Biography
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Years Active
1989 – present (35 years)
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Members
- Alex Otaola
- Juan Sebastián Lach Lau
- Rita Guerrero
Santa Sabina was a Mexican rock group. The group was formed in 1988, in Mexico City, Mexico, by singer Rita Guerrero (from Guadalajara, Mexico), bassist Alfonso "Poncho" Figueroa, guitarist Pablo Valero and keyboardist Jacobo Leiberman. Juan Sebastian Lach was keyboardist for a while. The name of the group honors the memory of Maria Sabina, the Mazatec shaman who lived in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Santa Sabina are distinguished by their gothic rock lyrics and stage presence. Their music, however, is perhaps best described as a variant of progressive rock which borrows heavily from jazz.
At the end of the 1980s, Guerrero left her hometown of Guadalajara to attend the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City to pursue a career in theatre. There, she met Poncho Figueroa, Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman, who at that time were members of a jazz group called "the Psicotrópicos". "The Psicotrópicos" agreed to provide music for a play written for Guerrero's theatre class based on Franz Kafka's "Amérika". As they worked together, they realized they had a strong artistic affinity. After the dissolution of the "Psicotrópicos", they decided to form a new rock band that reflected their artistic vision. Although the group's lineup has changed through the years (as in the case of Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman), the sound of the group, has evolved but remains faithful to its initial course.
Their first albums, Santa Sabina (1992), Símbolos (1994) and Babel (1996) were released through the now-defunct Mexican record label Culebra Records, a local branch of BGM Ariola. Their following albums, Mar adentro en la sangre (2001) and Espiral (2003), were independent productions. In 1997, they also recorded an album of their "unplugged" performance for MTV Latinamerica called Santa Sabina Unplugged.
The band reformed briefly in 2010 when it became clear that this might be the last chance to have Rita perform as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and treatment failed. On the 11th March 2011 Rita passed away which left the band without a lead-singer. No information is available whether they will reform with another singer.
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