ozomatli’s original songs, “Cumbia de los Muertos,” from the band’s self-titled, 1998 debut album.

“The genesis of the idea was one night, in this one particular song called ‘Cumbia de los Muertos’ — we have an open section where we kind of open it up and we start playing a reggae dub section,” Bella said. “And one night, our bass player was like, ‘Hey, if we just started singing the lyrics to this one really famous Mexican song,’ and I think that immediate clash and mash-up of styles turned the audience — they were like, ‘whoa, what’s going on?’”

The band members culled tracks from their personal experience, striking a balance between contemporary pop (“Land of 1,000 Dances,” featuring G. Love and original Ozomatli member Chali 2na; “Come and Get Your Love”; Selena’s “Como la Flor”) and traditional (“La Bamba,” “Besame Mucho”). They eventually ended up recording 22 songs, Bella said, though only 14 appear on the album. Santana’s “Evil Ways,” one of the songs that made the cut, holds some significance for the band — one of its first breaks was opening for the guitarist on his late ’90s “Supernatural” tour.

The album was produced by legendary drum-and-bass duo Sly and Robbie (drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare), who met Ozomatli through the festival circuit. However, the two camps were never in the studio together — Ozomatli sent digital tracks to Sly and Robbie, who added their contributions.

“I think the only challenges that it really (presented) for us personally was just that want to be in the room with them,” Bella said. “… Technologically-wise, it’s so instantaneous — the feedback is so instantaneous on what should be done and whatever, that the technical aspect is all good. I think more it’s the shooting the s— vibe that we really miss — just being in the room and just … talking stories and asking them questions about certain things. When it’s done this way, it’s more just no bulls— and just, boom.”

The album’s focus on Mexican culture and music seems timely with the immigration and refugee debates raging on in American politics. Ozomatli has long used its music to fight for global unity, worker’s rights and Latino culture — in 2006, the band served as Cultural Ambassadors through the U.S. State Department, touring in Nepal, China, India, Jordan, Vietnam, Thailand and more; and in 2010, the band was the first musical group to speak at the TED conference in San Francisco.

“I see the good and the bad — I see people coming up to me really concerned about what’s going on, really wanting to work it out, and then I see the super ugly side of people coming up to elderly parents and saying, ‘Hey, Trump’s gonna deport you,’” Bella said. “It’s like, are you … kidding me, man? … Let’s face it, if every single immigrant worker left this country, it would be financial ruin. Let’s face it; let’s really deal with the issue and reforming all the things that need to be reformed.”

What: Ozomatli, with 
Possessed by Paul James

When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Munch and Music at Drake Park, 777 NW Riverside Blvd, Bend

Cost: Free

Contact: munchandmusic.com