Rock group Caifanes from Mexico are pioneers of the revival of Spanish-language rock ( Rock en Español) in Mexico in the mid to late 1980s. Their musical approach clashed with the then dominating ballads and happy pop tunes that filled the radio and TV programs, in offering dark and moody lyrics.
The first Caifanes lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández (vocals & guitar), Salvador "Sabo" Romo (bass guitar), Alfonso André (drums) and Diego Herrera (keyboards and saxophone). Late in 1989, a new member (who had previously played in a band with Hernández and André), Alejandro Marcovich (lead guitar), was recruited.
Their first album "Matenme Porque Me Muero", better known as "Volumen 1" came out in August 1988; the most important tracks are "Viento", "Matenme porque me muero", "Cuéntame tu vida" and "La Negra Tomasa" which proved to be their crossover hit and gained wider media exposure for the group. All these songs, except for "La Negra Tomasa", also owe a lot to The Cure's music style. "La Negra Tomasa" is more like a cumbia, popular music of the coasts of Mexico and South American countries, (primarily Colombia and Venezuela), and heralded the direction their music would go in the forthcoming albums. Also, Gustavo Cerati of Soda Stereo plays guitar on the song "La Bestia Humana".
The 1990 release of El diablito consolidated the band's style, blending dark rhythms with vivid Latin music rhythms. One such example is their biggest hit La célula que explota (Exploding cell), which seamlessly blends Mariachi music with Post-punk rock. There was some controversy regarding the name of this album. Most of Caifanes' closest fans still refer to El Diablito as Volumen 2. Because of a technical error during final printing, the faded but still noticeable phrase El diablito (translated "little devil"), could be noticed and was therefore considered as the album title for general release.
