POP MUSIC REVIEW : Rock <i> en espanol</i> : Respect

It took a little help from some American friends, but the Mexican rockeros --playing a major L.A. venue alongside English-speaking bands for the first time--responded fully when it was needed.

“Revolucion ‘94,” a five-hour, fast-paced festival held Saturday at a packed Universal Amphitheatre, was strong rebuttal to the skepticism that plagues rock en espanol , especially--and ironically--on the part of Spanish-language radio stations that consider the genre unmarketable and elitist. With fine performances by four Mexican bands and three U.S. acts, it was a night that might have marked the coming of age of rock en espanol in Los Angeles.

Chicano Secret Service’s bold humor between the acts and an art exhibit by Chicano artists Los Four in the lobby added a broader cultural dimension to the event, but the focus was on the music, which began with an acoustic set by American progressive-rock guitarist Adrian Belew, who has has produced albums by two of the Mexican bands on the bill.

Echoing the sentiments of the other Mexican bands and most of the predominantly Latino crowd, Santa Sabina’s singer Rita Guerrero dedicated the group’s set to the recent rebel uprising in Chiapas, Mexico. Her mention of the guerrilla Zapatista Army for National Liberation drew loud and emotional cheers, and Santa Sabina followed up with 30 minutes of Guerrero’s Middle East-tinged, high-pitched moanings and the group’s experimental funk-tinted music. Santa Sabina’s solid playing--and the charisma that’s made Guerrero a counterculture pop icon--compensated for their coldness.

Their label-mates La Castaneda, with their brassy sound and punk attitude, added more urban wildness than dark experiments.

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The Pennsylvania-based group Live provided the night’s first pure musical highlight, with an aggressive showing by singer-guitarist Edward Kowalczyk. Longtime L.A. favorites Redd Kross (mostly playing material from the “Phaseshifter” album and a passionate version of PJ Harvey’s “Oh My Lover”) seemed to be enjoying themselves and were received with respect and interest.

A hard act to follow, but Maldita Vecindad turned in perhaps the best concert they’ve ever played in L.A. With singer Roco and saxophonist Sax constantly running across the stage, the group effortlessly switched from punk to ska to rancheras to funk, ending with a humorous, punkish version of pop star Juan Gabriel’s “Querida” while the crowd yelled Mal-dee-ta, in soccer-game fashion.

“La Maldita” has surpassed the show’s headliner, Caifanes, in terms of musical vitality, but as Mexican rock’s first commercially successful alternative band, Caifanes still enjoys the respect given to true pioneers.

Caifanes closed the concert with its first performance since its recent lineup change. Even without two of its founding members, the band looked relaxed and ready for its second chapter.

It’ll take some time to appreciate the full impact of “Revolucion ’94.” For now, it’s at least a good reminder that the charts don’t always tell the full story about Latin music.