JAGUARES ON THE PROWL GRAMMY-NOMINATED BAND FINDING PLENTY OF FANS FAR FROM MEXICO CITY HOMELAND.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Alfonso Andre of the hugely popular Grammy-nominated rock en espanol band Jaguares muses about growing up in Mexico City during the '70s.

There wasn't a lot to do if you were a musician, Andre recalled with a sigh, adding that ``it was impossible to see bands. Nobody played there.''

Times have changed for Andre and his hometown.

Today, Mexico City is as much a tour stop as Anaheim for the world's largest bands. And Jaguares, with worldwide record sales of more than 5 million, is one of the most successful groups in Latin rock history.

``I remember being a kid and hearing that Deep Purple were going to come from England to Mexico to play,'' Andre said. ``But then it turned out none of the original members were involved. It was just some guys doing covers. Now, it's changed. But we grew up with nothing but the radio and records. I mean, even Santana moved away and never looked back.''

Jaguares has something else in common with Santana besides their hometown: Both are up for Grammy awards at Wednesday's ceremony at the Staples Center. Jaguares got a nod for best Latin rock/alternative performance for the moody double album ``Bajo el Azul de Tu Misterio'' (``Beneath the Blue of Your Mystery''), which hit the Top 20 on Billboard's Latin albums chart and was a top seller at Ritmo Latino, the largest Latin music retailer in the U.S.

``There's a lot of great new music happening now in Mexico,'' Andre said. ``There's a spark of freshness.''

The bond between charismatic Jaguares leader Saul Hernandez and his fans is remarkable even north of the border. The band's arena-level U.S. debut tonight at the 16,000-capacity Pond in Anaheim is close to selling out. A date last fall at the Universal Amphitheatre was sold out in minutes.

Jaguares' popularity in the U.S. is even more unusual when you consider the quintet receives little, if any airplay, even on Latin radio. But well before the current Latin pop explosion, Hernandez's music started reaching Anglo audiences on a large scale when his previous band, the now-defunct Caifanes, toured with Live before joining Peter Gabriel's world-music caravan tour WOMAD.

``Our biggest fans still come from the Latin community,'' Andre admits. ``But we're seeing more and more English-speaking people at our shows. We're getting a lot of attention from the media, which draws people in.''

Hernandez is often called rock en espanol's most interesting - and artsy - figure and has frequently been compared to Jim Morrison. Utilizing swirling guitars, spacey melodies and poetic lyrics that touch on ancient mythology, Jaguares' songs reflect Mexico's proud history.

``There's an ancestral culture that exists in Mexico from many years ago,'' Hernandez, 36, has said. ``When the Spaniards came, they weren't able, fortunately, to eliminate a certain visceral sense of (our culture's) mysticism and magic. Mysticism has evolved as a sense of protection.''

Jaguares, named for the symbolic jaguar of Mexico's pre-Columbian past, released its debut album, the Don Was-produced ``El Equilibrio de los Jaguares'' (``The Equilibrium of the Jaguars''), in 1996, a year after Caifanes disbanded. Last year, doctors ordered Hernandez to take a break from performing after tumors on his vocal chords made singing too painful. The Grammy-nominated current album features a 10-song disc of new studio material, plus 11 live tracks, including seven Caifanes songs.

``We've tried to do a live album for a long time, but never got it right until now,'' Andre said. ``We've had so many changes in the band. But now that our lineup is set, we went on tour and were delighted with the way the band sounds.''

Perhaps surprisingly, Andre bears no grudges toward the likes of Ricky Martin or Jennifer Lopez, singers whose pop confections often get branded with the Latin pop label to the detriment of more serious acts from south of the border.

``We try and get away from the business part and concentrate on the music,'' the drummer said. ``The Latin pop thing didn't really hurt us, because they sing in English, and we sing in Spanish, and their version of Latin music really isn't very Latin. It's just pop mixed with a little bit of a Latin feel. They're mainly like American pop singers. We don't have a lot in common with them.''

The facts

--Who: Jaguares.

--Where: The Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim.

--When: 7 tonight.

--Tickets: $25 to $55.

--Information: [phone].

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Jaguares make their arena-level debut tonight at the Pond in Anaheim.