Mexican rock
Encyclopedia
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, often referred to in Mexico as rock nacional ("national rock"), originated in the 1950s with covers of standards by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
, among others, bands such as Los Rebeldes del Rock, Los Locos del Ritmo, Los Crazy Boys, Los Nómadas, and Javier Bátiz soon arose with original compositions, often in English. The group "Los Nómadas" was one of the first racially-integrated bands of the 1950s. Their lead guitarist Bill Aken (Adopted son of Mexican movie actress Lupe Mayorga, said adoption making Aken the cousin to Ritchie Valens) wrote most of their original material, including the raucous "Donde-Donde," and co-wrote the material for their "Sounds Of The Barrio" album that is still being sold by various Internet web sites. Their 1954 recording of 'She's My Babe' was the first top 40 'R & B' recording by a Latino band. In the southwest U.S. Spanish guitar rhythms and Mexican musical influences may have inspired some of the music of American musicians Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....
, Danny Flores
Danny Flores
Daniel Flores was the singer on his self-written song, "Tequila", an American Billboard number one hit in 1958 for The Champs....
(of The Champs
The Champs
The Champs were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged instrumental "Tequila". Formed by studio executives at Gene Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-Side for the Dave Burgess single, the intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-Side, "Train to...
), Sam the Sham
Sam the Sham
Sam the Sham is the stage name of the American rock and roll singer Domingo “Sam” Samudio . Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains...
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
and later, Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
. Initially, the public exhibited little interest in them, because of media attention paid to La Ola Inglesa (British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
).
However, after the substantial success of Mexican-American guitarist Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
in the United States in the late 1960s, a large number of bands sprang up, especially in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. Most of these bands sang in both Spanish and, with foreign commercial exposure in mind, English. Mexican and Chicano rock
Chicano rock
Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specifically Latin instruments or sounds...
has crossed into other Hispanic groups like José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
and Lourdes Rodriguez of Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
descent.
Important bands of this period were Enigma, Kaleidoscopio, El Tarro de Mostaza, El Ritual, Peace and Love, Ciruela, The Spiders, Love (El Amor), Three Souls in My Mind
El Tri
El Tri is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City fronted by Alex Lora. Founded in 1968 as Three Souls in My Mind, the group is regarded as influential in the development of Mexican rock music....
, Toncho Pilatos
Toncho Pilatos
Toncho Pilatos was a Mexican 1970s rock band. Along with Three Souls in my Mind , it was one the most representative predecessors of the "under" scene of Mexican rock...
, Los Dug Dug's
Los Dug Dug's
Los Dug Dug's are a Mexican rock group which started off in the early sixties as a high school band called Xippos Rock, with members [ROBERTO MIRANDA] and [MOISES MUNOZ]]...
, El Epilogo, La Semilla del Amor, Love Army
Love Army
In the late 1960s a wave of Mexican rock heavily influenced by psychedelic and funk rock emerged in several northern border Mexican states, in particular in Tijuana, Baja California. Among the most recognized bands from this “Chicano Wave” , there is one in particular that was recognized by their...
, Tinta Blanca, La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata
La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata
La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata was a 1970s music group in Mexico that broke sales records in Europe with their song 'Nasty Sex'. Breaking ties with their original concept, they continue actively interpreting romantic ballads.-Dizzying Start:...
, La Tribu, 39.4, La Division del Norte, Bandido, and Cosa Nostra.
Early years
Rock activity at this time in Mexico took place in either Mexico City and the nearby area or in northern cities such as MexicaliMexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
, and Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, and Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, whose proximity to the United States resulted in more exposure to American sounds.
Rock, as elsewhere, became tied with the youth revolt of the 1960s. Many Mexican rock stars became involved in the counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
movement. The three-day Festival Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro
Festival Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro
Festival Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro was a rock concert that took place on the night of Saturday, September 11, 1971 and became known as a milestone in the history of Mexican rock music...
, held in 1971, was organized in the valley of Avándaro near the city of Toluca
Toluca
Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...
, a town neighboring Mexico City, and became known as "The Mexican Woodstock".
In that rock festival, nudity, open sex, drug use, profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
/ obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, and the presence of the American flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
so scandalized conservative Mexican society that the government imposed cultural curbs in Mexican pop music on a temporary basis. The festival, intended to emulate Woodstock and Altamont, was never expected to attract the masses it did, and the government had to evacuate stranded attendees en masse at the end of the festival.
During the President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría Álvarez served as President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.-Early history:Echeverría joined the faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1947 and taught political theory...
's administration, the Mexican government tried to win back the country's legitimacy through populist, leftist-oriented programmes. Most things that could possibly be connected to the counterculture or student protests was sidelined on public airwaves by the powers that be, who feared a repeat of the student protests
Tlatelolco massacre
The Tlatelolco massacre, also known as The Night of Tlatelolco , was a government massacre of student and civilian protesters and bystanders that took place during the afternoon and night of October 2, 1968, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City...
of 1968, the very same event which the new government denounced. But, most Mexican rock bands sang and criticized the administration in general and, more specifically, corruption, poverty and persistent social inequalities taken place through Mexican history.
Few bands survived the curbs; though the ones that did, like Three Souls in My Mind (later El Tri), remained popular due in part to their adoption of Spanish for their lyrics, and also as a result of a dedicated following. As the hippie trend waned c. 1973, many Mexican bands inclined themselves to progressive rock and hard rock. During the seventies there was a surge of many new bands but there was very little support from the music industry towards producing original rock music,and the bands suffered from it and had to limit themselves to perform in hoyos fonqui. Representatives of this period were: Perro Fantastico, Mara, Vox Populi, Stray Cat, Rock Moviloy and many more. Perro Fantastico a band from the east of Mexico City (Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl) created rock music singing in Spanish and English, formed by the brothers Jose Luis and Jaime Francisco González (guitar and bass) with Guillermo Avalos (drums) and Arturo Fajardo (rhythm guitar) and played among the other bands in places like Salon Chicago, Macumba, el Herradero and other places until the band disbanded around 1978. During the seventies bands also performed in high schools, universities and other places. Many others followed or continued during the eighties.
Música rupestre scene
Since the late 1960s, there existed poets that sang with acoustic guitars and played in the then prosperous café cantante scene. These forums showcased the folkloric music that came from South America, specially from PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Performers like Víctor Jara
Víctor Jara
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
, Violeta Parra
Violeta Parra
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...
, Inti Illimani, Los Folkloristas and local Óscar Chávez
Óscar Chávez
Óscar Chávez is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. He was the main exponent of the Nueva Trova in Mexico in the sixties and seventies. He studied theatre at the UNAM and has produced and acted in several plays and movies and telenovelas in Mexico...
among many others denounced in their songs the atrocities of the military juntas, all of which experimented even worse repression than those in Mexico during the Tlatelolco incident, that governed most of the countries from Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
, and curiously the cafes cantantes thrived, as long as nothing was overtly critical of the Mexican government in general.
The scene eclipsed by the early 1980s, but several musicians like Rockdrigo, sometimes nicknamed "the Mexican Bob Dylan" developed an own Mexican folk style, which came to be known as 'Música Rupestre'. Later on they were dubbed 'Los Urbanos', because although they played acoustic guitars, the themes of their lyrics revealed the adverse conditions the working class had to face in the big cities, and blues forms were then incorporated in their compositions. When El Tri
El Tri
El Tri is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City fronted by Alex Lora. Founded in 1968 as Three Souls in My Mind, the group is regarded as influential in the development of Mexican rock music....
made an electric rendition of Rockdrigo's 'Metro Balderas' the fusion of rock and música rupestre was consummated.
Many others had continued to surface, but Rockdrigo's untimely death during the earthquake of 1985 in Mexico City skyrocketed his already legendary status, and thus he is considered the most influential exponent of both rock urbano and música rupestre.
Other notable bands: Banda Bostik, Sur 16, Tex-Tex, Interpuesto. The racially-integrated group "Los Nómadas" was one of the few to survive for decades and would stay together until well into the 1980s. They were often called into recording sessions to back-up Latino artists such as Freddy Fender. Their final recording session was in early 1990 and when Chico Vasquez died several months later, the group disbanded.
Metal scene
Since the 1960s hard rock had been assimilated by several groups, like the aforementioned Los Dug Dug'sLos Dug Dug's
Los Dug Dug's are a Mexican rock group which started off in the early sixties as a high school band called Xippos Rock, with members [ROBERTO MIRANDA] and [MOISES MUNOZ]]...
and El Ritual, and later by others like Náhuatl, Nuevo México and Bloody Rock. During the following decade it continued to exist in forms of heavy blues, which was an authentic underground movement, which peaked in the late 1970s when the Hoyos Funky came to notoriety around 1977.
Groups like Ramses and La Cruz are veterans of the era and were some of the first to be labeled as "heavy metal", but then again it was not until the 1990s that bands like Transmetal
Transmetal (band)
Transmetal is a thrash metal/death metal band formed in Yurécuaro, Michoacán, México in 1987 by Javier and Juan Partida. Transmetal have been one of the most important bands in Latin America....
, Next, Lvzbel and Semefo contributed to the scene with original approaches, when the most radical forms of the genre like death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
were fully digested. Today the metal scene is populated by such groups as Brujeria
Brujeria (band)
Brujeria is an extreme metal band formed in Tijuana, Mexico in 1989. Their name comes from the Spanish word for "witchcraft". Their songs, which are sung in Spanish, are focused on Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, politics....
, Asesino
Asesino
Asesino is an American extreme metal band and the recurring project of ex-Brujeria guitarist Dino Cazares, which has featured members of Brujeria, Fear Factory, Sepultura, Sadistic Intent and Static-X....
, and Disgorge
Disgorge (Mexican band)
- Albums :- Splits :- Compilations :- Alive :...
.
The early bands were followed by myriads of other groups, that exist in an evergrowing underground movement of sports arenas weekend concerts all over the country.
Melting pot: Chopo Bazaar
In 1980 an unprecedented event took place: The National University of Mexico UNAMUnam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
, through one of its cultural departments, invited the public in general to bring over their L.P. records and participate in trading them with other attendants. The gathering place was The Museo Universitario del Chopo, (popularly known as "Museo del Chopo") located in the heart of Mexico City, every Saturday morning.
For the first time since Avándaro rock musicians and record collectors had the opportunity to meet each other and exchange records, which created a collective conscience about rock and subculture in general that nevertheless had existed but did not have a "proper" site to develop. In the beginning the trading took place inside the facilities of the museum, but by the end of the year it could not contain an evergrowing crowd interested in finding records that were otherwise impossible to get from the established outlets, and the trading had become selling in many cases, where commerce sharks took advantage of the incipient new market for rock "rarities".
So the gathering extended to the street right in front of the museum, and several stands were erected, transforming all the affair in a tianguis
Tianguis
A tianguis is an open air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day....
, a kind of street bazaar. Despite this the record trading was still the main attraction, but other problems emerged. The resident neighbors of the museum saw how their calm Saturday morning became disturbed by a menacing motley crowd, that now included punks, new wavers, hippies, rastafaris, and every other extravagant people that found could express themselves freely at the weekly gathering, and as said before, met others with the same likings and inclinations, but with eventual sneaking inside the surrounding buildings to smoke a joint, or worse.
Soon the government tried to ban the tianguis, and as a matter of fact, the museum had already closed its doors to the whole event, stating that it or the National University "had nothing to do with the current state of affairs". They had created a monster, and it had grown so out of hand, that now it was on its own, and was being put down, like in the old days. But now the participants knew each other well, and the "heads" of the tianguis organized themselves, and as a group presented a proposition to the local government dependency, offering reliable and uncompromising security, and most important, a permanent fee.
However, the officials were reluctant, and between 1982 and 1989 the "Chopo"(as it was now known) changed locations no less than six times, from parks to parking lots to faculty gardens, always because of pressure from officials. And against all odds, it was still growing.
Finally, since 1990 it has been taking place on a street behind the Buenavista Train Station, not three blocks away from the original 'Museo del Chopo' location. From the original one hundred people that began attending in 1980, it is estimated that more than ten thousand people visit the tianguis every week. From the original record trading, it now displays all kinds of clothing, posters, movies, handicrafts, magazines, books, instruments, and all paraphaernalia related to the subculture, and rock in general.
There have been interesting social studies about the Tianguis Cultural del Chopo
Tianguis Cultural del Chopo
The Tianguis Cultural del Chopo is a Saturday flea market near Mexico City downtown, known locally as El Chopo. It is named after its original location which was near the Museo Universitario del Chopo, an art deco building with a couple of towers designed by Bruno Möhring...
(the official name), and people from around the world have marveled at display of such intense variety of subculture, when they have had the opportunity to watch it first hand. The Chopo has been a launching platform for many artists of different disciplines (not only rock music) to the world.
The mid-eighties
Mexican Rock immediately fell prey to the British InvasionSecond British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
of the early 1980s. Spanish rock bands like Hombres G
Hombres G
Hombres G is a Spanish pop rock band, formed in Spain in 1982. They are widely considered one of Spain's most important groups of the late 1980s and 1990s...
, Mecano
Mecano
Mecano was a Spanish pop band whose debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña , a sociocultural movement that occurred in Madrid, Spain during the 1980s...
, Radio Futura
Radio Futura
Radio Futura was a Spanish pop rock group. They rose to become one of the most popular bands in Spain during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1989 they were voted the best Spanish act of the 80s.-The beginnings:...
and La Unión took over the spotlight. Mexico responded with bands like Caifanes
Caifanes
Caifanes is a Spanish-language rock band from Mexico City formed in 1987. They achieved fame throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s. The original lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández , Sabo Romo , Alfonso André and Diego Herrera . Argentine guitarist Alejandro Marcovich joined in 1989...
, Maná
Maná
Maná is a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, whose career has spanned more than three decades. They have earned three Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, five Premios Juventud awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards and 13 Premios Lo...
, Ritmo Peligroso, Botellita de Jeréz
Botellita de Jeréz
Botellita de Jerez is a Mexican rock band, formed in Mexico City in 1982. Their music is a fusion of rock, cumbia, and Mexican traditional music like mariachi and son, creating the genre called guacarrock...
, El Tri
El Tri
El Tri is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City fronted by Alex Lora. Founded in 1968 as Three Souls in My Mind, the group is regarded as influential in the development of Mexican rock music....
and Micro Chips
Micro Chips
Micro Chips was a Mexican childrens rock music group during 1987-1993.-History:In 1987 Javier Willy and Daniel Willy from Torreón, Mexico, decided to start a band. Soon after Ricardo Villa joined them under the name "Explotion" . Later they were joined by ,Jay de la Cueva...
. Mexican pop bands like Timbiriche
Timbiriche
Timbiriche is the name of a Mexican group that debuted on April 30, 1982, during a broadcast of the news program Hoy Mismo with Alex Gongora and disbanded in 1994....
, Pandora, and Flans
Flans
Flans was an all female Mexican pop music group, which enjoyed popularity from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Its members were the singers Ivonne Margarita Guevara García, Ilse María Olivo Schweinfurth and Irma Angélica Hernández Ochoa...
as well as Spanish pop bands like Olé-Olé dominated the airwaves.
Monterrock
Starting in the 90s, Monterrey, Nuevo León has witnessed the birth of several bands that have become internationally acclaimed. Their genres vary considerably. Bands include Plastilina MoshPlastilina Mosh
Plastilina Mosh is a Mexican alternative rock group from Monterrey, México, part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia. Jonás González is the lead singer and guitar player. Alejandro Rosso is more involved with the creative process, providing most of the instrumentation and occasional...
, COhETICA, Zurdok
Zurdok
Zurdok was a Mexican rock band based in Monterrey. It was formed in 1993 under the name Zurdok Movimento, changing it several years later to simply Zurdok. It was one of the most important bands in the Mexican rock band scene at the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s.The band recorded 3 studio...
, Kinky
Kinky
Kinky may refer to:*Kinky , a five-member band from Monterrey, Mexico**Kinky , their self-titled album*Kinky *Kink , unconventional sexual practices...
, El Gran Silencio
El Gran Silencio
El Gran Silencio is a rock en español band from Monterrey, Mexico that blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and dub influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato and banda as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia...
, Jumbo
Jumbo (band)
Jumbo is the name of an Avanzada Regia Alternative rock band from Monterrey, Mexico.They were founded in May 1997 with the following lineup:*Alejandro Clemente Castillo Guerra, known simply as "Castillo";...
, Panda
Panda (band)
Panda is a Mexican alternative rock band formed in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 1996 as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia...
, Genitallica
Genitallica
Genitallica is a band from Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia.- Musical proposition :According to the band's MySpace page, its musical proposition is to fuse different styles...
, Heavy metal band "IRA". The song "Los Oxidados" by Plastilina Mosh opens the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Kinky performed at the 2004 edition of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
, along with Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and The Killers. Monterrey has recently earned the nickname "Monterrock", and is considered the musical capital of Mexico's current rock scene. A few of the most popular live music venues in Monterrey include Arena Monterrey, Auditorio Coca-Cola
Auditorio Coca-Cola
Auditorio Banamex is an indoor amphitheatre, located in Fundidora Park, in Monterrey, Mexico. It was the primary venue for concerts until the Arena Monterrey opened in 2003. The amphitheatre opened in 1994 with a sponsorship by The Coca-Cola Company...
, Cafe Iguana, Ibex Rockbar, McMullen's and Uma Bar, all located in the Barrio Antiguo
Barrio Antiguo
Barrio Antiguo is located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, next to the Governor's Palace and the Macroplaza. It is Monterrey's oldest area of town and was the heartbeat of cosmopolitan lifestyle, which included many hotels, museums, hypnotic dance clubs, international cuisine, unique architecture...
section of the city.
Pop rock
Gloria Trevi
Gloria Trevi is a Mexican pop-rock singer-songwriter. She was described as the "Supreme Diva of the Mexican Pop" by the music channel VH1 and sold over 20 million records.-Biography:...
, Ana Sidel, Café Tacuba, Fobia
Fobia
Fobia is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City, whose career started in 1987, a time when there wasn't much promotion of Mexican rock bands.In December 1987, RCA Ariola de México promoted a famous battle of amateur rock bands: "Rock en tu idioma"...
, Caifanes
Caifanes
Caifanes is a Spanish-language rock band from Mexico City formed in 1987. They achieved fame throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s. The original lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández , Sabo Romo , Alfonso André and Diego Herrera . Argentine guitarist Alejandro Marcovich joined in 1989...
(now Jaguares
Jaguares (rock band)
Jaguares is a Mexican alternative rock band formed by former Caifanes lead singer Saúl Hernández, ex-Caifan Alfonso André , and two long-time friends Federico Fong and José Manuel Aguilera .-History:...
), Julieta Venegas
Julieta Venegas
Julieta Venegas Percevault , known professionally as Julieta Venegas, is a Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer, who sings pop-rock in Spanish. She speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish fluently. She has a twin sister, Yvonne, who is a photographer...
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band Maldita Vecindad
Maldita Vecindad
La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio are a band formed in Mexico City in 1985. They are pioneers in rock en Español and are one of the most influential rock bands in Latin America....
, and synth-pop group Mœnia. Control Machete
Control Machete
Control Machete is a Mexican hip hop group from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Its members are Fermin IV , Patricio "Pato" Chapa Elizalde, and Toy Kenobi .-History:...
, Delasónica and Molotov
Molotov (band)
Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
explore rap/rock fusion, with lyrics containing social commentary mixed with urban vulgarity. The most popular Mexican rock group during this period was Maná
Maná
Maná is a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, whose career has spanned more than three decades. They have earned three Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, five Premios Juventud awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards and 13 Premios Lo...
, which has sold over 22 million albums worldwide.
Present
The 2000s also saw the emergence of a new generation of Mexican alternativeAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
musicians. Alternative groups such as Panda
Panda (band)
Panda is a Mexican alternative rock band formed in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 1996 as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia...
, División Minúscula
División Minúscula
División Minúscula is a Mexican rock band from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, which is becoming increasingly popular in Mexico and gradually making an impact on the U.S...
, Zoé
Zoé
Zoé is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican alternative/psychedelic band. They initially formed in Mexico City in 1994, although membership started to stabilize in 1997...
and Insite have received mainstream success in Mexico and throughout Latin America.
The Indie music scene in Mexico has produced bands such as Porter
Porter (band)
Porter was a Mexican indie rock band based in Guadalajara, Mexico.Despite their uncommon sound the band got decent radio airplay on important broadcasting stations, their videos: "Espiral", "Daphne" and "Host of a Ghost" had a good reception in music video channels. "Daphne" was placed in the...
, Austin TV
Austin TV
Austin TV is an instrumental post-rock band formed in 2001 in Mexico City. Austin TV creates sonic landscapes with their music without lyrics. They have opened for groups like Yo La Tengo in Mexico and Café Tacuba in the U.S. leg of their 2007 tour, and have released three LPs, one EP and...
, Los Dynamite
Los Dynamite
Los Dynamite are a Mexican indie rock band based in Mexico City. Most of their songs are written in English.The band is made up of Diego Solorzano , Miguel Angel Bribiesca and Eduardo Pacheco and previously Felipe Botello .They met first at INHUMYC and started playing together,...
, Chikita Violenta
Chikita Violenta
Chikita Violenta is a Mexican indie rock band from Mexico City. The band members are Luis Arce, Andrés Velasco, Esteban Suarez and Armando David. They all met in high school in early 2000...
, Bengala, and Hello Seahorse!
Hello Seahorse!
Hello Seahorse! is a Mexican alternative pop band formed in 2005 in Mexico City. The band gained quick recognition as one of the leading acts in Mexican rock pop, placing their first commercial single "Bestia" on regular radio airplay by November 2008....
, which often write lyrics in English and have toured alongside American indie rock bands throughout Latin America and the United States.
Popular electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and synth-pop groups include Belanova
Belanova
Belanova are a Mexican synthpop band that formed in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, in 2000. The group consists of Denisse Guerrero , Edgar Huerta , and Ricardo "Richie" Arreola...
, Sussie 4
Sussie 4
Sussie 4 is an electronic music duet from Guadalajara, Mexico, formed in 1998. The band is part of the electronic music scene, mainly in the house music style...
, Hocico
Hocico
- History :The duo was officially formed in 1993 by Erik Garcia a.k.a Erk Aicrag and Oscar Mayorga a.k.a. Racso Agroyam , but both cousins had been experimenting with electronic music, mixing industrial and EBM, since they were fifteen years old. Their music can be described as electro-industrial...
, Amduscia
Amduscia
Amduscia is an aggrotech band from Mexico consisting of Polo Amduscia and Edgar "Amduscia" Acevedo .-History and Origin of Name:Amduscia was founded in 1999 in Mexico City...
and The Nortec Collective.
External links
- Mexican rock at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- List of bands that play Mexican rock at rockeros.net