Rock de los '90s

The last decade of the millennium was a prime time for new music — think grunge in all its flannel-wrapped glory, and the rise of hip-hop, electronica, and alt-rock. But one of the decade’s biggest musical revelations? The emergence of a poderoso, wildly popular rock en Español scene, with groups that took el mundo Latino by storm and crossed over into the English-speaking world on the strength of killer new sounds like “El Matador,” the samba-ska thriller from Los Fabulosos Cadillacs; “Fundamental,” from Puerto Rican metalheads Puya; and “Vivir Sin Aire,” the arena-rock power ballad from new Mexican superestrellas Maná.

“Gimme Tha Power,” demand rap-metal outfit Molotov, and we’ll give ’em that and more Rock de los ’90s, in Next Steps.

The hyper-drive hints of banda powering Tijuana No!’s “Pobre de Ti” may not sound like it has much in common with the elaborately orchestrated alt-pop of Soda Stereo and “Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver,” but that’s kind of the point — Rock de los ’90s is all about the new sense of libertad musical that saw a decade packed with everything from the multicolored pop flight of Fito Paéz and a “Mariposa Tecknicolor,” to the rough beauty of Alejandra Guzmán and “Eternamente Bella,” to the debut of does-it-all singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas and a righteous “De Mis Pasos.”

The rock liftoff of Los Lobos’ “Mas y Mas” cries out for more and more — find it in Deep Cuts.

Hey, diez años is a long time! You could spend just as long looking through years’ worth of Rock de los ’90s for lo mejor in overlooked and undiscovered tracks — or you can download Deep Cuts for the retro-meets-future-forward flow of “Sexy” from Venezuelan mischief-makers Los Amigos Invisibles conjunto a the light punk crunch of Colombian superstars Aterciopelados and an early-days “Florecita Rockera.” And while rockers La Barranca give a twist to the trad with a bonus-track take on the Cuban son “Chan-Chan,” Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas take listeners on an alt-rap journey with “Expedición Al Klama Hama.”

It had been bubbling up from underground for years, but when the ’90s arrived, so did the full fuerza of rock en Español. A breakthrough decade for bands from Mexico City to Chile, from East L.A. to Madrid, the ’90s saw an unprecedented explosión of estilos y sonidos, one that launched artists like Shakira (and her sensual experience “Ciega, Sordomuda”) from fame in her Colombian homeland to superstardom the whole world over. Meanwhile, Mexican rock pioneers El Tri blazed a trail with gritty anthems like “El Indocumentado,” Chilean trio La Ley laid down the law with passionate alt-rockers like “El Duelo,” and Café Tacuba tweaked tradition — and just about anything else that sounded good to them — for tracks like a fast and furious “La ingrata.” ¿Y nosotros? Well, we bring the best of the decade and the world into one muy esencial set of Rock de los ’90s.