Café Tacvba

Café Tacvba are undoubtedly one of the most transcendental Latin American acts of all time. Bastions of the rock en español wave of the ‘90s, the group have managed to evolve and permutate with every new record, stretching the limits of what is possible for a four-piece rock group, regardless of language or country of origin. Named after a famous coffee spot in Mexico City, Café Tacvba formed in the late ‘80s in the Mexican capital. They embraced the folkloric sounds of their native country in their critically lauded self-titled debut Café Tacvba (1992) and their undisputed masterpiece Re (1994), an eclectic and dexterous tribute to Mexico’s music that won them critical and international success. Had they only produced those two records, the group would have still gone down in history as one of the best rock bands of all time. Nevertheless, they followed up their magnum opuses with the genre-defying Avalancha de Éxitos (1996), a covers album that contains some of their most memorable numbers like “Chilanga Banda,” and the mind-bogglingly experimental double album Revés/Yo Soy (1999). This tendency to keep audiences on their toes while defying categorization would continue into the new millennium, seducing listeners in droves with Cuatro Caminos (2003), featuring mega-hit “Eres,” and Sino (2007), without ceding their status as the critical darlings of Mexican rock. Their 2017 full-length effort Jei Beibi saw the group once again in genre-hopping mode, delivering a new batch of classics like the Nu Cumbia nod “Futuro” and the tragic love ballad “Que No,” a bold testament to the group’s lasting relevance.