A Ride With Fabulosos Cadillacs Covers Chaotic Latin America

Fabulosos Cadillacs, one of the most consistently fascinating groups in rock en espanol, are currently at a crossroads. The veteran Argentine combo is currently a free agent after leaving BMG Latin.

Now Fabulosos Cadillacs are being courted by various major labels, but the companies had better be careful if they have dreams of turning them into a popular mainstream act--this band has a complete disregard for the conventions of rock ‘n’ roll, as it demonstrated during a blistering, idiosyncratic show Thursday at the Palace.

Although listeners of all backgrounds could have appreciated the violent fire of the performance, it can be argued that only someone who lived for a long time in Latin America could fully understand the entire spectrum of the Cadillacs’ musical circus.

The band’s capricious changes in pace and style, its occasional eruption into nuevo tango territory, its mocking military marches (complete with the pseudo-solemnity of a polished brass section) and singer Gaby Capello’s erratic bits of spoken poetry and nonsensical political discourse are, in fact, the perfect aural representation of the chaos and subversion that mark daily life in Latin America.

It’s rumored that the group might record its next album with rock en espanol guru Gustavo Santaolalla as producer, a collaboration that has been a holy grail of sorts for Latin rock fans. It would be something to hear, since Thursday’s show confirmed that Fabulosos Cadillacs have lost none of the creative restlessness that makes them a unique force in rock en espanol.