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
Trópico de cáncer
Café Tacvba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Si todavía hay mucho verdor
Si el progreso es nuestro oficio
Y aún queda por ahí mucho indio
Que no sabe lo que es vivir
En una ciudad, como la gente
Qué no ves que eres un puente
Entre el salvajismo y el modernismo
Está muy bien lo que tú piensas pero
Por qué no tú te acuerdas que la nuestra
Es una civilización muy avanzada
Como dice la gente
Qué no ves que nuestra mente
No debe tomar en cuenta a ecologistas indigenistas
Retrogradistas ni humanistas
Ay, mis ingenieros civiles y asociados
No crean que no me duele irme de su lado
Pero es que yo pienso que llegado el tiempo
De darle lugar a los espacios sin cemento
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
Con esa fea relación de acción
Construcción, destrucción
Cómo es que te vas Salvador de la compañía
Si todavía hay mucho verdor
Ay, mis compañeros Petroleros Mexicanos
No crean que no extraño
El olor a óleo puro
Pero es que yo pienso
Que nosotros los humanos
No necesitamos más hidrocarburos
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
Con esa fea relación de acción
Construcción, destrucción
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
Con esa fea relación de acción
Construcción, destrucción
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
Con esa fea relación de acción
Construcción, destrucción
The song "Trópico de cáncer" by Café Tacvba is a commentary on the exploitation of the environment and the impact of human progress on the natural world. The lyrics address a character named Salvador who is an engineer and appears to be leaving his job with a company that is involved in construction and development. The singer questions Salvador's decision to leave, as there is still so much natural beauty and people who are living outside of the modern cities that he is helping to build. The singer recognizes Salvador as being a bridge between civilization and the wild, and is concerned that his departure marks a shift towards further development and destruction of natural spaces.
However, Salvador counters that his departure is actually a result of his desire to preserve these spaces. He feels that it is time to give space to areas without concrete, and that humans do not need to continue relying on oil and other unsustainable forms of energy. He rejects the "ugly relationship" of construction and destruction that characterizes his former company and instead seeks to live in harmony with the environment, rather than exploiting it for human progress.
Overall, the song urges listeners to consider the impact of their actions on the environment and to recognize the value of preserving natural spaces and living sustainably. It is a powerful critique of the ways in which modern society can be harmful to the natural world and a call to action to make changes for the betterment of our planet.
Line by Line Meaning
Cómo es que te vas Salvador de la compañía
Why are you leaving the company, Salvador?
Si todavía hay mucho verdor
When there's still so much greenery left.
Si el progreso es nuestro oficio
If progress is our trade,
Y aun queda por ahí mucho indio
And there are still many indigenous people
Que no sabe lo que es vivir
Who don't know how to live
En una ciudad, como la gente
In a civilized city
Que no ves que eres un puente
Don't you see that you're a bridge
Entre el salvajismo y el modernismo
Between savagery and modernity
Salvador el ingeniero, Salvador de la humanidad
Salvador the engineer, Salvador of humanity.
Está muy bien lo que tú piensas pero
It's good that you think that way, but
Por qué no tú te acuerdas que la nuestra
Why don't you remember that ours
Es una civilización muy avanzada
Is a very advanced civilization
Como dice la gente
As people say
Que no ves que nuestra mente
Don't you see that our minds
No debe tomar en cuenta a ecologistas indigenistas
Shouldn't take into account indigenous ecologists
Retrogradistas ni humanistas
Or retrogrades and humanists.
Ay mis ingenieros civiles y asociados
Oh my civil engineers and associates
No crean que no me duele irme de su lado
Don't think that it doesn't hurt to leave your side
Pero es que yo pienso que llegado el tiempo
But I think that the time has come
De darle lugar a los espacios sin cemento
To make way for spaces without cement.
Ay mis compañeros Petroleros Mexicanos
Oh my Mexican oil worker colleagues
No crean que no extraño
Don't think that I don't miss
El olor a óleo puro
The smell of pure oil
Pero es que yo pienso
But the thing is
Que nosotros los humanos
That us humans
No necesitamos mas hidrocarburos
Don't need any more hydrocarbons.
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
That's why I'm leaving, I don't want anything to do with
Con esa fea relación de acción
That ugly relationship of action
Construcción, destrucción
Construction, destruction.
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
That's why I'm leaving, I don't want anything to do with
Con esa fea relación de acción
That ugly relationship of action
Construcción, destrucción
Construction, destruction.
Por eso yo ya me voy, no quiero tener nada que ver
That's why I'm leaving, I don't want anything to do with
Con esa fea relación de acción
That ugly relationship of action
Construcción, destrucción
Construction, destruction.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Emmanuel Del Real Diaz, Enrique Rangel Arroyo, Jose Alfredo Rangel Arroyo, Ruben Isaac Albarran Ortega
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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