Caifanes is a Spanish-language rock (Rock en Español) band from Mexico City formed in 1987. They achieved fame throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. The original lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández (vocals & guitar),Alejandro Marcovich (lead guitar) Sabo Romo (bass guitar), Alfonso André (drums) and Diego Herrera (keyboards and saxophone). Caifanes’ style can be described as a hybrid of British new wave, proggressive rock, and Latin percussio ... See more [+] n underscored by deep, somber, and Latin American-Mexican-Spanish influenced lyrics and the vocal style of Saúl Hernández. Members of Caifanes have cited King Crimson as a major influence. The name Caifanes is derived from 1940s Mexican Pachuco (zoot suiter) slang "Cai fan". Its equivalent in English would be something like “cool dude.” The word has also been used to describe the proverbial Mexican Pachuco, delinquent, or outsider. Caifanes’ debut album Caifanes (also known as Mátenme Porque Me Muero, Volumen I) was released in August 1988 by RCA-Ariola. The LP was preceded by an EP made up of three songs, in order to test the market. The immediate sale of 300,000 copies of the EP cemented the band's appeal. The first single “Mátenme Porque Me Muero” ("Kill Me Because I'm Dying") became a minor hit in Mexico City. The first three singles garnered sufficient radio play. In December 1988 Caifanes released a cover of Cuban folk singer Guillermo Rodriguez Fiffe’s classic cumbia (tropical dance song), “La Negra Tomasa,” (The Black Woman Tomasa) as a Maxi single. The song was a massive hit in Mexico and introduced Caifanes to a wider audience nationally and abroad.
