Dime, Jaguar

In order to catch los Jaguares on their 45 tour—the album so named for the 45 million people living in poverty in Mexico—I found myself once again at the Nokia Theater in Times Square (doesn’t anybody in New York ever book anywhere else???). The first bit of news, which those of you who have been watching TV know, is that Saúl has cut his hair. It makes him look, um, old, and as some audience members suggested, fresa. But he is still the same Saúl with that same entrancing voice which deftly sneaks in poetic quotes and political observations between songs in order to encourage audience members to get off their asses and do something to improve the world (that is, after they recover from their hangovers). As usual, there was a mix of responses from the audience. One guy next to me shouted out, “¡Que no se olviden de los compadritos del ’68!” and others just made their annoying “culero” calls while demanding particular songs.

* The Set *

Mostly Caifanes and early Jaguares songs and just a few from the new album, which nobody sang along to, although according to a People en Español interview with Saúl, the day after its release 45 made the “no 1 spot on I-tunes,” whatever that means. The encore consisted of a wonderful Caifanes set of 4 songs that ended with “No Dejes Que,” which may have been meant to slow things down, although if that was the intent the locos in the mosh pit didn’t seem to notice.


“Me salvé del mundo y de su furia pero no de ti…”

* The Mosh Pit *

Let’s begin by saying that the venue was so crowded that it took a good half a dozen songs for the moshing to even get started. There was simply no room. But when it did get going, it was, well, crazy. I was one of maybe, maybe, four women in there. I can’t remember the last time I was in a mosh pit that was so overwhelmingly male. The gender imbalance made for some interesting near-death experiences. After a certain point, it seemed like the slower the song tempo, the harder the moshers worked to keep things riled up. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I spent most of my time on the sidelines, but considering the overrepresentation of shirtless moshing dudes, I feel justified in my self-preservation tactics.

* The Verdict *

The show was awesome. The popularity of the 80’s and 90’s compositions, it seems, will never die. They just get better with time, and the band still performs them with all the love and electrified energy they deserve. And while the merits of the new songs is a subject of debate among fans, nearly all the songs on the new album are composed by Saúl, which is to say, they can never really be bad.

* P.S. *

The chisme mill here in Brooklyn has it that the new 4th member of the band is a paisa who used to work at a restaurant in Manhattan. The band used to invite him to play live with them whenever they came to town until they finally picked him up and gave him a new (and presumably better paying) job.

random fan notes...

Went to see Julieta (again) in Nueva York, and guess who was playing keyboards for her—Horacio “Chicho” Gomez, who has also been doing teclados for Los Enanitos Verdes ever since Big Bang (the 1995 album, not the explosion). Seeing him on stage with Julieta was like seeing an old friend in the company of one of your other great friends unexpectedly on a street corner. Although, of course, the circumstances aren't that random. Julieta and Los EV have been musical pals ever since Tracción Acústica (1998), a live album recorded in Mexico City and for which Los Enanitos invited Julieta to play her accordion. As for Chicho, during the last few Enanitos shows I’ve been to, his fellow argentinos always give him a solo in which he busts out some good old Argentine tango. And as for those little green guys, a fellow fan and close friend of the band told me that they are planning to release a new album (their 15th!) next year. In the meantime, they are doing their yearly tour EE.UU. in October, but haven’t announced Bay Area dates yet. Come on Barcelona, hurry up and confirm!

Not so fabuloso - "Matador" peddles Nissans

It's not a new strategy: big company purchases the rights to a popular song in order to sell a product. Nissan is no exception and is currently running a series of commercials in both Spanish and English set to some of our favorite tunes, such as Julieta Venegas' "Eres Para Mi" and Marc Anthony's "Dímelo." The most disappointing, though, is that Los Fabulosos Cadillacs have also sold a song to Nissan. The kicker is that the song they sold is “Matador,” a song about a freedom fighter living under a (U.S. backed) dictatorship. I saw Los Fabulosos in concert about ten years ago. One of the band members was wearing a Madres de la Plaza de Mayo t-shirt. These days, instead of demanding justice for los desaparecidos, “Matador” is out peddling the 2008 Altima to television watchers.

In memory of the true spirit of “Matador,” I leave you with these lyrics from the song:

Viento de libertad sangre combativa
en los bolsillos del pueblo la vieja herida
de pronto el día se me hace de noche
Murmullos, corridas aquel golpe en la puerta,
Llegó la fuerza policial

Mira hermano en que terminaste
por pelear por un mundo mejor
Que suenan, son balas, me alcanzan,
me atrapan, resiste, Victor Jara no calla…