Trying to classify this band under a particular genre is as complicated as trying to decipher what goes through Tom Cruise’s mind every time the Scientologist in him takes over. In a world dominated by labels and the whole society telling you what you are and what you are not, few people dare to challenge de status quo and fight for what they really believe in.
That is exactly what Café Tacuba did; they broke the molds of pre-fabricated popular music and created a unique sound that represented them as a band as well as individuals. Of course, trying to do that in a somewhat conservative/hypocritical and narrow-minded place like Mexico, they were filed under “Rock En Español”.
The way things worked out for Café Tacuba seem like something you would see at the movie theaters, or on a cheesy Lifetime Sunday movie special, where a bunch of friends pursue their dreams in spite of the precarious circumstances and after lots of hard work and countless hours rehearsing at someone’s garage, they start playing gigs at local bars and clubs until their hard work begins to pay off. Eventually they’re signed by a major label and become successful and everybody lives happily ever after. That’s pretty much how it all happened, minus the happily ever after. Even so, ever since Café Tacuba started out, they have led pretty rewarding lives.
The origin of their name is as simple as it sounds; Café Tacuba took the name from a café/ restaurant with the same name, which is why sometimes they bill themselves as Café Tacvba, to avoid all the legal problems that may come up.
The year that marked Café Tacuba’s official debut on the music scene was 1989, when they performed at El Hijo del Cuervo, after that, several performances followed at venues such as El 9, El Tutti Frutti, and Rockotitlán. Thanks to the buzz they were creating with such edgy performances, word got out to Gustavo Santaolalla who after checking them out in a couple of “tocadas” arranged a contract for Café Tacuba with WEA Latina.
In 1992 their debut album Café Tacuba was released and they quickly earned a spot in the music scene because of the fresh, ground-breaking material they presented. Although they were labeled as a “rock” band- they certainly had a rock sound to them- they did not limit themselves to that term: Café Tacuba fused punk, ska, electronica, as well as their “native” sound with norteño, not only that, but they also used instruments pertaining solely to Mexican music.
For their sophomore album Re (1994), they teamed once again with Gustavo Santaolalla, and delivered another genre-defying album that was well received by both the critics and the general public. For this album Café Tacuba started having guest artists such as Luis Conte and Alejandra Flores.
“Cero y Uno” | video from: evitaerc1969
As if it weren’t enough with the hordes of people following them, and the acquisition of new fans by the minute, they established themselves as the true edgy artists they really were with the release of Avalancha de Exitos (1996). They gave each song the “Café Tacuba treatment” in this “cover” album; it included that songs from Botellita de Jerez, Juan Luis Guerra, and even Flans.
After working so hard, Café Tacuba decided to step away from the limelight for a while. It was during that time that they worked on their most experimental album to date: Revés/ Yo Soy (1999). It consisted of a double disc set, the two of them extremely different from one another yet they worked very well together. On the first disc there’s the “typical” Café Tacuba, of course edgier and more experimental than in previous albums. On the other disc, it was one bang after the other; Café Tacuba delivered a beautifully crafted instrumental album with the collaboration of the Kronos Quartet.
As part of their evolution as a band, for their next album, Café Tacuba decided to work with different producers as well as with “regular” Gustavo Santaolalla. The result to this was Cuatro Caminos (2003), which gave the band ultimate commercial success.
The first single “Volver a Comenzar” from their album Sino (October 2007) is getting massive airplay in local and national radio stations.
Café Tacuba has also been part of several “tribute” projects as well as soundtracks and collaborations with emerging artists.
Must (legally) download songs: “Rarotonga”, “Las Persianas”, “La Ingrata”, “No Controles”, “La Locomotora”, “La Muerte Chiquita”, “Eres”, “¿Qué Pasará?”, “Desperté”, “Volver A Comenzar”.
Café Tacuba is: Enrique “Quique” Rangel Arroyo; José Alfredo “Joselo” Rangel Arroyo; Emmanuel “Meme” del Real Díaz; Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega a.k.a. “Pinche Juan”, “Masiosare”, “Cosme”, “Anónimo”, “Nrü”, “Amparo Tonto Medardo In Lak’ech”, “G3”, “Gallo Gasss”, “Rita Cantalagua”, “Élfego Buendía”, “Sizu Yantra”, among others.
