Tabaco y Chanel (2000) – Bacilos

Tabaco and Chanel inaugurates all songs (approximately 200) starting with ‘T’ in the alphabetical listing of the music library project.

I don’t know how the smell of tobacco conjures sweet romantic memories of the smell of someone’s skin, but it does in the case of the Latin-American Miami based group Bacilos. And if that wasn’t enough to get the love juices flowing, the group named themselves after a literal translation of bacilli, which is a bacteria widely found in soil and water where some forms are harmful to humans, plants, or other organisms. It is also a play on the Spanish language word “vacilón” meaning a fun, good time.

Tabaco y Chanel is a tender acoustic number with influences from Cuban folk music. I like the melody, percussion and strings in this. Their music has been described as a “fusion of Caribbean rhythms, South American folklore, pop melodies and rock aggressiveness“.
The band was created in 1997 by three students from the University of Miami. Jorge Villamizar – a Colombian singer and guitarist, formed the band with fellow students André Lopes, a Brazilian bassist, and José Javier Freire, a Puerto Rican percussionist. They first played at student bars, parties, and on campus before expanding to small venues in Miami and Miami Beach. 

In early 2000, Bacilos signed with Warner Music Group and in May 2000, they released the self-titled album, Bacilos. It was nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards and received gold certification in Colombia. The single Tabaco Y Chanel was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. They have released 7 albums and 2 EPs. Their album Caraluna (2002) won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.

Below is a crude English translation of the lyrics:

[Verse I]
A smell of tobacco and Chanel
Reminds me of the smell of her skin
A mix of honey and coffee
Reminds me of the taste of her kisses
The color of the end of the night
Asks me where I ended up
Where are you?
You only live this once
Where did you end up? Where are you?

[Chorus]
A smell of tobacco and Chanel
And a mix of honey and coffee
They ask me about her (her)
They ask me about her
The stars ask me too
They demand that I come back for her
Oh, come back for her (her)
Oh, come back for her

[Verse II]
A rose that didn’t bloom
But time doesn’t wither it
A promised flower, a love that wasn’t
But that’s still alive
And again the color of the end, of the end of the night
It asks me where I went
That this is only lived once
Where did you go? Where are you?

[Bridge]
But it was the same stars
That one day – marked my hands
And took away the flower, that flower of my life
Of my life

References:
1. Bacilos – Wikipedia

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