Santa Sabina was a Mexican rock group. The group was formed in 1988, in Mex… Read Full Bio ↴Santa Sabina was a Mexican rock group. The group was formed in 1988, in Mexico City, Mexico, by singer Rita Guerrero (from Guadalajara, Mexico), bassist Alfonso "Poncho" Figueroa, guitarist Pablo Valero and keyboardist Jacobo Leiberman. Juan Sebastian Lach was keyboardist for a while. The name of the group honors the memory of Maria Sabina, the Mazatec shaman who lived in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Santa Sabina are distinguished by their gothic rock lyrics and stage presence. Their music, however, is perhaps best described as a variant of progressive rock which borrows heavily from jazz.

At the end of the 1980s, Guerrero left her hometown of Guadalajara to attend the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City to pursue a career in theatre. There, she met Poncho Figueroa, Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman, who at that time were members of a jazz group called "the Psicotrópicos". "The Psicotrópicos" agreed to provide music for a play written for Guerrero's theatre class based on Franz Kafka's "Amérika". As they worked together, they realized they had a strong artistic affinity. After the dissolution of the "Psicotrópicos", they decided to form a new rock band that reflected their artistic vision. Although the group's lineup has changed through the years (as in the case of Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman), the sound of the group, has evolved but remains faithful to its initial course.

Their first albums, Santa Sabina (1992), Símbolos (1994) and Babel (1996) were released through the now-defunct Mexican record label Culebra Records, a local branch of BGM Ariola. Their following albums, Mar adentro en la sangre (2001) and Espiral (2003), were independent productions. In 1997, they also recorded an album of their "unplugged" performance for MTV Latinamerica called Santa Sabina Unplugged.

The band reformed briefly in 2010 when it became clear that this might be the last chance to have Rita perform as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and treatment failed. On the 11th March 2011 Rita passed away which left the band without a lead-singer. No information is available whether they will reform with another singer.

Solo el mar
Santa Sabina Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Caminar en el mundo,
Tu mundo es ajeno,
Creí que era mío.

Solo el mar,
Espejo de uno.

No tiene sentido,

Perderme en tu alma,
Pues ola, en el mar,
Revuelta de miedo.

Camino sin rumbo,
Tu risa me lleva,
A otro destino.

Solo en ti,
No existe el silencio.

No tiene sentido,
Hundirme en tu alma,
Si mar, solo en ti,
Sublimo este miedo.

Solo el mar, solo el mar, solo el mar,
Revela el misterio de ti.

Camino sin rumbo,
Te veo llegando,
A otro destino.

Solo el mar,
Reflejo profundo.

No tiene sentido,
Cambiar el alma,
Si mar solo en ti,
Voy presa del miedo.

No tiene sentido,
Volcarme en tu alma,

Si mar solo en ti,
Sublimo este miedo.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Santa Sabina's "Solo el mar" express feelings of losing oneself in a relationship with someone. The singer feels like they are walking in a foreign world because their partner's world is different from their own. They thought they both shared the same world, but it turns out not to be the case. The only reflection they see of themselves is in the sea.

The sea is the only thing that reflects their innermost thoughts and feelings to them. It is a mirror that reflects one's true self. The singer feels lost in their partner's soul since it is like a wave that is turbulent, and they are not sure where it will take them. They walk without direction, but their partner's laughter carries them away to a different destination. The only place where there is no silence is in their partner's presence. They feel like if they dive into their partner's soul, they will sink in fear, but in the sea, they find harmony and sublimate their fear.

Line by Line Meaning

Caminar en el mundo,
Walking in the world,

Tu mundo es ajeno,
Your world is foreign,

Creí que era mío.
I believed it was mine.

Solo el mar,
Only the sea,

Espejo de uno.
Mirror of oneself.

No tiene sentido,
It makes no sense,

Perderme en tu alma,
To lose myself in your soul,

Pues ola, en el mar,
Because a wave, in the sea,

Revuelta de miedo.
A turmoil of fear.

Camino sin rumbo,
I walk without direction,

Tu risa me lleva,
Your laughter takes me,