THE CATS COME BACK THE IMPASSIONED JAGUARES, FRESH FROM CUTTING AN ALBUM OF ACOUSTIC FAVORITES, PLAY UNIVERSAL AMPHITHEATRE TONIGHT.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Jaguares' latest album, ``El Primer Instinto,'' was never meant to be.

``It was not in our plans to make this record,'' says Saul Hernandez, singer of the beloved Mexican rock band. ``But we feel the best thing to do is to follow your instinct.''

Hence, the title of the album.

``El Primer Instinto'' is a collection of 14 songs, most of which are culled from previous releases by Jaguares and Caifanes - the early incarnation of the group minus guitarist Cesar ``Vampiro'' Lopez, who joined in 1999. The album includes two new songs and a Juan Gabriel cover. The rest of the songs are old favorites re-recorded acoustically.

In a way, Hernandez says the Spanish-language album gives closure to a period in the band's history as Caifanes, a legendary group whose rousing arrangements rooted in the indigenous past transfixed rockers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.

``It's a beautiful goodbye to Caifanes in the sense of when we close one chapter, we open another,'' Hernandez says.

And the next chapter as Jaguares is just as riveting.

``They connect with audiences, I think, for a number of reasons,'' says Josh Norek, co-organizer of the Latin Alternative Music Conference coming to Los Angeles. ``Lyrically, the music has a broad appeal and Saul, I think, is a very fearful person. A lot of the fans identify with some of the dark lyrics, but also there's a lot of optimism as well.''

At the moment, however, there doesn't seem to be a lot of optimism coming from Hernandez.

Sitting on a beach somewhere in his native Mexico, Jaguares' heart and soul expresses disappointment at the U.S.-led war now raging in Iraq.

``I'm so sad because this is a capitalist war, this is an immoral war, and it's not a legal war,'' Hernandez says in a somber tone. ``I think in this time and history of human beings, the most important thing we can do is listen to each other and make a step toward evolution.

``And for me, no war means evolution.''

It's not uncommon for fans to hear such passionate outpourings from the singer-songwriter, described by the New York Post as ``part Aztec priest, part Bruce Springsteen.''

As The New York Times put it in a recent review, ``Hernandez's songs take on grand topics - passion, the meaning of life, the omnipresence of death - with a gothic sweep.''

The band's impassioned live performances further its messages.

``Concerts are like a little moment to really vomit all this anger and all this sadness, and the people respond amazingly,'' Hernandez says. ``They scream against the war, scream against the people who don't respect human rights, and they scream now more than ever.

``It's time that we unite,'' Hernandez continues, ``and I learned that because all of the Mexicans living in the States teach me how you can adapt to another society but still keep your roots, in this case as a Mexican.''

And this, too, is interwoven into ``El Primer Instinto.''

The album is a coming together of different cultures from the reworking of the Juan Gabriel classic ``Te Lo Pido, Por Favor'' to Los Tigres del Norte's Eduardo Hernandez's accordion on ``Detras de los Cerro.''

Jose Hernandez and his Mariachi Sol de Mexico accompany Jaguares on ``La Celula Que Explota'' and there are other guests who appear on the album, from Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and sensational session man Jimmy ``Z'' Zavala to the ground-breaking Mexican group La Sonora Santanera.

Before packing into a recording studio with its guest musicians for the course of 15 days, Jaguares was in the middle of finishing the tour for its last album, ``Sangre Galopa.''

The band was hoping to take some time off before working on its next album of new material, but an acoustic benefit concert last year with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Free Sunset Clinic in L.A. changed everything.

To prepare for the concert, Jaguares had reworked several of its songs into acoustic arrangements. But the concert ended up being electric.

Instead of tossing the newly revised songs, the band added an acoustic set to its ongoing tour.

``We realized that our audience enjoyed hearing the acoustic versions of our songs in concert,'' Hernandez says. ``So, instead of taking our vacations, we recorded this record.

``But the idea was from the people, not from us, to make this record,'' adds Hernandez. ``So, in the end, this record is for them.''

Jaguares returns to Universal Amphitheatre May 2. Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster outlets, [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

JAGUARES

Where: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

When: 8:15 tonight.

Tickets: $29.50 to $54. Call [phone] or go to www.ticketmaster.com.

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Photo:

JAGUARES: Cesar ``Vampiro'' Lopez, left, Saul Hernandez and Alfonso Andre