"Offerings of Foreign and Homegrown Music"

Ed Morales (Ed Morales can be reached at sonidoslatino@nyc.rr.com)

Cecilia Villar, leader of the fledgling New York-based Grupo Fiesta, puts it this way: "On the Latin alternative scene, the bands from outside the U.S. are paid more attention to than the local bands." This is especially true in New York - with the exception of Los Amigos Invisibles and Si*Sé, there's usually a lot more commotion about rare visits from Chile's Lucybell or Mexico's Café Tacuba than local talent. But maybe this week things will begin to change, as the legendary band from Mexico, Jaguares, comes to town Monday with a new album, and a record-release party for rumba rockers Grupo Fiesta climaxes the week Friday.

Jaguares, along with its predecessor, Caifanes, always has been centered on the singing-songwriting talents of Saúl Hernández. So it's fitting that instead of just an obligatory greatest-hits album, "El Primer Instinto" (BMG) is a collection of acoustic remakes of classic Hernández tunes. While the album also features two original songs, "Arriésgate" and "No Importa," and a cover of Juan Gabriel's "Te lo Pido por Favor," the primary magic here is in drawing out the essence of Hernández's songs. Consider the ringing guitar chords that embellish the elegiac "No Dejes Que," a song about star-crossed young love, or the sunset-by-the-beach romanticism of "Ojo de Venado," about the loss of spiritual protection.

The stripped-down strategy is equally effective in bringing out the solemnity of "Ante de que nos Olividen," about the disembodied spirits of young protesters killed by police in 1968, an incident still causing political shock waves in Mexico. "El Primer Instinto" also fleshes out the traditional Latin underpinnings to "La Célula Que Explota," with mariachi horns and strings, and Afro- Cuban conga and piano arrangements for "Como Tu."

When you're through catching your breath from the Jaguares show (Town Hall, 212-840-2824, head over to Luna Lounge (212-260-2323) Friday for Grupo Fiesta's record-release party. "I started the band because I was always the Latin influence in pop-rock bands, and I always wanted to create a real full-force Latin band," says Villar, who grew up in Manhattan with Spanish- and Lebanese-origin Ecuadorean parents. Villar's story is familiar to many young Latinos - she grew up listening to Afro-Cuban mambo musicians such as Cachao and Orquesta Aragon with her parents, and Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones with her older siblings.

Putting her Siné Café/CBGB's days on hold, Villar recruited Bronx Nuyorican Cindy Padilla to sing and gradually put together the lineup of Brian "Bajo-Man" Moore on Bass, Jimmy Connolly on piano, Dan Roth on drums and Chris Lovejoy on percussion. The band's debut album, available through Paraiso Sonico/DLN, is son montuno rock in the classic Santana mold (with the exception of "Que Claro Es," a Nuyo-cumbia). The dual vocals from Padilla and Villar give the group a distinctive sound. Villar's guitar work shines on "Todo Para Ti," and the rhythm section holds things together nicely. "We're not doing rock or traditional tropical; we're on the fringe in a way," says Villar, proud to be another Latina who found her way back to her roots. 

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