Fobia is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

rock en español band from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

History

The band was formed in 1987 by

Leonardo de Lozanne Leonardo de Lozanne is a Mexican model, fashion designer and singer-songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and frontman of the Mexican rock band Fobia Fobia is a Mexican rock en español band from Mexico City. History The band was formed in 198 ...

and Francisco "Paco" Huidobro, brother of Micky Huidobro of Molotov. The original lineup consisted of Lozanne, Huidobro, bassist Javier 'Chá!' Ramirez, keyboardist Iñaki Vazquez, and Gabriel Kuri on drums. Kuri was later replaced by Jorge ‘Chiquis’ Amaro who was followed by multi-instrumentalist

Jay de la Cueva Jay de la Cueva is a Mexican model, actor, producer, singer, bassist, drummer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. He currently fronts Moderatto. His first musical experience was as a kid with the rock band Microchips, in which he was the bass pl ...

, (lead singer of the Mexican

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

band

Moderatto Moderatto is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City, known for their exaggerated on-stage personae that parody the stereotypical 1980s glam metal lifestyle. Moderatto started as a cover band in the late 1990s and released their debut CD ''Resurrex� ...

). Fobia was one of the original bands to emerge from the rock en español / Rock en tu idioma (

Rock in your language ''Rock en tu idioma'' was a publicity campaign -- resulting in a series of rock albums -- initiated by the BMG Ariola music label, which other labels later also joined, to promote and distribute the music of Mexican, Spanish and Argentinian bands. ...

) boom of the late 1980s, alongside

Caifanes Caifanes is a rock band from Mexico City. Formed in 1987, the group achieved international fame during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The original line-up was Saúl Hernández (vocals and guitar), Sabo Romo (bass guitar), (drums) and Diego He ...

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band. The band is considered one of the best-selling Latin music artists and the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. The group's current lineup consists o ...

, Neón, Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio and Los Amantes de Lola; all of which followed in the footsteps of

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

– who by the late 1980s had amassed a huge following in the Americas. In December 1987,

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Ariola de México held a " Rock en tu idioma" battle of the bands contest in

. Fobia was eliminated early on and Los Amantes de Lola went on to win the contest. In spite of their early elimination, executives from Ariola decided to schedule an appointment with Fobia. According to legend, the band missed their meeting with Ariola because they weren't able to enter the building due to problems with security. Following the incident, the band's luck improved.

Saúl Hernández Saúl Alfonso Hernández Estrada (born January 15, 1964), is a Mexican musician, writer, poet, songwriter and the lead singer of Jaguares and Caifanes, two prominent Mexican rock en español bands. Biography Saúl Hernández was born in t ...

produced their first demos and Ariola eventually signed them. Fobia's early sound, like many of the genre, was heavily influence by 80's new wave with a few notable exceptions:

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

. Fobia's music has always embraced the fantastic and eccentric and contains large doses of irony and humor. Fobia steered clear of the political and cultural themes that were embraced by their contemporaries. According to Lozanne, "I think it was more of a strategy of the record companies. We never felt like we were part of a movement. We didn't dress like the other bands. We didn't sing about the things they were singing about". The name ''Fobia'' was chosen because it described the insecurities, fears, and personal obsessions of the band members. These were transformed into melodies and music, and materialized into their first songs; "El microbito", "La iguana" and "El crucifijo", which they played in small bars and at house parties. Fobia's self-titled debut album ''

Fobia Fobia is a Mexican rock en español band from Mexico City. History The band was formed in 1987 by Leonardo de Lozanne and Francisco "Paco" Huidobro, brother of Micky Huidobro of Molotov. The original lineup consisted of Lozanne, Huidobro, ...

'' cemented their reputation as an innovative and original rock en español act. Produced by Oscar López , their self-titled album yielded classics such as "El Microbito", "El Crucifijo", and "La Iguana". In 1990, Fobia toured with

, and Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio as part as a promotional tour for the emerging batch of Mexican rock bands. The following year Fobia released ''

Mundo Feliz Mundo Feliz was the second album released by Mexican Rock and roll, rock band Fobia in 1991. Track listing # ''Brincas'' (Jump) # ''El Pepinillo Marino'' (The sea cucumber) # ''Camila'' (Camila) # ''El cerebro'' (The brain) # ''Caminitos hacia el ...

'' (Happy World) which was recorded in

and at the Power Station in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, again with Marteen. ''

'' yielded "Camilla" and "El Diablo". The album featured a cameo by Mexican rock/pop diva

Alejandra Guzmán Gabriela Alejandra Guzmán Pinal (born February 9, 1968), known professionally as Alejandra Guzmán, and nicknamed "La Reina de Corazones" (The Queen of Hearts) is a Mexican musician, singer, composer, and actress. With more than 30 million album ...

. In 1993 Fobia release '' Leche'' (Milk), a decidedly more experimental album, infusing Latin rhythms and alternative rock. The self-produced album became Fobia's least successful album to date. The lead single, "Los Cibernoides" (Cybernoids) was a critique of the Mexican media conglomerate

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

. Regarldess of sales, '' Leche'' was a critical success. ''Leche'' saw the departure of original drummer Gabriel Kuri. For 1995's '' Amor Chiquito'' (Small Love) Fobia enlisted famed Argentine producer and composer

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

who had a long string of production credits during the 1990s, producing albums for Mexican acts such as

Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...

, Molotov, and

Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ven ...

. The album was mixed by Jim Kerr and

Tony Peluso Anthony F. Peluso (March 28, 1950 – June 5, 2010) was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983. Peluso played the fuzz guitar solo on the Carpenters' song " Goodbye to Love". He ...

, ex guitarist of

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

. For '' Amor Chiquito'', original drummer Gabriel Kuri was replaced by Jorge (Chiquis) Amaro, former drummer of Neón. '' Amor Chiquito'' was a more direct sounding album. The lead single “Revolucion sin Manos” was a guitar driven 4/4 stomper. ''Amor'' put Fobia back on top of the

rock en español Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countrie ...

food chain. Fobia toured the U.S. and Latin America. Following the release of the album Kuri was replaced by

, currently of

, who at the time had worked with teen pop group

Micro Chips Micro Chips (also styled Microchips and M.I.C.R.O. C.H.I.P.S.) was a Mexican children's rock music group active from 1987 to 1993. History In 1987 Javier Willy (keyboard) and Daniel Willy ( drums) from Torreón, Mexico, decided to start a band. ...

and played drums for Las Víctimas del Doctor Cerebro. In 1997 Fobia participated in a

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

tribute album with "Under Pressure" ("Presionando"). That same year Fobia released the live album '' Fobia on Ice''. Fobia disbanded in 1997.

Reunion

In 2004 Fobia reunited and released a greatest hits compilation album titled '' Wow 87*04''. '' Wow 87*04'' was followed by Fobia's fifth studio album Rosa Venus (Venus Rose). To promote the record, Fobia toured the U.S. and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Following the release of Rosa Venus and the subsequent tour Fobia returned to

to play a series of shows including an opening slot for the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

held at El Foro Sol. To honor their 20th anniversary in 2007 Fobia released XX a compilation of live tracks recorded during their 2005 tour. The album included acoustic versions as well as new arrangements of old songs. This disc was accompanied by a documentary/music video DVD. In April 2011, Fobia gave a rousing performance at the 11th Vive Latino – Festival Iberoamericano de Cultura Musical, one of the most important music festivals in

. Fobia previewed "La Búsqueda" a song from their upcoming album."Fobia 'prende' en el Vive Latino"
''El Universal'', 4/08/2011 Since then, the band released Destruye Hogares in 2012. In early 2019 Fobia played in 'El Palacio de los deportes' field for 17,000 fans to celebrate its 30th years anniversary and played 32 songs and releasing '

Pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

' on march the 1st with their main hits and many other songs live.

Members

: Lead singer * Francisco "Paco" Huidobro: Lead guitar * Javier 'Cha!' Ramírez: Bass Guitar *

: Drums * Iñaki Vázquez: Keyboards Former Members * Gabriel Kuri: Drums * Jorge 'Chiquis' Amaro: Drums

Discography

* ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1991) * '' Leche'' (1993) * '' Amor Chiquito'' (1995) * '' Fobia on Ice'' (1997), live album * '' Wow 87*04'' (2004) * '' Rosa Venus'' (2005) * '' XX'' (2007), live album * ''Destruye Hogares'' (2012) * ''Pastel'' (live album, includes two CD's and one DVD) (2019) * ''MTV Unplugged'' (Live acoustic album) (2020)

External links

*Fobia Websit
Official site

References

{{Authority control Rock en Español music groups Mexican rock music groups Musical groups from Mexico City Musical groups established in 1987