Álex Lora is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language music in Mexico, especially when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll—a genre to which he has dedicated 58 years of his life and which he will celebrate with a tour of Europe. True to his knack for anticipating trends, the rock legend asserts: “Narcocorridos are nothing more than rock ’n’ roll with a twist.”
“All the music that exists right now— urban music, narcocorridos, all of that—is nothing more than rehashed rock ‘n’ roll that’s been commercialized to try to reach a wider audience,” says the pioneer of Spanish-language rock in Mexico in an interview with EFE.
Like a true prophet, Lora sings what he says, accompanied by his electric guitar and wearing a T-shirt featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe. In one of those verses that just come to him, he reveals that in this genre—like the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney—he finds the “fountain of youth,” but above all, “irreverence”—the kind that’s in short supply in commercial music.
Lora and his band El Tri, founded in 1981 and tracing its roots to the group Three Souls in My Mind, formed on October 12, 1968, during a period marked by repression and censorship by the Mexican government, have written songs that address the reality of a country where “the population is growing,” but “opportunities remain the same” as they were half a century ago.
“These are songs I wrote more than 50 years ago, but when the audience hears them now, they feel as if I’d just written them 15 days ago,” he explains.
Álex Lora and El Tri’s European Tour
In a world rife with inequality and division, Lora (Puebla, 1952) is committed to using rock as a means to “unite the fans” in Mexico, South America, the United States, and Europe—especially in Spain, where he will perform two concerts as part of his “Adicto al Rocanrol” tour.
The first concert will be on October 8 at the Sala Riviera in Madrid, and the second on October 12 at the Sala Razzmatazz in Barcelona—a date that will also mark his 58th year in rock ’n’ roll, which began in 1968.
Although throughout October he will also be giving concerts in Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, and England.
After 55 albums—53 physical and two digital—the father of Mexican rock says, in his voice weathered by time, that he is thrilled to return to Spain.
He visited that country for the first time in 1986, when he had the opportunity to share the stage with Charly García, Fito Páez, Miguel Ríos, Os Paralamas do Sucesso, El Último de la Fila, and other artists who are now music legends.
The Surprise in Mexico
His addiction to rock ‘n’ roll made Lora eternally in love with his “tamer,” known as Chela Lora, his musical partner, to whom he has been married for 46 years and with whom he has renewed his vows 12 times.
One of them took place in Las Vegas, when he was presented with the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence in 2011, and the next one—“number 13,” he revealed—will take place on July 25 at the Palacio de los Deportes.
“It will be a historic moment because, as far as I know, no one has ever renewed their vows at a concert. Besides, with everyone there, it’s going to be magical,” he says of this love story that began in 1971 during the Avándaro Festival, the event that gave rise to Spanish-language rock in Mexico.
At 73, the prophet of Mexican rock doesn’t think about physical death; he believes that when the time comes to say goodbye to life, people “will keep recycling the songs.”
“They’re like the songs by my mentor (Armando) Manzanero and my mentor José Alfredo (Jiménez). They’re no longer with us, but their songs will stay with us for the rest of our lives,” he says, his voice breaking, as he pays tribute to his national idols through tears, according to Agencia EFE.
