There is probably no other Latin Rock band that can be compared to the legendary El Tri of Mexico City, Mexico. They have been singing, writing, and touring for over 40 years in all of Latin America and the United States as well. Their music is very similar to many US rock bands in that it is typically blues rock, hard rock, and sometimes acoustic rock, but always rock. They have their ballads and their catchy choruses that make them hard to forget but they are also a fantastic live concert band that has withstood the tests of time for decades.
The Original Band Members Have A Long History Together
The band got its start with the name Three Souls on My Mind back in 1968 and at that time they sung almost all rock cover songs, in English, of great American rock bands. Rock and roll hadn’t really gotten a strong foothold in Mexico or Latin America at the time. Then, in the fall of 1971, there was a large outdoor concert in Mexico called the Festival of Avandaro that was seen at the time to be the Woodstock of Mexico. The band first sang their usual English rock songs and then sang an entire set in Spanish as well.
After that time, the band only recorded songs in Spanish and the rock and roll revolution was born in Mexico, according to many fans. Still, the band did sing many of their favorite English rock band cover songs during concerts for another decade. When reporters asked why the band changed to Spanish, the band leader, Alex Lora stated that many of the songs had valuable meanings but since they were sung in English, the meanings were lost. But, that by singing them in Spanish, the messages would have more importance to the audience.
This change in language help propel the bands popularity among a wider audience. At the time, there were many of the poorer people that didn’t speak any English and they eventually became some of their biggest fans after the change.
The Beginning Of El Tri
In 1985, the original band of Three Souls on My Mind split up and El Tri was born. This is when Alex Lora became the frontman. El Tri then successfully recorded the first Mexican rock band to have an album go gold certified and that was the album “Simplemente” or in English, Simply. The top single, and still a popular song 30 years later, is the song “Triste Cancion” which means “Sad Song” in English. Then the band consisted of Alex Lora, Chela Lora, and Eduardo Chico.
Another top song from the album was “Vicioso Del Rocanrol” which turns out to be Spanglish, a combination of Spanish and English. It means “Hooked on the Rock And Roll.” This song took off in the country of Peru and netted the band two large concerts there and cemented many fans into rock and roll music. After that time, nearly all of the bands albums would go gold in Mexico. In 1993 the song “Pobre Sonador” became a hit in Argentina and popular throughout the South American region. The band gained regional popularity that it has maintained for several decades since.
If you are a fan of hard blues rock, whether in English or Spanish, you’ll most certainly enjoy El Tri. They are a fantastic concert band, however, they aren’t touring anymore due to their ages. If you do get a chance to see them live, they work the crowd as well as any North American rock band and are quite enjoyable to listen to. Any fan of 80s, 90s, or even 2000s rock with recognize the music and surely enjoy the show.-
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