Mezquita -

Mezquita was a Spanish symphonic-rock band that released the 1979–81 albums Recuerdos de mi Tierra and Califas del Rock.

Members: José Rafael García (guitar, vocals), Rosca López (keyboards, vocals), Randy López (bass, percussion, vocals), Rafael Zorrilla (drums, percussion, vocals)

Background

Mezquita evolved from Córdoba hard-rockers Expresión, which recorded two album’s worth of material between 1972 and 1977 and released one single, “Marrakech” (b/w “La luz del fin del Mundo”), on Musimar in 1974.

Recuerdos de mi Tierra

Mezquita released their debut album, Recuerdos de mi Tierra, in September 1979 on Chapa.

Recuerdos moves between rapid, interlocked guitar–keyboard lines and sharply shaded acoustic passages, often shifting pace within a single piece. Guitarist José Rafael García co-wrote the six tracks with bassist Randy López.

The title track sets the tone with fast electric figures that break into alternating stretches of nylon-string flourish and heavier accents before the vocal section rises. “El Bizco” pushes harder, its surging theme marked by quick rhythmic pivots, ragged electric phrasing, and bright synth bursts. “Desde que Somos Dos” opens on a drum pattern that leads into a contoured guitar statement; the piece later turns toward a more overtly Spanish mood with layered acoustic figures and a romantic lift in the vocals.

“Ara Buza” tightens around handclaps and a dance-paced drive that swings between clipped guitar thrusts and off-kilter drum lines. “Suicidio” moves from a brisk opening—guitar, drums and synths pushing in lockstep—to a slower vocal passage that darkens the atmosphere before a long stretch of shifting guitar patterns closes the piece. The instrumental “Obertura en Si Bemol” gives the keyboard its widest space, building a pounding, organ-rich frame that trades off with short electric guitar entries.

A1. “Recuerdos de mi tierra” [Memories of My Land] (7:47)
A2. “El bizco de los patios” [The Cross-Eyed Man of the Courtyards] (4:21)
A3. “Desde que somos dos” [Since We Became Two] (5:48)

B1. “Ara buza (dame un beso)” [Ara Buza (Give Me a Kiss)] (4:37)
B2. “El suicidio” [The Suicide] (7:24)
B3. “Obertura en si bemol” [Overture in B-Flat] (6:09)

The album was produced by Vicente Romero (Asfalto, Bloque, Ñu, Tarántula, Tapimán, Mediterraneo, Barón Rojo). The gatefold cover was painted by Máximo Moreno (Triana, Ibio, Miguel Ríos, Lole y Manuel, Alfredo Carrión, Alameda, Daniel Vega).

Califas del Rock

Mezquita released their second album, Califas del Rock, in 1981 on Chapa. It features eight originals, including the lengthy side-closers “La Última Juerga” and “La Montaña, la Ciudad.”

Califas del rock tightens around shorter forms, built on firm backbeats and bright, forward guitars, with Andalusian figures surfacing in brief instrumental turns. “La Última Juerga” runs on a heavy, repetitive drive with declamatory vocals and a thickened rhythm line that leaves little space for contour.

Subsequent tracks follow that direct, hard-edged pace, opening momentarily for quick guitar breaks. The closer, “La Montaña, la Ciudad,” stands apart: a surge of animated synth patterns rides over a faster rhythmic pulse, and the band layers sharp keyboard accents against feints from the guitar, giving the track a sense of ascent absent elsewhere.

A1. “Cuentos árabes” [Arabian Tales] (3:31)
A2. “Así soy yo” [This Is How I Am] (3:56)
A3. “Aguas del Guadalquivir” [Waters of the Guadalquivir] (4:09)
A4. “La última juerga” [The Last Spree] (5:17)

B1. “Mente de mi subconsciente” [Mind of My Subconscious] (3:23)
B2. “Cara sin cruz” [Face Without a Cross] (3:09)
B3. “Resaca del amanecer” [Aftermath of Dawn] (4:00)
B4. “La montaña, la ciudad” [The Mountain, the City] (6:02)

The album was recorded at Estudios Escorpio and mixed by Tino Azores. The tracks “Resaca del Amanecer” and “Así Soy Yo” were paired on a 7″ single.

Mezquita ran aground in the mid-1980s but reformed in the late 2000s. Randy Lopez (aka Fernando López Rojas) spent some of the intervening years in the bands Medina Azahara and ONZA.

Discography: