Caifanes & Jaguares

Jaguares was born of vocalist Saul Hernández's and guitarist Alfonso André's previous life as Caifanes, the most important and commercially successful Mexican rock band of the late eighties. Starting out as goth and new wave-inspired rockers, Caifanes — and subsequently Jaguares — have found poetry in darkness, strength in musical mystery, and modern innovation in Mexican tradition. Caifanes' first hit was "La Negra Tomasa," a dark but straight-ahead cover of a traditional Cuban song. Jaguares later bared their teeth on such guitar-charged rockers as "Dime Jaguar" and "Cuando La Sangre Galopa." Just as capable of crafting thoughtful romantic pop tunes as complex prog rock, Jaguares scored radio hits with songs like "Como Tu" and "Fin."

With its thundering percussion and soaring guitar riffs, "Cuando La Sangre Galopa" is Zeppelin-inspired rock mexicano at its finest. "Cuentame Tu Vida" showcases Caifanes' earlier roots and influences from UK acts like the Cure and the Smiths. The acoustic version of "No Dejes Que" is taken from the El Primer Instinto album, which found Jaguares re-interpreting versions of Caifanes and Jaguares hits with a stripped-down and more traditional approach.

Though their music is firmly rooted in Mexico, Jaguares' music has resonated with audiences throughout the United States, Central and South America, and in 1997, vocalist Saul Hernández even teamed up with legendary Algerian rai singer Cheb Khaled to record the bilingual Spanish-Arabic duet "Ki Kounti." The live version of "Dime Jaguar" demonstrates why Jaguares can fill venues around the world — they rock as hard and as well as their Anglo counterparts.

Jaguares was born of vocalist Saul Hernández's and drummer Alfonso André's previous life as Caifanes, the most important and commercially successful Mexican rock band of the late eighties. Starting out as goth and new wave-inspired rockers, Caifanes — and subsequently Jaguares — have found poetry in darkness, strength in musical mystery, and modern innovation in Mexican tradition. Caifanes' first hit was "La Negra Tomasa", a dark but straight-ahead cover of a traditional Cuban song. Jaguares later bared their teeth on such guitar-charged rockers as "Dime Jaguar" and "Cuando La Sangre Galopa." Today, Jaguares are Mexican alt-rock's most durable gods — a band who can play for 120,000 fans in the Zócalo of Mexico City one week, and then light up 30,000 more in the United States when they share a bill with Morrissey.