Rock en Español: The Latin Alternative Rock Explosion

by Ernesto Lechner, Saúl Hernández (Foreword)

The most exciting music to come out of Latin America in the last 15 years belongs to the genre known as rock en español—the fusion of Anglo alt-rock with Latin folklore that is examined in this volume. What began as a cult movement in the late 1960s has blossomed into a popular phenomenon that embodies the eclectic aesthetic of Hispanic youth. The author has followed the development of the genre for years, spending time with the artists, watching them in concert, and conducting numerous interviews. This is his definitive account of a movement that has forever changed the history of Latin American music—and expanded the boundaries of rock. Included are intimate and insightful portraits not only of older big-name acts like Café Tacvba, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Aterciopelados, Caifanes, and Soda Stereo, but also of newer acts like Julieta Venegas, Los Amigos Invisibles, El Gran Silencio, Orishas, and the Nortec Collective. Newcomers to these sounds will find in this book a thorough introduction to the genre, as it also contains a discography of its 100 essential albums. Aficionados will appreciate the book's in-depth commentary, anecdotes, and inside stories.

Genres: Music

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ric Montelongo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference for this genre. Easy to read and perfect for creating a nice playlist, which I did on Spotify. Would have liked to see some information on other Mexican band influences like Zoe and Kinky. Nice to see Molotov included. I still wished I saw them here in Houston at a small music club just a few miles from my house!!

[atom_box Evan G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lechner was present at the recording of Reves/YoSoy (!) and several other seminal moments for this genre. His credibility and writing skills are 110% of what you'd want in a book like this.

If you know a few of these bands, he delivers satisfying profiles of them and then introduces you to others. The main bands, Cafe Tacuba, los Cadillacs, et al, have good ten page chapters and then a long tail of smaller bands get a page each.

I tore through this in an afternoon and evening. Lechner writes for the LA Times and was born in Argentina so he is a good insider to a scene I have always consumed without much knowing. These are high quality band profiles like if AllMusic had the space to include interviews.

The chapters on Aterciopelados and Soda Stereo were especially satisfying. The way he structured the explanations of their careers was very perceptive.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I write about global indie music for a living these days, so I found this thorough and accessible introduction extremely useful and also entertaining.

[Gilliane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overall good look at the latin alternative rock boom over the last 50 years, though there was too much usage of the word "crunchy". Everything was crunchy--guitar riffs, power ballads, etc