ARGENTINIAN ROCK: A NATIONAL PASSION

ARGENTINIAN ROCK: A NATIONAL PASSION

Rock national is the term used to refer to rock-and-roll music produced by Argentine bands and singers. Rock is not only popular, but also important to the cultural of the people.

1958−1964: Early rock and roll

Like in many countries around the world, rock was born with Elvis .The music hit Argentina at time of political instability.

Rock-n-roll gained popularity and Rock Nacional was really born with Sandro. Considered the Argentine Elvis and emerged into the spotlight with his band Sandro y Los Del Fuego. Though originally considered rock, Sandro became a romantic pop singer.

1964−1975: The classic period

The first few years of rock music in Argentina were confined to cover bands. In 1964, Argentina was shaken by The Beatles phenomenon.

By 1965 in Buenos Aires, underground bands played in former bars called La Cueva and La Perla del Once. Singers like Palito Ortega, Violeta Rivas and Chico Navarro, were introducing Sunny Pop. One famous rock story is that musicians Tanguito and Lito Nebbia composed the first true Argentine rock song, La balsa, in the men’s room of La Perla. If you’re in the Once neighbourhood, La Perla still stands, and is worth visiting.

Groups like Almendra (lead by Luis Alberto Spinetta, one of Argentina’s most important rockers), Los Gatos, and Manal experimented with sixties rock, and are considered the trilogy of Rock’s forefathers. These founders created a uniquely Argentine sound: an international rock sound, in Spanish, with Argentine musical influences. Heavy rock bands like Pescado Rabioso (formed by Spinetta after Almendra broke up) and Pappo’s Blues emerged. Pappo would later become Argentina’s most important blues musician; he played with BB King in New York.

While these heavy groups were rocking out, acoustic bands like Sui Generis blended Argentine folk with dreamy lyrics. This hippie band was rock great Charly Garcia’s first group, and became very popular.

Sui Generis began changing from their classic acoustic rock to a more electric sound. In 1975 Charly García and Nito Mestre decided it was time to quit Sui Generis, almost as if they felt the winds of change. And so their final two concerts at the Luna Park Arena took place on September 5 of that year, the most important acoustic rock band saying good-bye to 30,000 people.

Progressive Rock

A symphonic band that would have a great year in 1976 was ALAS. Their music was even more intellectual. Spinetta would begin his third band Invisible later in that year. Their symphonic sound with tango would bring critical praise.

Charly García formed his first post-Sui Generis band, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, which began with Garcia's symphonic and progressive sound.

On March 24, 1976, the democratic government was toppled by a military coup. It opened one of the darkest political chapters in Argentina's history, full of repression, fear, and missing citizens. Argentine rock by no means would be immune to the military crackdown, and would suffer the worst censure period of its history. Rock was seen as subversive by the military, who began to clamp down on the music.

Groups like Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota played clandestine shows. Los Redondos wrote songs whose lyrics were critical for the dictatorship.

After two successful albums La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros broke up, as did Invisible, leaving as a legacy three of the greatest albums in Argentine rock's history: Invisible, Durazno Sangrando and Jardin de los Presentes.

By the early 1980’s, the conflict between the Argentine junta and the UK over the Malvinas Islands was heating up, and the government prohibited all foreign music from the radio. Soda Stereo, led by rock great Gustavo Cerati, emerged playing ironic songs. The first band to reach an audience across Latin America, Soda Stereo became beloved across the continent, inspiring an explosion of rock in Spanish. Their hit De Musica Ligera still plays in bars from Mexico to Buenos Aires.

In the early 1980’s, Italian-born Luca Prodan moved to Argentina to escape the heroin addiction. He brought

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