Los Fronterizos is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

musical band consisting of four men. The group was established in 1953 in the northern province of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

-- bordering on

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-- from which "Los Fronterizos" ("men of the frontier") is derived. Los Fronterizos are among the most famous Argentine musical bands. They recorded over thirty records during the fifty years in which they were active. Their genre is ''Folklore Argentino'' (" Argentine Folk") which blends powerful, vibrant rhythms from the Spanish

Flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

with

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

South American elements such as the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, or ''

quena The quena (hispanicized spelling of Quechua ''qina'', sometimes also written ''kena'' in English) is the traditional flute of the Andes. Traditionally made of cane or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole, and is open on both ends or th ...

''. The latter is a hallmark of the '' Musica Andina'' genre which became well known in the U.S with

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

's English version of "El Condor Pasa". Some of the Fronterizos' most famous records are ''Personalidad en Folklore'' (circa 1962), ''Color en Folklore'', and

Ariel Ramírez Ariel Ramírez (4 September 1921 – 18 February 2010) was an Argentine composer, pianist and music director. He was considered "a chief exponent of Argentine folk music" and noted for his "iconic" musical compositions. Ramírez is known primari ...

's ''

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'' (1964 and 1977). In most songs, the band's instrumentation includes

acoustic guitars An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and

bombo legüero Bombo legüero is an Argentine drum traditionally made of a hollowed tree trunk and covered with cured skins of animals such as goats, cows (leather) or sheep; ''legüero'' signifies that you can supposedly hear it a league away. It derives from t ...

(a large indigenous drum), and occasionally,

charango The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during c ...

and quena. Los Fronterizos' success may be attributed to their touching melodies written by some of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

's best songwriters and to their remarkable harmony and rare combination of voices (one alto, two tenors, and one bass). The group formally disbanded in 1977 but continued to reunite and perform in tours with great success for years thereafter. The very powerful lead voice (one of the two tenors) belonged to Gerardo López who died in 2004.

Members

*Gerardo López * Eduardo Madeo * Carlos Barbaran * Juan Carlos Moreno * Julio César Isella; replaced Barbaran in 1956 *Yayo Quesada; replaced Isella in 1964

External links

*
Los Fronterizos singing Recuerdo Salteño - Memory from Salta - on youtubeLos Fronterizos - El Condor Pasa - on youtubeLos Fronterizos - El Quiaqueño - on youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fronterizos 1953 establishments in Argentina 1977 disestablishments in Argentina Argentine folk music groups Musical groups established in 1953 Musical groups disestablished in 1977 Musical quartets