Mexican flags and socially conscious chants adorned Jaguares’ set at the Ogden Theatre on Thursday. Text and photos by .
“Itap your ritual tonight.”
That’s how Saúl Hernández communicated to his faithful fans, donning Mexican flags to enjoy the experience on Thursday at the . In response, the seemingly 98 percent Mexican crowd chanted “México! México! México!” between songs, giving the concert a World Cup feel.
On a night where most of the show had the possessed Saúl in a trance while singing the hits, he was lighthearted enough to crack jokes at the crowd’s expense as well as appeal to them to chant “México” when there would be a México with no more female deaths in the city of Juárez. The band tried at every given moment to let the crowd in on their socially conscious effort to bring awareness to the mass murders at the maquiladoras and the millions living in poverty south of the border.
The veterans of the Rock en Español movement are still churning out hit after hit in a very stale state of music from Mexico, making them one of four consistent acts from the motherland to never let fans of the movement down. My expectations of the evening were to have a set list absent of any “De Caifanes…” hits.
Luckily, my expectations proved to be wrong with the group belting out “Miedo” and bringing an already raucous crowd to piercing levels. A jam heavy “Fin” was the only wrongdoing the guys committed, but I’m not opposed to any improvisational abilities a band attempts at older hits.
My grandmother recently passed this year and I remember listening to “Mantenme Porque Me Muero” (“Kill Me Because I’m Dying”) on repeat that day. Early in the set, Saúl eerily sang those lyrics, loosely translating to “When I die and they bury me, I hope they bury me with one of your photographs so I don’t have to be alone.” I’m not a very emotional person, but listening to that song alone had me rushing to the bar for a shot of Patron in honor of my late Abuelita Lucia. It was my ritual.
Somewhere in the heavens above, or perhaps in a peyote trip, late author Carlos Castañeda is smiling, listening to the sounds of Jaguares and enjoying his ritual.
Julio Enriquez edits the blog and contributes regularly to Reverb.
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