Maldita Vecindad
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La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio (, usually called only "La Maldita") is a band formed in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in 1985. They are pioneers of
rock en español Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and one of the most influential rock bands in Mexico. They first made an impact with ''Mojado'', ''Un poco de sangre'', ''Cocodrilo'', ''Pachuco'' and ''Un gran circo'', songs that narrate the problems, adventures, and beauty of a society anxious to improve its economic status. Their wardrobe has incorporated elements of the
pachuco Pachucos are male members of a counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas, in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as '' caló'', and self-empowerment in re ...
, an archetypical character represented by Tin Tán in
Mexican cinema The cinema of Mexico dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ...
. Tin Tan is sampled in one of the group's biggest hits, 1991's ''Pachuco''. The last studio album they recorded was in 2009. Since then, the band has collaborated with other bands, as well as having participated in tribute albums for
José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer. Also known as ''El Príncipe de la Canción'' (The Prince of Song), his performance and vocal style have influenced ma ...
and the Tigres del Norte. Their sound incorporates many styles, including
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
,
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
, and traditional
Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...
forms such as the
bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
and Cuban Son. Roco, the band's vocalist, dresses in a manner reminiscent of the
pachuco Pachucos are male members of a counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas, in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as '' caló'', and self-empowerment in re ...
s.


History

At the end of the 1980s, a movement began called Rock en tu idioma (Rock in Your Language), and a marketing strategy was developed by record labels to draw attention of young people to the new trend, which began in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. Influential bands like
Soda Stereo Soda Stereo was an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982. The band's membership consisted of singer-guitarist Gustavo Cerati, bassist Zeta Bosio and drummer Charly Alberti. During their career, the band released seven studio a ...
, Los Enanitos Verdes,
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,
Heroes del Silencio Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
, Autobús, and
Žas Ž.A.S. (Žiertva ant smūgio) is a Lithuanian musical group that mostly performs pop music and hip hop. The band formed out of the members of the death metal band "Regredior" and other as well, it was established in 1993 as a gangsta rap Ga ...
, the band of
Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...
, were among the pioneers who first played authentic rock music in Spanish. Consequently, Mexican bands began to sprout. Many of these were influenced by groups like
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
,
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
, Paralamas do Sucesso, and others. The early bands of the movement,
Caifanes Caifanes is a Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City in 1986. The group achieved commercial success during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The original lineup of members consisted of Saúl Hernández (vocals and guitar), Sabo Romo (bass), :es:A ...
, Maldita Vecindad,
Café Tacuba Café Tacuba (), stylized as Café Tacvba, is a band from Naucalpan de Juárez, State of Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Albarrán, Rubén Isaac Albar ...
achieved huge sales and great international recognition. La Maldita Vecindad appeared on the music scene with a new style that was unheard of in Mexico at the time. It combined strong elements of
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
, rock and traditional Mexican music. This included the attire of Roco, inspired by the
pachuco Pachucos are male members of a counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas, in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as '' caló'', and self-empowerment in re ...
culture represented by
Tin Tan Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
, the incorporation of a saxophone, and a celebration of the street culture of Mexico City. From 1986 to 1988, the band participated actively in popular movements like the one for the victims of the earthquake of 1985 and the elections of 1988. Their second album '' El circo'' turned them into a commercial success. The album reached over 800,000 copies sold (a record high at the time). In 1991, on their first U.S. tour, they played with groups like
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
,
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
, Madness,
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
and
Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...
. By 1992, they were often compared to other great Latin American bands like Mano Negra and
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (, ) is an Argentine musical group from Buenos Aires. Their music fuses ska with Latin rock and various other styles. Background and style Formed in 1985, they released their first album, ''Bares y Fondas'' (Bars and ...
. Throughout their career, La Maldita Vecindad has remained a creative force. It has also managed to create unique covers of songs by artists from strikingly different genres, like
Los Tigres del Norte Los Tigres del Norte (English: ''The Tigers of the North'') are a norteño band from San Jose, California. Originally founded in the small town Rosa Morada in the municipality of Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 32 million albums, the ...
,
Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful comp ...
and
Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...
. Their newest album, ''Circular colectivo'', (
Nacional Records Nacional Records is an independent record label founded in 2005, based in Los Angeles. Nacional is home to Rock, Hip Hop, Electronic, Musica Mexicana, Pop and other diverse sounds from around the world and sometimes down the block. After 20 years ...
2010) maintains much of the ska/punk energy, with a contemporary sound. The lyrics talk about the crisis that Mexican society faces in a rapidly changing global economy and pays tribute to
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and
Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels, including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pl ...
. The production by San Francisco-based Greg Landau (Susana Baca, Patato Valdez, Quetzal) and Hector "Hecdog" Perez, has helped the band to craft a new path in Mexican music. The album features two cameos by Cuban pianist Omar Sosa. Eulalio Cervantes Galarza, better known as ''Sax'', died at the age of 52 after contracting
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
in March 2021.


The name

In Mexico City, ''vecindad'' (literally meaning "neighborhood") refers to residential constructions that were built at the end of the nineteenth and at the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Still inhabited today, these residential areas share one or more large ''patios'' and common areas such as bathrooms and laundry facilities, basically because the rented rooms do not have them. The more ''patios'' a ''vecindad'' has, the more populated these buildings are and therefore the poorer it tends to be. The name "and the children of the fifth ''patio"'' has an interesting history. There's a Mexican movie from 1950, called "The Fifth ''Patio''" due to it narrating the history of very poor families living in a fifth ''patio'' in a ''vecindad'' in Mexico City Downtown. In the twentieth century there was a ''vecindad'' located in the ''Santa María La Ribera'' suburb, the front door of which reminded a lot of the front door of that movie's ''vecindad'', and people in the neighborhood started to call that ''vecindad'' "The Fifth Patio".  Most of the band members were born and raised in that ''vecindad,'' in ''Santa María La Ribera'', Mexico City.


Members

Lineup *Rolando ''Rocco'' Ortega: vocals *Arturo Reyes ''Tiky'' Hagen : guitars (1985–1988) *Enrique ''Pato'' Montes: guitars (1988-present) *Aldo Acuña: bass (1987-present) *
José Luis Paredes Pacho José Luis Paredes Pacho (Mexico City, March 17, 1961) is a Mexican musician, researcher, writer and cultural advocate. He is the founder of the new cycle of Poesía en voz alta Mexican poetry festival, Radical Mestizo's Festival de Mexico music ...
: drums (1985–2002) *Eulalio ''Sax'' Cervantes: saxophones, trumpets, and guitar (1985-2021†) *Adrian ''Lobito'' Navarro Maycote: percussion (1988–93)


Select discography


Albums

*1989: '' Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio'' *1991: '' El circo'' *1993: '' En Vivo: Gira Pata de Perro'' (live) *1996: ''
Baile de Máscaras ''Baile de Máscaras'' is the fourth album recorded by Mexican rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also r ...
'' *1998: '' Mostros'' *2009: ''Circular colectivo''


Compilations

*2000: '' Maldita Sea, Vol. 1: 1989–199'' *2001: ''Rock mexicano - Lo mejor de La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio'' *2004: ''El tiempo vive en la memoria 1989–2004: 15 años de éxitos Maldita Vecindad''


References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1985 Mexican rock music groups Rock en español music groups Musical groups from Mexico City Nacional Records artists 1985 establishments in Mexico