Their musical style covers a wide variety of genres, though it is most commonly labeled as Rock en Español. Their music has been heavily influenced by Mexico's indigenous population and folk music traditions, most notable the Jarocho style of the state of Veracruz, but also by punk and electronic music and other bands in the Mexico City scene. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of their music is Albarrán's nasal voice, which, combined with his impressive lung capacity (as demonstrated on "La Ingrata", an homage to norteño music), makes for a very distinctive sound. They sing entirely in Spanish but have a significant Anglophone following regardless.
They have an especially eclectic sound, and it's commonly said that none of their discs is of exactly the same genre. For example, "Maria" is a bolero style ballad, "La Ingrata" is a mix of rock and "norteño" , while "Eres", a hit included in "Cuatro Caminos" album, is mostly pop-rock.
They were founded in 1989, and since then have had the same musical lineup:
* Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega aka "Pinche Juan" ("Fuckin Juan"), "Cosme", "Anónimo" (Anonymous), "Nrü" (pronounced "dshyoo", [dʃju] in IPA), "Amparo Tonto Medardo In Lak'ech" (or "At Medardo ILK"), "G3", "Gallo Gasss", "Élfego Buendía", "Sizu Yantra" (which is his solo moniker as well), "Rita Cantalagua", "Ixi Xoo" and many others. (vocals, guitar)
* Emmanuel "Meme" del Real Díaz: (keyboards, acoustic guitar, piano, programming, vocals, melodion)
* José Alfredo "Joselo" Rangel Arroyo: (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals)
* Enrique 'Quique' Rangel Arroyo: (bass guitar, electric upright bass, vocals)
Mexican folk music player Alejandro Flores is considered the 5th tacubo, as he has played the violin in almost every Café Tacuba concert since 1994. Since the Cuatro Caminos World Tour, Luis "El Children" Ledezma has played the drums in every concert but is not considered an official member of the band.
**Previously known as "Alicia Ya No Vive Aquí" (a tribute to Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), the band took its final name from a coffee shop (el Café de Tacuba) located in downtown Mexico City. The cafe, which opened in 1912 and had its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, was representative of the Pachuco scene at the time, something the band would later acknowledge as an influence. The Café de Tacuba is still in operation as a coffee shop and restaurant on Tacuba Street, in Mexico City's Historic Center. The band changed its name to Café Tacvba (changing the u for a v) in order to avoid legal issues with the coffee shop.
1989
Mexico City, Mexico
Ave
Café Tacvba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con la sensación
De poseerlo todo y yo
Aquí sentado sin nada
Ni un par de alas
Para escapar
El ave la avenida vuela por colonias
Parece un mito de alegrías que años atrás
Inundaba a esta pobre ciudad
Cuerpo a cuerpo por ríos de motores
Veo los brotes
De la enfermedad que
Obliga atesorar
Millones de faringes exhalando desazón
Que da el vivir sin una razón
A gran altura como aeroplano
Leo los planos con los que se construyó a esta nación
La tierra donde intentamos ir de pie
Es pregunta, si algún día nuestra fue
Ave satélite empieza a dilucidar
Algo de la historia de la humanidad
Revoluciones religiones
Con buenas intenciones
Han terminado por tiranizar
La perspectiva entre más arriba
No es cordial
¿Es acaso un gran estado total?
Con dos razas viviendo en paz
La más pequeña oprimiéndonos a los demás
El ave no tiene un plan
Para escapar
Abertura en la obertura
El caos final
Por eso hoy ha decidido
Volar, amar a esta
Ansiedad que le hace tanto bien y tanto mal
Ese ave que volando va
Seguro de pertenecer
La nada y yo aquí pensado que tengo todo
Y un par de alas para volar
The lyrics of Café Tacvba's song "Ave" convey a sense of longing and contrast between freedom and restriction. The song starts with the imagery of a bird flying with a feeling of possessing everything, while the singer is sitting without anything, not even a pair of wings to escape. This juxtaposition sets the tone for the rest of the song, which explores themes of societal divisions and the human condition.
The lyrics also touch upon the struggles of urban life, with the bird flying over sad, lonely, and angry neighborhoods. It portrays a city that used to be filled with joy but has been slowly engulfed by discontent. The verses describe the bustling streets, the disease of materialism, and the disillusionment that comes with living without purpose.
As the song progresses, it delves into deeper societal issues. It mentions the impact of revolutions and religions, emphasizing that their good intentions have ultimately resulted in tyranny. The perspective from a higher vantage point is portrayed as unfriendly, raising questions about whether it represents a totalizing state. The lyrics also highlight the oppression exerted by the smaller race upon others who live in peace.
In the end, the bird, which symbolizes freedom and escape, does not have a plan to break free. Instead, it chooses to embrace the anxiety that both brings good and harms. The final lines reflect the contrast between the bird's certainty of belonging and the singer's realization that they have everything, including a pair of wings to fly.
Overall, the lyrics of "Ave" by Café Tacvba express a longing for freedom, a critique of societal divisions, and a reflection on the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
Ese ave que volando va
That bird that is flying
Con la sensación
With the feeling
De poseerlo todo y yo
Of possessing everything and me
Aquí sentado sin nada
Here sitting with nothing
Ni un par de alas
Not even a pair of wings
Para escapar
To escape
El ave la avenida vuela por colonias
The bird flies along the avenue through neighborhoods
Barrios tristes, solos y enojados que están
Sad, lonely and angry neighborhoods they are
Parece un mito de alegrías que años atrás
It seems like a myth of joys from years ago
Inundaba a esta pobre ciudad
That flooded this poor city
Cuerpo a cuerpo por ríos de motores
Body to body through rivers of engines
Veo los brotes
I see the sprouts
De la enfermedad que
Of the disease that
Obliga atesorar
Forces to hoard
Millones de faringes exhalando desazón
Millions of pharynxes exhaling dissatisfaction
Que da el vivir sin una razón
That living without a reason gives
A gran altura como aeroplano
At great height like an airplane
Leo los planos con los que se construyó a esta nación
I read the blueprints with which this nation was built
La tierra donde intentamos ir de pie
The land where we try to stand
Es pregunta, si algún día nuestra fue
It's a question, if it ever belonged to us
Ave satélite empieza a dilucidar
Satellite bird begins to clarify
Algo de la historia de la humanidad
Something about the history of humanity
Revoluciones religiones
Revolutions religions
Con buenas intenciones
With good intentions
Han terminado por tiranizar
Have ended up tyrannizing
La perspectiva entre más arriba
The perspective from higher up
No es cordial
Is not cordial
¿Es acaso un gran estado total?
Is it perhaps a great total state?
Con dos razas viviendo en paz
With two races living in peace
La más pequeña oprimiéndonos a los demás
The smaller one oppressing the rest of us
El ave no tiene un plan
The bird has no plan
Para escapar
To escape
Abertura en la obertura
Opening in the opening
El caos final
The final chaos
Por eso hoy ha decidido
That is why today it has decided
Volar, amar a esta
To fly, to love this
Ansiedad que le hace tanto bien y tanto mal
Anxiety that does so much good and so much harm
Ese ave que volando va
That bird that is flying
Seguro de pertenecer
Sure of belonging
La nada y yo aquí pensando que tengo todo
The nothingness and me here thinking I have everything
Y un par de alas para volar
And a pair of wings to fly
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: EMANUEL DEL REAL DIAZ, ENRIQUE RANGEL ARROYO, JOSE ALFREDO RANGEL ARROYO, RUBEN ISAAC ALBARRAN ORTEGA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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