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Jaguares' Latin rock uprising

Mexican rock band gains a foothold in U.S.

By Kevin Drew
CNN

Jaguares
drummer Alfonso Andre: Building a U.S. fan base has been "a
slow and painful battle."

Story
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RELATED

• Jaguares official Web
site

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Call their livelihoods a sort of guerrilla
campaign set to a rock and mariachi beat.

For members of the veteran Mexican rock group Jaguares (pronounced
Huh-WAR-es), the road to commercial success in the United States has been
a long and sometimes rocky one that has required determination and faith.

Despite receiving little support from U.S. radio stations, the band is
building a growing fan base north of the Mexican border, primarily on the
strength of their impassioned live performances.

"It's been a slow and painful battle," concedes drummer Alfonso Andre
during a recent telephone interview.

But despite reaching the end of its most ambitious U.S. tour to date,
the group's career path asks a fundamental question: What price celebrity?

After all, the band could make things easier on itself. But the group
shuns large-scale commercial tour sponsors and continues to perform their
songs in Spanish.

And the Latin rock genre doesn't easily fit into U.S. radio station
format, says Leila Cobo, the Latin music editor at Billboard magazine.

Most stations' idea of Latin music covers relatively mainstream artists
such as Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Shakira, Cobo says. The
relatively few number of Latin music stations concentrate on pop acts, she
says.

"In general, there is a ceiling for most [Latin rock] bands," she says.
"Basically, without radio support, you are limited as an artist."

Andre is more blunt. "Radio stations really don't believe in rock, I
think."

Following a dream

Singer
Saul Hernandez is a charismatic frontman, which has helped the
group build a concert following.

The roots of Jaguares reach to the early 1980s, when band members Andre
and singer Saul Hernandez began working together in various Mexico bands.
In 1984 they formed Caifanes, a rock band that incorporated elements of
British New Wave and Goth into the musicians' own musical tastes.

Caifanes disbanded in the early 1990s, but Andre and Hernandez remained
working together, and in 1994, reformed as Jaguares. The name came to
singer Hernandez, Andre said, through a dream. Hernandez told band members
that he had a vision of singing in the mouth of a Jaguar.

He (Hernandez) told us 'the name has chosen us,' " Andre recalls. "We
like it because the jaguar is a really powerful image in Mexican culture."

Although musicians have come and gone from the band, the core lineup of
Andre, Hernandez and guitarist Cesar "Vampiro" Lopez forms the basic
sound.

Jaguares' musical style looks across the Atlantic for much of its
inspiration. It incorporates elements of British bands from Pink Floyd to
U2, mixed in with mariachi rhythms and Mexican boleros.

The comparison to U2 is especially apt. Singer Hernandez is a
charismatic stage figure, much like U2's Bono. His raspy tenor – the
result of multiple throat operations he had after nearly losing his voice
– occasionally hits an off note, but gives the band a raw edge.

"They may be one of the most cerebral rock bands in Mexico," says
Ramiro Burr, a music journalist for the San Antonio Express-News. "They
question the things we do and why we do them."

"El Primer Instinto," the band's fourth album -- released this past
fall -- is a primarily acoustic collection. Guest musicians include former
Eurythmics harmonica player Jimmy Z and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, who
plays squeezebox on "La Llorona."

The band put the album together quickly, in just 15 days, Andre says.

"We did it pretty fast," Andre says. "That's why it's called 'El Primer
Instinto' (the first instinct)."

'They want to perform on their own terms'

The new album follows a busy year of performing for Jaguares. On its
2002 tour, the group performed in 40 cities in venues that ranged in
capacity from a few hundred people to 30,000.

Such a busy schedule for Jaguares is a sharp counterpoint to many Latin
rock acts. The most popular Latin rock bands are still limited to
relatively small tour schedules, Burr says, that only reach cities with
large Latino populations.

Still, the power of the Jaguares' live performances has pushed the
group's popularity upward over the years. "El Primer" debuted earlier this
fall at No. 2 on Billboard's Latin music charts, highly unusual for a
non-pop act, Cobo says.

"These guys (Jaguares) do it because they have a strong fan base," Cobo
says. "What's interesting about Jaguares is that they don't like corporate
sponsorship. They could make much more money if they wanted to, but they
want to perform on their own terms."

The band's ideals extend beyond corporate sponsorship. While other
Latin artists try to achieve mainstream success by singing in English,
Jaguares would rather win over U.S. audiences with their songs remaining
in Spanish.

"We don't want to change anything, because we'd like them (audiences)
to experience the band as it is, and hopefully they will like it," Andre
says.

Singing in Spanish is part of the band's credibility, Burr says.

"For these guys it's this kind of battle: 'Yes, we want to cross over,
but no, we don't want to have the kiss of death, because once we become
part of the teeny-bop scene like Hanson, it's over.' "

As for the future, Andre says the band wants to continue producing
albums and climbing the uphill road to greater popularity.

"We want to keep on going as a band and as musicians, finding our own
voice."

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