Café Tacvba Performs Four Original Songs at the NPR Music Tiny Desk Stage

Café Tacvba doesn’t need a large stage to make an impact…

The five-piece Mexican band brightened the NPR Music Tiny Desk stage with four original songs in a performance released on Friday.

Café Tacvba 

Café Tacvba brought an arsenal of instruments into the cozy space, including ukuleles, guitars, drums, a bass and a melodica.

They opened with the lively “Olita del Altamar,” with singer Rubén Ortega, donning a blue kimono and two top knots, hopping around the setup centered behind a desk in a book-filled office during the song as he joyfully sang in his signature ragged voice.

The group followed with the noticeably more relaxed “Diente de León,” during which Ortega closed his eyes and raised his hands, getting lost in the gentle guitar strumming and warm drum beats.

Las Flores” flipped the script with an energetic tempo, which inspired the whole room to clap along to the fun ska groove. The band closed their set with “Que No,” an easygoing ballad about love and moving on.