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Hot ticket: Cafe Tacuba is ready to 'rocanrol'

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Cafe Tacuba is one of Mexico's leading bands in the rocanrol movement, taking elements of British and American rock 'n' roll and reinventing the sounds to suit Latino sensibilities. From the group's start in 1990, band members focused on taking influences from Mexico's streets and incorporating their own cultural and musical heritage into the mix.

Since then, Cafe Tacuba has become a giant in its homeland and has made big waves in America without singing in English. It has been named one of "50 Future Latin American Leaders" by Time.

Over the years, the innovative band has tried different formats, delving into ska and hip-hop, going acoustic in the early 1990s, later covering traditional Latin-American rock songs.

The band's most recent album, the inventive Cuatro Caminos (2003), is often called by critics "the Mexican Kid A," which is supposed to mean it's as brilliant as the Radiohead masterpiece, though some critics quip that it's better than that album.

Why not check the band out for yourself?

Cafe Tacuba performs at 8 p.m. today at Masquerade, 1503 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $22.50. (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100 or (813) 247-3319.