EVERY GENRE PROJECT - April 16 - Latin Alternative
Genre of the Day - Latin Alternative
Album of the Day - El Silencio by Caifanes (1992)
April 16, 2024
Today we get to listen to our first band out of Mexico City! Exactly a month ago, I was holed up in the humble comfort of a hostel bed in the city’s center, still managing to write daily blog posts amidst our travels. I had transitioned to typing articles on my phone so I wouldn’t be as obnoxious to the other guests trying to sleep—as if the interconnected beds weren’t shifting with each toss and turn, meaning that you had to be a heavy sleeper or very drunk to properly get some rest. (Luckily I’m the former!) It’s cool to be able to have those memories of the city in my brief time there when researching today’s band—the gorgeous jacarandas, the color that infused visual design, the food. I will say that I didn’t get much exposure to local alternative music. But in the end, that only proves its persistence as, well, the alternative. You have to go searching for it yourself.
Latin Alternative is a broad-ass genre name, just like English-language alternative music. But generally, we all know what connotation the word alternative carries: typically alternative rock (as compared to alt-R&B, alt-rap, other genres that were conceptualized as parallel movements to alternative rock) with a de-emphasis on pop sheen or whatever zeitgeist of the time. As alt-rock acts like The Cure into grungier acts like Nirvana rebelled against the glossy, sanitized music of the ‘80s, the influence poured down south of the UK and the US in Latin nations. They faced similar pop situations in the ‘80s, with the added environment of Catholic conservatism, making that punk element even harder-hitting. When your wild hair and bold makeup is not just seen as distasteful but as a little blasphemous, it can certainly cause a deep social impact.
This was Caifanes’ effect in a conservative Mexican rock scene in the late ‘80s. Taking ample visual cues from The Cure and musical stylings of jangle rock and prog rock, Caifanes was part of a wave of pioneering bands in Mexico and across the Latin music scene in the late ‘80s questioning the lightness of Mexican corporate rock and pop and injecting a darker sound into the national scene. They fuse this radicalism with local elements, though, incorporating Latin percussion and other musical elements and perhaps most importantly emphasizing “Rock en tu idioma” and the importance of tying these forward-thinking notions to linguistic pride and distinctly Mexican cultural slants. Like The Cure or The Smiths, Caifanes ascended from alt-rock darlings to national fame and regularly sold out arena shows in their short eight years as a band.
Caifanes’ take on alt-rock is so unique because of the way they weave in the traditional Mexican cultural fascination with death into their lyrics. The most famous Mexican holiday internationally? — El Día de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. While anthropologists vary on whether it originated as a syncretic fusion of pre-Columbian celebrations of the dead and Catholic traditions or simply of medieval European origin, ruminations on death are baked into Mexican culture. Many of these songs are meditations on that front. “Miércoles de Ceniza” (“Ash Wednesday”) speaks of the inevitability and emptiness of death. The lyrics of “Hasta Morir” (“Until Death”) were a bit more confusing, not just cloaked in a language I feebly understand but also the often vague lyricism of alt rock, but seems to be poised as a murder ballad or an expression of closeness from beyond the grave. Not understanding is half of the fun. “Nos Vamos Juntos” (“We Go Together”) reflects on the double-edged sword of joy and weariness of remaining lovers until death. Through all these, they incorporate excellent jangle-rock melodies, sax flourishes, and cultivate a sense of sonic dynamism. The fat bass of opener “Metamorféame” comes in guns ablaze; “Miércoles de Ceniza” makes unique use of drum sequencer alongside a dissonant string breakdown; “El Comunicador” gestures towards arena rock with its wah-wah guitar solo. This is a must-listen for any alt-rock fan looking to broaden their global horizons, just as much as it’s a testament to how cool Mexico City is.