The anthology of songs crafted over the years by the rock group Caifanes is seemingly as sacred to rockeros as the passages of the Popol Vuh were to the Mayans. The pioneering Rock en Español
band from Mexico City formed in 1987 and went on to record many of the
most classic songs the genre has ever known.
Led by singer-poet Saúl Hernández, Caifanes attracted audiences with their spiritual lyricism and
impeccable musicianship until the band broke up in 1995 and Hernández
reorganized his outfit as the “Jaguares” while retaining the services of
drummer Alfonso André.
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Jaguares still record albums, tour and perform Caifanes classics as part of their authoritative sets. In fact, they last strolled through the Anaheim House of Blues in September. But for those who want to get their classic Rock en Español fix in this weekend and for a lot less money than a typical Jaguares concert, Los Angeles-based band Neblina is performing a Caifanes tribute at the Juke Joint in Anaheim on Friday. It's the latest show in local Anaheimer Christian Mejia's effort to revive the scene in OC.
With that, I asked my friend Noemi “Rockerita” Valencia, an Inland Empire teacher who went to school with me at UC Riverside, to give me a list of five Caifanes songs that Neblina would be well placed to have in their set list.
A rockera through and through, one of Valencia's highlights in her music loving life came at a Jaguares concert at the Grove of Anaheim–one of six of their shows she attended that year. Front and center, the 5'1'' fan told the beefed up security guard that she was going to get on stage before the night's end. As the band broke into Detrás de los Cerros, Valencia, true to her word, hopped the security barrier, hugged Hernández, planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered “Te amo Saúl” before being whisked away backstage!
With such credentials to her name, I tortured Valencia by asking her to provide me with five “must covers” for Friday's show from the Caifanes' catalog of songs. An original list of twenty-two songs slowly but surely made its way down to the requested number over a number of days. Here are the picks in no particular order! Gracias Rockerita!
1. Viento
2. La Bestia Humana
3. La Célula Que Explota
4. Nubes
5. Cuéntame Tu Vida
Neblina performs a Caifanes tribute show at the Juke Joint, 735 N. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim. (714)778-1397, www.thejukejointbar.com. Fri. 8:30 p.m. $10. Two-for-one tickets before 9:30 p.m. Also performing, Velorio and Ideas Divergentes.
Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!