When it comes to contemporary Mexican music, one of the groups I can highly recommend is Café Tacvba (pronounced Café Tacuba). However, when it comes to describing this amazing music, it poses a major challenge. Clearly, it's popular rock (though a far cry from what's understood as "pop"), however within this very broad concept it's really not easy to place them. Are they more on the punk side? Or romantic rock? Alternative? (whatever that means...) Or maybe Metal? The truth is, it could be either at certain times, depending on the song. But that's not all, Café Tacvba incorporates other musical styles into their eclectic style, mostly Latin American types, such as samba, banda, mariachi, and even lesser known genres, such as musique concrète, or son jarocho.
For today's #ThreeTuneTuesday challenge I would like to share three songs of this very diverse group. It was not easy to pick my choices, as there are so many other great hits left out. So if you enjoyed my selection I really urge you to look up Café Tacvba for yourselves, and get an idea of the immense variation these guys are capable of.
Getting Familiar with Mexico City Slang
When learning a new language one is inadvertently confronted with the difference between the officially correct form, and the colloquially used 'street-slang' of that tongue. This couldn't be any more extreme in Mexico City, where the local slang is already a mix of various regional Spanish slangs from around the country. It is influenced by the native language of Nahuatl, as well as... honestly, I have no idea about the roots of these truly interesting expressions. When I discuss the Spanish spoken on the streets of my city, I typically like to show one particular song that brings many of these words together: Chilanga Banda. I always get a kick out of how native Spanish speakers (from Colombia, Spain, Argentina, ... or even from other parts of Mexico) don't understand a word of it! As for me, I kinda get about half of the expressions, as some of them are so common that one gets to hear them on a daily basis. Others... less so. In this video the lyrics are included, but the meanings you will have to look up yourself!
Mexican Music Straight From the Heart
What could be more Mexican than some sappy love song, preferably about a broken heart, accompanied with choppy accordion chords? Not much, really. So you may as well add a bit of fast-paced heavy rock, and you can be sure that heaps of heart-broken men will chime in about some unrequited love they're still suffering from. Music that comes from the heart and goes right back to it! This is exactly what the song Ingrata did, and you bet it became one of Café Tacvba's most recognized hits. In spite of its frustration-laden lyrics (or maybe precisely because of them) it is a popular party hit, inspiring to dance, drink, and cry out one's own feelings of rejection. As you would probably guess, the generally anti-female theme of the song prompted the group to stop performing it for a while. However, they soon went back to playing it again, as they realized that leaving it out of their repertoire did not stop feminicides from happening.
Harken Back to Olden Times
Are you familiar with son jarocho? (Actually I should dedicate a post to this ancient Mexican music style...) It is folk music, mainly from the Mexican state of Veracruz, known for captivating rhythms and high-pitched falsetto singing. The lyrics tend to be short humorous verses expressing often more serious and complex themes. Though the song Ojalá Que Llueva Café was written by Dominican artist Juan Luis Guerra, its elements are very typical for the folk style of the Golf of Mexico region. The title, translating to Hopefully Coffee Will Rain refers to the outrageous fantasies of poor peasants in the country, confronted with the difficulties of everyday life. By covering it in this very distinct style, Café Tacvba brought it into new areas of popularity.
Care for More Café Tacvba?
I know, this is #TTT so by listing more songs I'm effectively smashing the concept here. Still, I don't think I should leave without mentioning at least Como Te Extraño mi Amor, another super famous hit by this group, Esa Noche, a soft romantic song, or El Borrego one from the group's hard end of the spectrum. Okay, now I've really done it! So go ahead and check out this amazing group in all their detail! Also, take a look at all the other posts in the community of this weekly contest created by @ablaze. And if you are curious about other music related posts I wrote, please visit my Monday Music post collection.