Jaguares
2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the Mexican rock phenomenon first known as Caifanes, now known as Jaguares, and the band will celebrate in some cities by re-uniting with original keyboardist Diego Herrera.
Formed in 1985 Jaguares quickly made the jump from playing clandestine underground rock clubs to the big stages of Mexico, U.S. and Latin America. The band’s first album sold nearly 80,000 copies in 1987, without a radio hit or a big marketing campaign. The journey that began with songs like “Viento,” “Mátenme Porque Me Muero”, “Perdi mi Ojo de Venado” symbolizes the most important period in Mexican rock history, one that saw the emergence of a new generation of artists with defiant songs that created an identity apart from U.S. and European rock.
Though their music is firmly rooted in Mexico, Jaguares' music has resonated with audiences throughout the United States, Central America, and South America, and in 1997, Hernández even teamed up with legendary Algerian rai singer Cheb Khaled to record the bilingual Spanish-Arabic duet "Ki Kounti."
The band name, Jaguares, focuses the group further on their celebration of ancient Aztec and Mayan religious symbolism. The current Jaguares line-up includes bassist Marco Renteria, percussionist Leonardo Muñoz, and guitarist César "Vampiro" Lopez.
The tradition of the jaguar lives on in Jaguares. The band has found poetry in darkness, strength in musical mystery, and in Mexican tradition. Jaguares are Mexican alt-rock's most durable gods, a band who plays with the same passion and devotion for 120,000 fans in the Zócalo of Mexico City, a small club in Paris, a cultural event in Oaxaca or the Universal Amphitheater. As they've shown time and time again, Jaguares can sell out venues without a new single on the radio or a new record on the shelves.
Twenty years have passed since Caifanes began playing in Mexico City streets, helping bring worldwide attention to Mexican rock and rock en Español in general.