Avalancha de Éxitos was an album of reimagined Latin covers that invigorated the Mexican band — and expanded their fanbase

Thirty years ago, the members of Café Tacvba found themselves physically and emotionally wiped out. The Mexico City quartet had completed an extensive tour promoting its sophomore effort, Re , which since then has been routinely hailed as one of the best albums in the history of Latin rock.

To make matters worse, Tacvba’s label expected a new record, and the demos that the band had been taping between tours were far from ready to become a cohesive whole. Things got a bit tense.

“We played the Viña del Mar festival in Chile, and our longtime producer Gustavo Santaolalla happened to be there,” remembers Tacvba keyboardist Meme del Real. “He saw what was happening to us. ‘You’re always playing covers of songs by other artists,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you make an EP of covers?…