rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

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, ...

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

Rock en Español Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countri ...

Latin Rock Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while t ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Brazi ...

Eddie Pequenino Eddie Pequenino (1928–2000) was an Argentine film actor.Cowie & Elley p.25 Widely considered the father and founder of Argentine Rock. In 1956 he formed the first rock and roll band in Argentina and made the first recordings of that genre in the ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

phenomenon A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfrie ...

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

Pampas The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazi ...

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Nueva canción Nueva canción (European , ; 'new song') is a left-wing social movement and musical genre in Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, characterized by folk-inspired styles and socially committed lyrics. ''Nueva canción'' is widely recognized to ...

Palito Ortega Ramón Bautista Ortega (; born February 28, 1941) is an Argentine singer and actor, better known as Palito Ortega (). Ortega is an icon of Argentine popular music, and is considered one of the main representatives of the musical style called N ...

Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Manal Manal was an Argentine rock group. Together with Almendra and Los Gatos, they are considered founders of Argentine rock.Miguel Abuelo, and

Tanguito José Alberto Iglesias (September 16, 1944 – May 19, 1972), better known as Tango or its diminutive Tanguito or Ramses VII, was an Argentina, Argentine rock singer-songwriter. Born into a working-class family from western Greater Buenos Aires, ...

would gather in the mid-1960s Argentina to exchange ideas. Los Beatnicks, of which Moris and Martinez where members, began the transition that would slowly take Argentine rock from imitation to a more creative state (while still following UK trends mainly). Forming in quiet beaches of Villa Gesell, they recorded the first

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

single in 1966 called ''"Rebelde"''. The definitive breakthrough of Spanish-language, original material rock would be up to the band

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...

. After playing in ''"La Cueva"'' for a few months, the band released two singles in 1967. One of them, ''" La Balsa"'', co-written by

Tanguito José Alberto Iglesias (September 16, 1944 – May 19, 1972), better known as Tango or its diminutive Tanguito or Ramses VII, was an Argentina, Argentine rock singer-songwriter. Born into a working-class family from western Greater Buenos Aires, ...

and

Litto Nebbia Félix Francisco "Litto" Nebbia Corbacho (born 21 July 1948) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and producer prominent in the development of Argentine rock. Life and work Félix Francisco Nebbia Corbacho was born in Rosario, Santa Fe t ...

, sold 200,000 copies. This contributed to the widespread popularity of the genre because it was in Spanish and it was an original composition. The following year saw the first publication of ''Pinap'', a rock magazine, and the founding of the first Argentine rock label,

Mandioca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

. In 1969, four major concerts of so-called ''"música beat"'' ("

beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffl ...

") were held: the ''June Sunday'' concerts, ''Festival Nacional de Música Beat'', ''Festival Pinap'' and ''Festival de Música Joven''. Almendra y Manal

In the wake of Los Gatos, several bands emerged, including

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

's Almendra, and

Manal Manal was an Argentine rock group. Together with Almendra and Los Gatos, they are considered founders of Argentine rock.Pescado Rabioso Pescado Rabioso (Rabid Fish) were an Argentinian rock band led by Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. Initially a trio accompanied by drummer Black Amaya and bassist Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino, they became a quartet with the ...

, and the remaining members started Color Humano and Aquelarre. Spinetta's album

Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

was considered the greatest Argentine rock album of all time by the Rolling Stone Magazin

ref name="Los 100 albumes RS"> In 1970, Vox Dei (band), Vox Dei refreshed the movement. Their album ''"La Biblia"'' (The Bible) is one of their most famous works of the early 1970s. In that same year, the first B.A (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

) Rock festival became the first showcase of a rising subgenre that would predominate the first half of 1970s Argentine rock.The Beginnings
ABC of Argentine Rock (Spanish) A new group of musicians was to bring new ideas to the mixing bowl of early Argentine rock.

Acoustic and heavy rock

By the turn of the decade the first real diversification in Argentine rock start taking place, although the split had been brewing even before, as some bands began playing much heavier music, with the world of rock entering the Heavy metal era. Among them,

Pescado Rabioso Pescado Rabioso (Rabid Fish) were an Argentinian rock band led by Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. Initially a trio accompanied by drummer Black Amaya and bassist Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino, they became a quartet with the ...

, Vox Dei (band), Vox Dei, and Billy Bond y La Pesada del Rock. Pappo's Blues was acknowledged as one of the greatest guitarist of all time by

B.B King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shim ...

, who invited him to play in the Madison Square Garden. Another important but overlooked heavy rock act of the period is

El Reloj "El reloj" () is a song of the bolero genre, with music and lyrics by Mexican composer and singer Roberto Cantoral, then a member of the Los Tres Caballeros trio. History Cantoral composed the song in 1956, in Washington D.C., in front of the ...

, but they would drift towards progressive rock in the following years. Conversely, the first B.A Rock festival (now promoted by Pinap magazine successor Revista Pelo), had many of the artists and bands that would lead the Acoustic rock movement:

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

forming Arco Iris,

León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentini ...

's folk-rock hybrid,

Sui Generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

and the start of

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

's music career, Raul Porchetto, and Pedro y Pablo, among other bands. The proliferation of these bands and their increasing popularity, the early 1970s being the height of the

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

movement in Argentina, led to the Acusticazo of 1972. Several acoustic rock bands would gain popularity from their performances there, including Vivencia,

Pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

, and Alma y Vida. The behemothic success of the Acusticazo was a turning point in which Argentine began to be listened massively. That same year,

Tanguito José Alberto Iglesias (September 16, 1944 – May 19, 1972), better known as Tango or its diminutive Tanguito or Ramses VII, was an Argentina, Argentine rock singer-songwriter. Born into a working-class family from western Greater Buenos Aires, ...

was killed hit by a

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

. Conspiracies about his death abound, including that he committed suicide and even that he was thrown onto the tracks by police. As he was a heavy drug user, others contend he simply might have tripped. The 1993 motion picture ''

Tango Feroz ''Tango Feroz: la leyenda de Tanguito'' ( es, Wild tango: the legend of Tanguito) is a 1993 Argentine drama musical film directed by Marcelo Piñeyro, his debut film. It is loosely based in the life of Tanguito, one of the first artists of Arge ...

'' ("Wild Tango") tells the life of Tanguito. As the 1970s progressed, acoustic rock continued as the most popular style in the country.

Sui Generis farewell concerts

Sui Generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

began shifting from their classic acoustic rock to a more electric and visceral sound. Also, stirring in the Argentine underground were new bands with a radically different sound from either acoustic or heavy rock: influenced by some of acoustic rock's more experimental works (such as Arco Iris and their ''Agitor Lucens V'' with its world music influences), by

Tango music Tango is a style of music in or time that originated among European and African immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay (collectively, the " Rioplatenses"). It is traditionally played on a solo guitar, guitar duo, or an ensemble, k ...

and also by British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

. This would be the blueprint of Argentine progressive rock that would bloom into the apex of the movement in 1975. As that year began few could foresee what a watershed it would become not just in Argentine rock history, but the country's too.

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

and Nito Mestre decided it was time to leave Sui Generis. Their two final concerts took place at the

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-s ...

Arena, on September 5 of 1975, in front of 30,000 people. Historians have come to see the Sui Generis farewell concerts as the end of the 'Classic' Argentine rock era. Acoustic rock was passing into history: bands dissolved, changed their sound, and those that remained lost popularity and became only cult followings. Argentine progressive rock was on the rise, and so was the political repression to freedoms of expression. Also, several bands would leave the country for greener pastures in Europe, mostly Spain, among them Moris and Aquelarre. The Classic era of Argentine rock music was completely over by 1976. As this year began, Argentine rock became far more sophisticated and conceptual. A few acoustic bands would continue having moderate success, including

Pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

, and Nito Mestre y Los Desconocidos de Siempre. But it was the beginning of the period of symphonic and progressive rock dominance.

1975−1983: The intermediate period

Progressive rock

As early as 1973, the band

Contraluz ''Backlight'' (Portuguese: ''Contraluz'') is a 2010 Portuguese–American mystery and action drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on r ...

combined rock with progressive and folk tinges. They would be an influential group in the years leading to the rise of symphonic and Argentine progressive rock. Its albums were acclaimed nationally and by progressive rock fans worldwide. Another symphonic/progressive band was Crucis. Their music began attracting attention in the underground, and so they started getting bigger performing venues. As change swept Argentine rock in 1975, their music was rapidly rising to popular musical tastes. Their compositions were strong and dynamic with unexpected breaks, and the interplay between the electric guitar and keyboards captivating. The rhythm-section sounded powerful and adventurous. Espíritu, who formed in 1973 but had roots since 1969, would go on to be an internationally followed group in the latter part of symphonic rock's heyday. The first album ''Crisalida'' is cited as their best effort, with beautiful and alternating compositions and changing atmospheres (from mellow with acoustic guitar to up-tempo with heavy electric guitar), lush keyboards and some vocal harmonies. Former heavy rockers

El Reloj "El reloj" () is a song of the bolero genre, with music and lyrics by Mexican composer and singer Roberto Cantoral, then a member of the Los Tres Caballeros trio. History Cantoral composed the song in 1956, in Washington D.C., in front of the ...

turned to prog with 1975's self-titled album. Their sound has been compared to Uriah Heep's mystic and proggy sound. A symphonic band that would have a great year in 1976 was ALAS. Their music was even more intellectual and unorthodox. ALAS would feature artists such as

Rodolfo Mederos Rodolfo Mederos (born March 25, 1940) is an Argentine bandoneonist, composer and arranger. He lived in Cuba and France; in Argentina, he founded the experimental group Generación Cero. Early life Mederos was born in the Constitución neig ...

and

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

.

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

would begin his third band

Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...

later in that year. Their symphonic sound tinged with

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

would bring critical praise. A band that showed a lot of promise that never materialised was Reino de Munt. Formed by Raul Porchetto, it featured a young

Alejandro Lerner Alejandro Federico Lerner (born June 8, 1957) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has written and sung countless songs including several hits, and his fame and recognition spread all over South America. Through his career, Lerner ...

, and musicians like Gustavo Basterrica and Frank Ojsterseck.Chapter 9
History of Argentine Rock (Spanish)

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

formed his first post-

Sui Generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

band, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, which began Garcia's explorations of symphonic and progressive rock. Other symphonic and progressive bands of renown would be Torax, Ave Rock, Anacrusa, and Materia Gris. Arco Iris meanwhile continued expanding on their symphonic-folk rock and were joined by veteran Chilean band

Los Jaivas Los Jaivas is a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock styles formed in 1963 in Viña Del Mar, Chile. They are considered one of the most important and influential artists of all time in Latin America. ...

, whom were escaping the

Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

dictatorship that had come to power in their nation in 1973. The two along with

Contraluz ''Backlight'' (Portuguese: ''Contraluz'') is a 2010 Portuguese–American mystery and action drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on r ...

were the main exponent of the subgenre. On March 24, 1976, the democratic government was toppled by a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. 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 period of censorship in its history. Rock was seen as subversive by the nation's authority figures, who began to clamp down on the music. In a 1976 speech, Admiral Emilio Massera denounced rock musicians and fans as potential subversives and repression of them began in 1977. Before the end of the decade, rock had gone increasingly underground. Rock Nacional avoided the government's heavy media censorship and allowed an outlet for codified criticism of the government. In spite of this however, the music would continue its development against the odds. Along with the plethora of symphonic/progressive bands, heavies Vox Dei (band), Vox Dei and Pappo's Blues continued to sustain their popularity during the period. Yet another heavy metal band,

Plus Plus may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Cannonball Adderley Quintet album), 1961 * ''Plus'' (Matt Nathanson EP), 2003 * ''Plus'' (Martin Ga ...

, made their debut in '76 and enjoyed success through the end of the decade.

Symphonic rock at late 1970s

Argentine rock continued its symphonic, so-called 'concert hall' sound through the end of the decade. The '78-'79 period was not the most prolific period for rock, as the progressive bands continued with their blueprint, and symphonic rock bands actually turned slightly commercial. At the height of symphonic rock, Crucis was joined at the top by the popularity of Espíritu; the two are generally seen as the most well-known outfits of the symphonic rock period. The first album of La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros was a mixture of effort, individual performances, melodies, dynamic contrasts, ensemble work and arrangements. Soluna-tapa

1977 was a year of separation and endings: Crucis would disband at the end of the year. In heavy metal,

Pappo Norberto Aníbal Napolitano (March 10, 1950 – February 25, 2005), popularly known as Pappo, was an Argentine rock musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was and is one of the most influential figures in Argentine music, and in additio ...

's blues would see their nearly seven-year run end. Aquelarre would return from their Spanish stint, but following a tour run went their separate ways. But the year would show a glimpse at the future: a band from

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

called

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known simply as Patricio Rey, Los Redondos or Los Redonditos de Ricota, was a rock band formed in La Plata, Argentina. The group was active from the mid 70s up to the early 2000s. They are known for ...

, with their comical costumes and nervy fast tempos, started performing. 1977 was a year in which certain bands had a short period of fame: Soluna (

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

's 2nd group), with their electric folk, and Orion's Beethoven, a progressive band that played since 1969 but had their moment of fame eight years later. Neither band sustained their popularity into 1978. Bubu with their album ''Anabelas'', in 1978 was one of those bands too. And even more bands ceased to be. After two successful albums that featured several would-be classics of the era, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros hung up, as did

Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...

, leaving as a legacy three albums: ''Invisible'', ''Durazno Sangrando'' and ''Jardin de los Presentes''.

Pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

, one of the last acoustic groups still successful, split by 1978, as did ALAS. With the country gripped by

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

mania (Argentina was host in 1978), and the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

craze, rock music suffered the worst drought since its inception. The media was openly calling out 'the death' of Argentine rock. Throughout the years, different figures and events helped Argentine rock to expand worldwide: Sandro y los del fuego in 1963; the

Uruguayan Invasion The Uruguayan Invasion was a musical phenomenon of the 1960s similar to the British Invasion, with rock and roll, rock bands from Uruguay gaining popularity in Argentina. History Inspired by British rock, British bands like The Beatles and The Roll ...

of 1965 that proved the commercial viability of non-US or UK bands; the massive hit of ''" La balsa"'' by

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...

in '67 showing that Spanish language rock could be appealing to the masses; the '' Acusticazo'' of '72. In the drought days of 1978, Serú Girán emerged as a ' supergroup'.

Serú Girán

In 1977 Charly García got together with his friend

David Lebón David Oscar Lebón (Buenos Aires, October 5, 1952) is an Argentine rock multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter of Argentinian rock, long considered during the 70s and 80s the best guitar player in the country.. Career Born into a family o ...

, an ex member of

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

's band

Pescado Rabioso Pescado Rabioso (Rabid Fish) were an Argentinian rock band led by Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. Initially a trio accompanied by drummer Black Amaya and bassist Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino, they became a quartet with the ...

, to write songs in Brazil. There, Charly re-encountered

Oscar Moro Óscar Moro (January 24, 1948 – July 11, 2006) was an Argentine rock drummer. Óscar Moro was born and raised in Rosario. Moro joined a childhood friend, Litto Nebbia, and three others in forming the pioneer Argentine rock and roll band Los Ga ...

, the drummer of his former band "La Máquina De Hacer Pájaros" and they decided to invite him to help compose new material. The trio soon decided that instead of selling their songs like they had originally planned, they would play them themselves in a new band. Now all they needed was a bass player.

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

was a lesser known bassist who had once been a member of progressive rock group "ALAS". He also happened to be a friend of Moro's, who knew of Aznar's ability with the funk and jazz bass. Moro brought Aznar into the group and they began to prepare themselves. Charly, Moro, Lebón, and Aznar created a sound that was distinctive from anything in English-language rock. Their rock style caught the attention of both the lower and upper classes. Serú Girán could be 'brainy' yet unpretentious rockers simultaneously. Partly because the group lived for three months in northeast Brazil, the band's first album shows clear influences of

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

, mixed with symphonic rock and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. But the band's first live concert to support the album created one of the strangest anecdotes in Argentine rock: the fans did not understand the strange costumes the band used (entirely in white except for Garcia with a black jacket and shoes); and then when they played the song ''"Disco Shock"'', a satire poking fun at disco music (which was at its height in 1978), people thought they were really serious. Whistles and boos would follow and what should have been a great concert turned into a fiasco, with fans clamoring for

Sui Generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

songs. Serú Girán did not get their point across their ideas as expected. It would all fuel wild speculations about the members' sexual orientations, a PR nightmare at the time.Serú Girán
www.rock.com.ar (Spanish) But the group bounced back with a vengeance with their 2nd album ''

La Grasa de las Capitales ''La Grasa de las Capitales'' is the second album by the Argentine Rock supergroup Serú Girán, released in 1979. After its deeply criticized debut album Serú Girán, the band went in search for a different sound, one that could be closer to t ...

''. It was well received by the specialist press, and would cement their status as the most popular band of their time. Serú Girán's third album '' Bicicleta'' (1980) was tepidly received at first, but in time would be considered the band's best work. Both albums departed from the symphonic rock of the first LP, the music turning more visceral and 'simple' with less arrangement and pomp. Serú Girán would not be isolated in this trend, as slowly Argentine rock was writing the final chapters in its symphonic and progressive period.

Argentine rock and Falklands War

The nation was still in the grip of a dictatorship as the 1980s dawned, even as repression had eased somewhat by then. The start of the decade continued to feature Serú Girán, now with their less pretentious sound, at the top of the charts. Vox Dei (band), Vox Dei entered their 3rd decade in rock, a virtual first for any local band, and

León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentini ...

's popularity as a solo artist was on the rise. One of the last progressive bands would be Tantor. They were less symphonic and far more prog-experimental, with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

as a major support. Their first eponymous album was a hit in the scene, and the band would continue till the mid-1980s as one of the last bands of the progressive era. Serú Girán went touring in Brazil in 1980, where their reception by fans at the Monterrey Jazz Festival in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

was so enjoyed that the organizers requested that they perform again, the next day, but on the main stage with jazz-rockers

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocalis ...

. There,

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

met

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

, to whom he gave some cassettes with his own works. Serú Girán returned home, released "Bicicleta" and gathered 60,000 fans in

La Rural La Rural: Agricultural and Livestock Exhibition of Argentina ''La Exposición Rural'' (in English: The Rural Exhibition), is an annual agricultural and livestock show held in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event is organ ...

back in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

chanting ''no se banca más'' (''it isn't bearable anymore'', alluding to the dictatorship). That year they had also performed in concert with Spinetta Jade,

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

's latest project and the other popular rock group of the early 1980s. It was an event in which both bands eventually played some songs of each other's repertoire. Spinetta Jade was a blend of jazz and rock that escaped the trappings of symphonic rock, something that was unheard in Argentina at that time. Towards the last two albums, the sound became a little bit more "pop", and embedded with electronic elements (samplers and synthesizers with "artificial" textures). Serú Girán released their fourth album '' Peperina'' in 1981 and promoted it on tour, but by the end of the year

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

decided to leave the band because he wanted to study at

Berklee Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. (When he was there, by the end of 1982, he was called to join the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...

). Serú Girán (which at the time was even planning tours in Europe), had a strong sendoff on March 6–7, 1982, when they performed for the last time at the

Arena Obras Sanitarias Estadio Obras Sanitarias (also known as Arena Obras Sanitarias and Templo del Rock) is an indoor arena that is located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The arena, home venue of club Obras Sanitarias, is mainly used to host basketball games and concerts. ...

. They performed the song ''"No llores por mí, Argentina"'' ("Don't Cry for me, Argentina", which has no relation to the ''Evita'' musical theme), which was full of symbolism. It was not only a farewell for Aznar, and for Serú Girán, but for an era in Argentine music, and history. The timing was beyond befitting. Argentina's economy was in full recession in 1982, and discontent with the military government was rampant. On April 2, the world would awake yet again in the 20th century to the horror of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. After a season of death and destruction in the South Atlantic in which both sides suffered sunken ships, aircraft blown from the sky, and hundreds of young lives were cut short, the United Kingdom regained control over the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

(Islas Malvinas). The popularity of the Argentine military government hit then bottom, and democratic elections were called shortly after.

1983−1990: Argentine rock goes global

New Democracy Sound

The war would be a dark chapter in Argentine history, but would have the paradoxical effect of creating one of the most fortuitous circumstances in the history of any rock genre. In May of '82 the ''Festival for Latin American Solidarity'' brought together all the great bands of Argentine rock. It was a festival in support of the troops overseas, and also a veiled protest to war, and a call for peace (at first the musicians feared appearing for risk of being portrayed pro-war). This event was the final stepping stone of Argentine rock in becoming ''the'' dominant form of music in the country. At the same time, English-language rock was wiped out from radio play. The programmers had to fill the voids with something, and that was with Argentine rock. This created the opportunity of exposure to countless underground bands. It would set the foundations for the explosion of rock in the mid-1980s. In the latter days of symphonic rock, a great number of new groups started popping seemingly out of nowhere. In reality, these were bands influenced by

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

, new wave from the US and Britain, and by the more symphonic and less progressive side of Argentine rock.

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known simply as Patricio Rey, Los Redondos or Los Redonditos de Ricota, was a rock band formed in La Plata, Argentina. The group was active from the mid 70s up to the early 2000s. They are known for ...

, who had started in 1977, were growing a larger following on a monthly basis. In 1979 in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

, Federico Moura would form a pioneering new wave band called

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

. In

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, three young men influenced by the advent of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

in Britain started exchanging ideas, and decided to form a band with the name

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

. In 1980 friends who were enthralled by the wave of US and UK punk formed the band Los Violadores. Miguel Abuelo, a founding figure of Argentine rock in the 1960s, would return after a decade in Europe and form

Los Abuelos de la Nada Los Abuelos de la Nada ( en, link=no, The Grandparents of Nothingness) was an Argentinian new wave/Argentine rock band. The group underwent several incarnations throughout its history, with all of them led by its founder and frontman, singer-son ...

, which happened to feature a young man by the name of Andres Calamaro. Someone named

Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...

, after talking to

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

, won the opportunity to open for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

in Buenos Aires with his new band ZAS. At the local pubs in Mendoza a pop-rock act called Los

Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

appeared. An Italian of Scottish background named

Luca Prodan Luca Prodan (17 May 1953 – 22 December 1987) was an Italian- Argentinian musician and singer who rose to fame as the leading vocalist of Sumo, one of the most influential rock bands of Argentina,''Argentina Independent''Lo de Luca: Homage to a ...

arrived in Argentina to fight his

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

addiction, worsened by the death of his friend Ian Curtis of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

. Prodan would form

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

. This band, one of the least conventional in Argentina at the time, and since, has been voted Best Argentine Band by a poll composed by rock journalists in 2009. Despite its 'underground' status, it has fervent followers in Chile, Uruguay, Mexico and a plethora of countries worldwide. From the ''Festival of Latin American Solidarity'' emerged solo artists that would go on to delve into a more adult oriented form of rock and pop music, with the Argentine youngsters of the 1960s now mature adults. Some of these names were

Juan Carlos Baglietto Juan Carlos Baglietto (; born June 14, 1956, in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine musician, singer and composer. He is one of the iconic figures of the musical movement called ''Trova Rosarina'', a famous generation of singers and composers ...

(who was optimistic about a young musician from

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

named

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

),

Alejandro Lerner Alejandro Federico Lerner (born June 8, 1957) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has written and sung countless songs including several hits, and his fame and recognition spread all over South America. Through his career, Lerner ...

, and Celeste Carballo. In heavy metal,

Pappo Norberto Aníbal Napolitano (March 10, 1950 – February 25, 2005), popularly known as Pappo, was an Argentine rock musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was and is one of the most influential figures in Argentine music, and in additio ...

founded his new band

Riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

, and newcomers V8 and

La Torre La Torre is a municipality composed of the following districts, Balbarda, Blacha, Guareña, Oco and Sanchicorto located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: In ...

would emerge. New witty rock bands like Los Twist, Suéter, and the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcul ...

group Viuda e hijas de Roque Enroll crashed to the scene infusing Argentine rock with needed dosages of humor and self-deprecation. On the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

side of rock,

La Sobrecarga LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

and Euroshima would carry the torch. And for the first time in Argentine rock history there was a "revival" of an earlier style, with Acoustic rock making a comeback on the back of reunions by Almendra and

Manal Manal was an Argentine rock group. Together with Almendra and Los Gatos, they are considered founders of Argentine rock.Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

and

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

embarked on their solo careers. Moris returned from his period in Spain. Meanwhile, Argentina entered a new era with the inauguration of Raúl Alfonsín as president of a fully democratic nation. Rock bands would no longer be harassed and even censored by the powers-that-be, and freedom of expression flowered. Songs critical of the military that were in prior years censored, some with exquisite lyrical poetry and allegory, were released during this time: ''"Tiempos Dificiles"'' by Fito Páez (sung by Juan Carlos Baglietto), ''"Maribel se Durmió"'' by Luis Alberto Spinetta, ''"Sólo le pido a Dios"'' by León Gieco and ''"Los dinosaurios''" by Charly García. A more direct criticism of the military government that ended in 1983 came from the Argentine punk groups like Los Violadores (singing songs like "Represión") or seminal heavy metal bands like V8. Finally, segments of Argentine rock moved away from the concert hall and 'solemn' era, full of very heavy lyrics and concerns with domestic issues. It started to lighten up and turn more irreverent, and to focus on mundane concerns such as money, love, and sports. This would make the music and lyrics far more accessible (and commercial) to international audiences. The stage was set for the boom of Argentine rock in Latin America and beyond.

Argentine Invasion

The ''Cafe Einstein'' was opened in 1982 by Omar Chaban (who would end up convicted for the

República Cromañón nightclub fire A fire broke out in the crowded República Cromañón nightclub (mostly known in Argentina as simply "Cromañón") in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 December 2004, killing 194 people and leaving at least 1,492 injured. The nightclub República ...

22 years later), featuring some of the first presentations of three underground bands:

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

,

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

, and Los Twist. Both Sumo and Soda Stereo featured slightly different line-ups in their early days, with Sumo having an English girl, Stephanie Nuttal, on drums. She returned to England when war broke out between her country and Argentina. Also in '82

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

released his full-album solo debut, the acclaimed ''Yendo de la Cama al Living''. "One could feel the winds of change" in 1983 Argentina. A cliché perhaps, but at no time more appropriately used. Everything was optimism about the future, the country, and music. Even technology cooperated with the palpable change: it was the year the

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...

was introduced. And 1984 was the year of female rock:

Patricia Sosa Patricia Sosa (born January 23, 1956) is an Argentine singer and actress. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Patricia Sosa began her career in 1975, with the cover band Nomady Soul. She created the rock band La Torre with her husband Oscar Mediavi ...

and her heavy rock band La Torre were voted best band of the year and ''"Solo quiero Rock and Roll"'' best single, a first for a female lead rock act. Another female-fronted band, Los Twist, and their superbly catchy tunes about nothing were also doing very well, but the group suffered a blow when Fabiana Cantilo left. As the early 1980s progressed it became clear that the new generation of rockers were not like anything before: Los Violadores pioneering punk in Latin America;

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

oxygenating rock with their new-wave sound, followed by Cosméticos with a similar style;

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

's punkish reggae-rock developing a fanatical cult following (

Luca Prodan Luca Prodan (17 May 1953 – 22 December 1987) was an Italian- Argentinian musician and singer who rose to fame as the leading vocalist of Sumo, one of the most influential rock bands of Argentina,''Argentina Independent''Lo de Luca: Homage to a ...

sung mostly in English, which reduced his band's radio exposure yet their fame expanded unabated); and

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

the buzz of the underground. ZAS introduced the phrase "''rock en tu idioma"'' (

rock in your language ''Rock en tu idioma'' was a publicity campaign -- resulting in a series of rock albums -- initiated by the BMG Ariola music label, which other labels later also joined, to promote and distribute the music of Mexican, Spanish and Argentinian bands. ...

).

Los Abuelos de la Nada Los Abuelos de la Nada ( en, link=no, The Grandparents of Nothingness) was an Argentinian new wave/Argentine rock band. The group underwent several incarnations throughout its history, with all of them led by its founder and frontman, singer-son ...

and newcomers G.I.T. found quick success outside Argentina, a preview of things to come. By 1985, year in which Los Fabulosos Cadillacs were formed, several bands began receiving consistent airplay across Latin America. Argentine rock began "climbing" the continent up the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

: first

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, then

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.

Zeta Bosio Héctor Juan Pedro Bosio Bertolotti (born 1 October 1958) better known by his stage name Zeta Bosio, is an Argentine rock musician, record producer and disc jockey (DJ), better known as the bassist of the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo. He was ...

member of

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

said regarding this: ''"We would leave

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and tour in Chile, Peru, etc, and in some places they had never heard a live rock concert before... they said that such music was for another world and wouldn’t work... now it's all joy seeing how it did work and that it now has its own legs..."'' Argentine rock bands were the first to be signed to multinational record labels for distribution across many nations.The History of Rock en Español
by Gregorio Montiel Cupello (Spanish) The trickle became a flood as 1986 approached, and by the start of that year it had become a continental phenomenon, reaching

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and crossing the Atlantic to Spain, even as far Italy, France, and Germany.

Los Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

, with their energetic pop-rock that appealed through music lines, gained previously unseen popularity across borders. The Cadillacs, with their ska-rock with a heavy Latin infusion, turned into instant rock stars across Latin America and, eventually, worldwide.

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

, a heavy metal band formed in 1987 from the ashes of influential early 1980s rockers called V8, also conquered the Spanish-speaking world. The same did

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

,

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

, and now solo artist

Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...

. 1986 was the climax of an unprecedented wave of international success for Argentine rock. It would help to revitalize rock movements in other Latin American countries for two reasons: 1) It would create a buzz and excitement in the local rock scenes; 2) it proved to producers and record labels in those countries that "

Rock en Español Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countri ...

" could work and make them money. In Mexico, Argentine bands were being marketed by media giants like

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

as "rock in your language". Its success changed the landscape of the Mexican scene: it laid the groundwork for

Mexican rock Mexican rock music, often referred to in Mexico as ''rock nacional'' ("national rock"), originated in the 1950s. Standards by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Nancy Sinatra, and Chuck Berry were soon covered by bands such as Los Ap ...

in Spanish to itself expand overseas. In

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, the Argentine invasion was a catalyst that brought that country's own movement more to the mainstream. In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, where a few outstanding bands existed even prior to the Argentine boom (see Los Prisioneros), the flood of rock music coming from their eastern neighbor would fully energize and inspire the local scene, and Argentine rock's influence continues to this day. The current boom in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

n rock can be traced to the 1980s, with most Colombian rock acts citing the Argentine invasion groups as a direct influence. In countries like

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, the effects were even more profound. As 1988 began, with the most important Argentine bands (

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs,

Los Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

,

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

,

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

, Andres Calamaro,

Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...

,

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

,

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

) on constant tour of Latin America, Europe, and even countries in Asia, the globalization of Argentine rock and pop was complete. By this time the invasion had begun to 'quiet' down in comparison to the prior three years, but its legacy of opening the doors of Argentine rock to massive success beyond its own borders remains to this day.

Soda Stereo

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

was one of the most successful and influential rock band in Spanish ever. The influence of Soda Stereo and its music, style, and even 'business acumen' is undeniable. They were also the first Spanish-language band to use all aspects of their popularity to the fullest: their music videos, aesthetic, philosophy, and more. In the beginning they were deeply influenced by new wave and bands such as

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

,

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

, and by symphonic rockers

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

and Aquelarre. With their first album, the self-titled ''

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

'' (1984), they reached national success with joyful and ironic lyrics, and a sound that combined pop, reggae, ska, and new wave, but were accused of being superficial and frivolous. The second album, '' Nada Personal'', strengthened the popularity of the band, with instant classics such as ''"Nada Personal"'' and ''"Cuando Pase el Temblor"'' opening the doors of the Latin American market; 1986's "

Signos ''Signos'' (Spanish for ''Signs'') is the third studio album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on 10 November 1986. It was remastered in 2007 at Sterling Sound Studios in New York. In 2007, the Argentine edition of ''Rolli ...

" would heavily increase their popularity and in 1988 they came up with what could arguably be called their masterpiece, their album "

Doble Vida ''Doble Vida'' (Spanish for ''Double Life'') is the fourth album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on 15 September 1988. It was remastered in 2007 at Sterling Sound in New York. Track listing # "Picnic en el 4º B" (Cerati / ...

". The musical arrangements and the lyrics reached a subtlety never heard before from the band's production, the most notable example being the album's lead single "''En La Ciudad De La Furia''", a cryptically metaphorical ode to the band's hometown of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and the city's inhabitants. They embarked in an extensive tour through Latin America that brought the live album ''

Ruido Blanco Ruido Blanco ( Spanish for ''White Noise'') is a live album recorded by the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released in 1987 and recorded on their "Signos" Latin American tour promoting the album of the same name. This album includes a unique ...

''.Artist A-Z Biography: Soda Stereo
www.VH1.com With the tour supporting ''Signos'',

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

became international superstars. The band would continue their worldwide success well into the 1990s, and evolving their musical sounds unlike almost any other

Rock en Español Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countri ...

band. In fact, they would lead the way in the changes Argentine rock would experience as the 1990s drew near.

Late '80s: Loss and Experimentation

The year 1987 ended in tragedy for Argentine rock.

Luca Prodan Luca Prodan (17 May 1953 – 22 December 1987) was an Italian- Argentinian musician and singer who rose to fame as the leading vocalist of Sumo, one of the most influential rock bands of Argentina,''Argentina Independent''Lo de Luca: Homage to a ...

had finally lost his personal battle with alcohol and was found dead on December 22, due to complications from his addiction. His death was a shock to the entire music industry and to millions of heartbroken fans. Following Prodan's death, the members of

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

split, founding two new rock outfits:

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el pri ...

and

Las Pelotas Las Pelotas (in English: ''The Balls'', or more idiomatically, ''Bollocks!'', since the band name is a play of words between those two meanings); is an Argentine rock and reggae band from Córdoba. This band was formed after the separation of Su ...

; both bands became major players of 1990s rock. Miguel Abuelo, following gallbladder surgery, was diagnosed with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

; terminally ill, he died from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

on March 26, 1988.

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

leader Federico Moura's persistent pneumonia fueled rumors of further complications, which ended in the revelation soon after by the singer that he was infected with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. Moura died on December 21, 1988. Moura's passing completed a dreadful trifecta of musicians who had still much to offer. It was a tough blow for rock. As a group, Virus survived and soldiered on into the 1990s as a more adult pop-rock outfit than the outrageous yet influential 1980s band that helped define the sound of "techno-pop". Three major trends defined the Argentine rock of the end of the 1980s. The first trend was the consolidation of the Argentine Invasion bands into somewhat more mature rock groups. Some began to experiment with world music in the last two years of the 1980s. For example,

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

got together with his old Serú Girán partner

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

and recorded ''"Tango"'', whose name accurately suggests the style of the album. Excerpt at Before Federico Moura's death, Virus had also begun turning to Brazilian music for their album ''Superficies de Placer''. In general the mood of the music got darker echoing a deteriorated economic climate. A second was the rise of ''"Tropical"'' rock, and the explosion of local

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

bands in Argentina seemingly out of nowhere in 1987. While Argentine rock was triumphant internationally, Argentina was caught in a reggae-mania: in the summer of that year arose

Los Pericos Los Pericos is an Argentine band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America. In 2006, the band received some notable exposure for North American audiences when featured on an episode of Anthony ...

, Los Cafres, La Zimbabwe, and Jafran, among many other smaller outfits. But it was a fad, and only Los Pericos would sustain and grow their careers once the fancy faded (Los Cafres would be mildly successful starting in 1994). A band that was not a fad was Los Auténticos Decadentes, who would become a hugely popular ska-Latin pop and ballad group. They along with

Los Pericos Los Pericos is an Argentine band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America. In 2006, the band received some notable exposure for North American audiences when featured on an episode of Anthony ...

and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs would be leaders in the tropical rock scene of ska,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

. The third trend came about partly as a result of the first: many rock fans did not approve of the commercialism and experimentation of the A-bands, and increasingly looked underground for a more confrontational guitar-led rock. Among them:

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

, Don Cornelio y La Zona (later Los Visitantes),

Los Brujos Los Brujos (formed in 1988) is an Argentine rock band, part of the "New Argentine Rock" scene which became successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Members *Gabriel Guerrisi: guitar *Fabio "Rey" Pastrello: 2nd guitar *Alejandro Alaci: v ...

,

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

, Los Siete Delfines,

Massacre Palestina Massacre is an Argentine alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Buenos Aires. It was formed by high school students influenced by American and British bands of the early 80s Alternative Rock movement. Among his influences, artists like Hüsker ...

. All of them would be part of the'' "Nuevo Rock"'' ("New Rock") explosion of the early 1990s. In heavy metal, the already mentioned

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

dominated popular tastes, specially in other Latin American countries, along with

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos ...

, JAF, and

Horcas Horcas is a heavy metal band from Argentina created in 1988 by Osvaldo Civile, former guitarist for V8 (band), V8, Argentina’s landmark heavy metal outfit of the 1980s. After quitting V8 in 1985, and impressed by the new generation of thrash met ...

(the last two more domestic), in a very healthy scene for a style that never was overwhelmingly crowded in Argentine rock. An important band in the metal underground was

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, one of the pioneering bands of

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

. Formed in 1984, they were part of the first generation of worldwide thrashers, and gained prominence as the decade ended and musical tastes turned approbatory for more extreme metal. The genre got many magazines committed solely to it and distributed nationwide: Madhouse,

Metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

, Riff Raff, Revista Epopeya, etc. The end of the 1980s were also a period of continued growth for

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known simply as Patricio Rey, Los Redondos or Los Redonditos de Ricota, was a rock band formed in La Plata, Argentina. The group was active from the mid 70s up to the early 2000s. They are known for ...

, on their way to becoming one of the most mythic cult bands of broad popularity in the history of rock, anywhere. It was also the time when Los Ratones Paranoicos were gaining followers with the burgeoning ''"rolingas"'' (followers of a subgenre of Argentine rock that is greatly indebted to the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

). On the pop side

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

with their tailor-made FM songs were ubiquitous. Finally,

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el pri ...

and their guitar-crunching melodic noise was more and more becoming a preview of what the next decade would bring. In general, as the fantastic 1980s for Argentine rock closed, the music was in period of transition and exploration at all levels.

1990−1998: Modern Argentine Rock

"Canción Animal" and New Rock

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

's frontman

Gustavo Cerati Gustavo Adrián Cerati (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer, considered one of the most important and influential figures of Ibero-American rock. Cerati along with his band Soda Stereo ...

could foresee the musical trends, putting his own band in front of it. After releasing the increasingly hard rocking ''

Doble Vida ''Doble Vida'' (Spanish for ''Double Life'') is the fourth album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on 15 September 1988. It was remastered in 2007 at Sterling Sound in New York. Track listing # "Picnic en el 4º B" (Cerati / ...

'', the band headed to studio with new producer

Daniel Melero Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

to record their fifth album, '' Canción Animal''. It was released in October 1990, about a year before

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...

released ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, ''Nev ...

''. ''Canción Animal'' confirmed that it was OK to return Argentine rock to an 'in your face', edgy attitude that shaped the Argentine Invasion aesthetic in the early years of the 1980s, but this time with electric guitars as the stars. From that album, the single ''"De Música Ligera"'', might well be the most recognizable Spanish-language rock single of all time, and also one of the most covered by bands all over Latin America and elsewhere. ''Canción Animal'' helped underground acts like

Los Brujos Los Brujos (formed in 1988) is an Argentine rock band, part of the "New Argentine Rock" scene which became successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Members *Gabriel Guerrisi: guitar *Fabio "Rey" Pastrello: 2nd guitar *Alejandro Alaci: v ...

, Peligrosos Gorriones, and

Massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

break faster into the mainstream, by taking guitar-crunching rock to the apex as 1991 began. Even pop-bound groups like

Los Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

rocked harder in their early 1990s works, particularly in their ''Big Bang'' album, whose single ''"Lamento Boliviano"'' is now a classic. These and other bands in their wake would be dubbed the ''"Nuevo Rock Argentino"'', or New Argentine Rock. A term that not long after would also be used as an umbrella to group bands with a hard-to-pin-down style, like the neo-surf pop of Super Ratones (from

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...

), and neo-fusionists

La Portuaria La Portuaria is an Argentine rock band formed at the beginning of the 1990s. The band developed a fusion sound, constructing Latin rhythms upon a base strongly influenced by jazz and rhythm 'n' blues. The line-up included Christian Basso on bass ...

with their world music touches. ''"Nuevo Rock"'' would be the dominant form of rock in Argentina until the middle of the decade when it lost ground to so-called ''"rock suburbano"''. In 1992,

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

presented ''

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

'', their sixth album, arguably the most conceptual (the other being ''"Signos"''), and the most experimental to that point. It apparently took fans by surprise, and was the lowest seller of the group's works (it didn't help that in the middle of all this the band changed labels; Sony wouldn’t promote a band that was leaving, and BMG wouldn't promote another label's album).

On the other hand,

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

had in 1992 their first major breakthrough of their careers with the hit ''D-generación'' from their 1992 album Pasto, which would herald future international success for a band that would define the sound of "sonic" rock. Juana La Loca was another band in the so-called sonic scene that started in the early 1990s and would breakthrough a few years later. The band that founded the Sonic Movement in Buenos Aires was Iguana Lovers, started in 1990. Now with collaborations of the

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming vol ...

British indie Ride members,

Mark Gardener Mark Stephen Gardener (born 6 December 1969, in Oxford, England) is an English rock musician, and a singer and guitarist with the shoegazing band Ride. Ride Gardener formed Ride with Andy Bell (guitar), whom he met at Cheney School in Oxfo ...

and

Loz Colbert Laurence John "Loz" Colbert (born 27 June 1970) is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Ride and formerly of The Animalhouse, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Supergrass and Gaz Coombes. His drumming style has been characterized as furi ...

, they were positioned as the most important new band of the Buenos Aires indie scene in 1991.

Los Brujos Los Brujos (formed in 1988) is an Argentine rock band, part of the "New Argentine Rock" scene which became successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Members *Gabriel Guerrisi: guitar *Fabio "Rey" Pastrello: 2nd guitar *Alejandro Alaci: v ...

would have a great year 1992; the single ''"Kanishka"'' was an instant chart-topper. Los Visitantes equalled the success of Los Brujos the next year with their album ''Salud Universal'', an offbeat mix of guitar rock and

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

tinges.

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

was a punk response to the Argentine rock being made in the late 1980s, consciously choosing to be far more direct and explicit in their musical (and political) statements. The band gained rapid acclaim with the rise of New Rock, and were one of the favorite bands of the period. Slowly the group would evolve from their early punk to a more diverse style that include afro-Latin rhythms. Iguana Lovers 1990

The odd-group out that appeared in the early 1990s was the outrageously named

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas (IKV) is a musical duo formed in 1991 consisting of Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The duo split in 2001 to follow solo careers, but later performed together several times, ...

(a reference to Colombian footballer

Carlos Valderrama Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''El Pibe'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking mid ...

). More rappers than rockers, the group nonetheless made a mark in the rock scene as time progressed and they were able to more successfully integrate rap with Argentine rock, and also Latin rhythms. One of the members,

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

, is the son of

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

.

Rock rolinga

As New Rock was dominant, some acts in the distant suburbs of Buenos Aires where playing straightforward and guitar centered rock music, with a foundation in the blues, and an unsophisticated image (somewhat a counter-movement to the image conscious, musically more pretentious New Rock). Some of these suburban acts owed so much to the sound of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, that their followers came to be known as "rolingas". Eventually the rock rolinga (a.k.a. rock stone) became a style: cheesy 1970s sneakers, tight T-shirts with the logo of the Stones or a local 'stone' band, and a disdain for other Argentine rock subgenres they consider part of the establishment. At the forefront of this movement were Los Ratones Paranoicos, whom for years before were perfecting a musical formula that would be emulated by countless neighborhood bands in years to come. They were joined in the Rolinga scene by

Viejas Locas Viejas may refer to: * Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized Native American tribe ** Viejas Casino, Alpine, California, United States, a hotel-casino owned by the tribe * Viejas Mountain, California * Vie ...

in the mid 1990s. The incessant touring of the rolinga bands around the suburbs of Buenos Aires and other cities would reap benefits not only for themselves but for other suburban groups that would follow soon after. Thus, Rolinga rock arguably became the most popular music genre in Argentina in the 1990s.

1990s Metal

The last decade of the twentieth century was a very productive one for this style of rock in Argentina. There had always been "heavy" bands: Billy Bond y la Pesada del Rock in the 1960s,

Pescado Rabioso Pescado Rabioso (Rabid Fish) were an Argentinian rock band led by Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. Initially a trio accompanied by drummer Black Amaya and bassist Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino, they became a quartet with the ...

and

Pappo Norberto Aníbal Napolitano (March 10, 1950 – February 25, 2005), popularly known as Pappo, was an Argentine rock musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was and is one of the most influential figures in Argentine music, and in additio ...

's Blues in the 1970s, V8, Riff (Argentine band), and several underground metal acts in the 1980s. But they had never been at the forefront of Argentine rock, seemingly always obscured by other genres whether it was acoustic, symphonic, progressive, or the 1980s invasion bands. This changed in the 1990s. As the decade started

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

,

Horcas Horcas is a heavy metal band from Argentina created in 1988 by Osvaldo Civile, former guitarist for V8 (band), V8, Argentina’s landmark heavy metal outfit of the 1980s. After quitting V8 in 1985, and impressed by the new generation of thrash met ...

,

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos ...

and J.A.F had very respectable careers. Rata Blanca was internationally approved: in fact, it is plausible to state that their classic metal sound was more popular outside Argentina than within. Internationally popular to a lesser extent was Hermética, the arch-rivals of Rata Blanca (both formed in 1987 when V8 disbanded), but there were no doubts of their massive following at home. Horcas and J.A.F stayed mostly successful in the local medium, though nonetheless had some overseas exposure. The major development in Argentine metal of the 1990s was the rise of

A.N.I.M.A.L. A.N.I.M.A.L. (''Acosados Nuestros Indios Murieron Al Luchar''; meaning "Harassed, Our Indians Died While Fighting") is a heavy metal band from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The band's sound is a combination of thrash metal, groove metal and nu met ...

The acronym translated literally stands for "Abused (accosted), Our Indians Died While Fighting". And their themes lived up to that title: the band would be one of the most outspoken advocates for indigenous people and even nationalism, while also (as such bands tend to do), blasting against the current world order. Their sound is equal parts hardcore, heavy metal, and

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...

. Another important band formed in 1990 was

Tren Loco Tren Loco is an Argentine heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in the suburban town of Grand Bourg, in Buenos Aires Province. Their lyrics relate social issues, like "Clase trabajadora" (Working class), "Fuera de la Ley" (Outlaw) and "Lucil ...

, whom long after went to Japan and won second place in a major battle-of-the-band event at famous Budokan Stadium in Tokyo. The metal underground also flourished in the 1990s, with bands like Alakrán,

Jezabel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

,

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...

, and Jeriko, among others.

Other developments

Solo artists from the earlier generations were by the 1990s established figures in the medium. Some stars were

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

and

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

. Garcia enjoyed a prolific 1980s with many of his albums turning into classics. Spinetta had a more uneven body of work but nonetheless was successful.

Pappo Norberto Aníbal Napolitano (March 10, 1950 – February 25, 2005), popularly known as Pappo, was an Argentine rock musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was and is one of the most influential figures in Argentine music, and in additio ...

continued putting out blues and heavy rock records,

Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...

remained a popular rock figure in Latin America even as he dropped almost off the radar in Argentina.

León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentini ...

's unique "folk-rock meets world music" approaches made him an internationally acclaimed musician. Fito Paez

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

's pop career continued to take-off in the early 1990s. In 1992 he released ''El Amor después del Amor'', becoming the best selling Argentine rock album. The title "love after love" was not by chance: he had just ended a well-publicized relationship with female rocker Fabiana Cantilo (herself an important 1990s singer in the movement), and was getting involved with movie actress

Cecilia Roth Cecilia Edith Rotenberg Gutkin better known as Cecilia Roth (; born August 8, 1956) is an Argentine actress. She is the winner of two Goya Awards and a European Film Award. She is known for being an " Almodóvar girl" and the "muse" of Fito P ...

. With the album Paez was confirmed an international pop star. Meanwhile,

Andrés Calamaro Andrés Calamaro (Andrés Calamaro Massel, August 22, 1961) is an Argentine musician, composer and Latin Grammy winner. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential rock artists in Spanish. He is also one of the most complete artist ...

had enjoyed some popularity since his solo career begun, but never managed a complete breakthrough with the public. He left for Spain, and there met two local musicians forming Los Rodriguez in 1991. Two years later the hit single ''"Sin Documentos"'' finally gave Calamaro an international hit, and the band gained overnight vogue in Spain and Latin America. Tropical, Fusion, and Latin influenced rock continued its ascent. 1992 was the year of ''"La Pachanga"'':

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

's Vilma Palma e Vampiros single was an across the board mega hit in the Spanish-speaking world; there was no way of escaping it unless one did not have any kind of social life in the early 1990s. Bands like Los Auténticos Decadentes, who had a major hit in 1990 with ''"Loco (tu forma de ser)"'', and

Los Pericos Los Pericos is an Argentine band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America. In 2006, the band received some notable exposure for North American audiences when featured on an episode of Anthony ...

mirrored the tendency of increased popularity for the subgenre. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs had a slump in the early 1990s after harvesting great accolades in the late 1980s, but came back with a roar in 1994 with ''Vasos Vacios''; the compilation that featured ''"Matador"''. The single would turn into a global superhit, winning MTV's best video of the year. The early 1990s were also the formative years of a group that would have an impact towards the new millennium: Bersuit Vergarabat. La Mosca would begin tapping into the tropical and Latin trend by 1995. Argentine punk-revival took off in the 1990s. Los Violadores had ruled 1980s punk; them along with the foreign punk bands of yesteryear would inspire the members of

Attaque 77 Attaque 77 ("Attack 77"), sometimes stylized as A77aque, is an Argentine punk rock group. The band was formed in 1987 as a group of friends who got together to play their favorite songs, most of them by The Ramones, their favorite band and the o ...

and Flema. Formed in 1986 and 1987 respectively, they were pioneers of the worldwide punk revival movement. Attaque 77's breakthrough came in 1990 with the single ''"Hacelo por Mi"''; Flema never broke to the mainstream but were heroic figures of the punk underground. Both groups paved the way for dozens of followers. One of those were 2 Minutos, with their pure-energy, extreme, back-to-basics punk rock. Another darling of the scene were

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

, perhaps one of few bands in any punk movement that was accepted for their various rock styles ''besides'' punk.

Fun People Fun People was a hardcore band from Argentina. Their lyrics were in English and Spanish, often mixing both languages in a single song or even line. Human and animal rights are frequent subjects in their lyrics. The band mixes punk music with o ...

took punk's liberal philosophy to another level by tackling the punk-scene itself: many of their lyrics criticized the macho attitudes in the movement which they saw contradictory to the spirit of punk. They were also the first band that sang in

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is m ...

, meanwhile another bands, like Drop Dead! Argentina used to do it only in English. The She Devils were the leaders of the local

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

scene.

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...

, a punk band that had existed since the 1980s but suffered various contingencies, finally would produce albums by the mid 1990s. ''See:'' Argentine punk In the Argentine northwest, important punk and indie scenes developed in the mid-to-late nineties. Bands like 448, Volstead, Estacion Experimental and Los Chicles led the scenes.

The Mid '90s Schism

In the middle years of the 1990s a rift developed in Argentine rock that would, with only slight wrinkles, endure to present times. By 1995 ''"nuevo rock argentino"'' or Argentine new rock had lost steam. For starters, bands like Los Siete Delfines and Peligrosos Gorriones, with their more artistic antics, fell out of favor. At the same time, groups like

Massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

and

La Portuaria La Portuaria is an Argentine rock band formed at the beginning of the 1990s. The band developed a fusion sound, constructing Latin rhythms upon a base strongly influenced by jazz and rhythm 'n' blues. The line-up included Christian Basso on bass ...

went on recording hiatuses and would not return until more favorable winds in the early to mid-2000s.

Los Brujos Los Brujos (formed in 1988) is an Argentine rock band, part of the "New Argentine Rock" scene which became successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Members *Gabriel Guerrisi: guitar *Fabio "Rey" Pastrello: 2nd guitar *Alejandro Alaci: v ...

disbanded in 1998 after eight years of solid productions, but it left a large void in the movement. One of the last ''hurrahs'' of new rock were rap-rockers Actitud Maria Marta, which had a year of fame in 1995.

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

,

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

, and

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas (IKV) is a musical duo formed in 1991 consisting of Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The duo split in 2001 to follow solo careers, but later performed together several times, ...

were some of the new rock bands that were able to maintain their level as the year 2000 approached. Also, 1995 would see the last album by

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

, their relaxed almost chillout-like '' Sueño Stereo'', an album at times more electronic than rock previewing the direction of

Gustavo Cerati Gustavo Adrián Cerati (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer, considered one of the most important and influential figures of Ibero-American rock. Cerati along with his band Soda Stereo ...

's solo career. Soda Stereo would go on a last grand tour through the United States and Latin America, selling out entire stadiums as they went. Their last concert in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1997 was released as a double-album, with 70,000 people selling out twice at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti. The arguably greatest band in Argentine and Rock en Español history wrapped up the concert and their career with the live version of ''"De Musica Ligera";'', Gustavo Cerati, the vocalist, guitarist and leader of the band, would end the song thanking his public, and would finish this gratitude by saying "... Gracias totales" (total thanks), this would become an iconic phrase for the band and Argentine rock thereafter. Conversely, "rolinga" rock was on the up. On the one hand were the 1980s bands that by the mid 1990s approached the suburban rock sound: Redonditos de Ricota,

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el pri ...

,

Las Pelotas Las Pelotas (in English: ''The Balls'', or more idiomatically, ''Bollocks!'', since the band name is a play of words between those two meanings); is an Argentine rock and reggae band from Córdoba. This band was formed after the separation of Su ...

. They were joined by two bands that would define suburban in the late 1990s as well:

Los Piojos Los Piojos were an Argentine rock band. Extremely popular, it became one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine music scene. Unlike most suburban outfits, however, their style evolved significantly with each successive album, not only deve ...

and

La Renga La Renga is a hard rock Argentine band, formed in 1988. They had moderate success with the albums '' A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida'' and '' Bailando en una pata'', between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996 ...

. La Renga is also considered one of the ''Rolinga'' groups (followers of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

blueprint) like Los Ratones Paranoicos and

Viejas Locas Viejas may refer to: * Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized Native American tribe ** Viejas Casino, Alpine, California, United States, a hotel-casino owned by the tribe * Viejas Mountain, California * Vie ...

, whose weighty followings would only grow larger. Argentine youth began to musically and socially gravitate to either the suburban rock groups or towards the underground. And even within these two major groupings there were subdivisions (''rolinga'' and ''post-chabón'' in suburban rock; ''sonico, punk, dark'' in the underground). Then there were the heavy metal followers, the large and expanding indie scene, and the tropical rock followers, genre increasingly intermixed with the fledgling

Cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

which would explode in the new millennium. The pieces were in place for the current period of rock in Argentina. On a completely different, and original level,

Andrea Prodan Andrea Prodan (born 16 November 1961) is an Italian- Argentinian film actor, composer and musician. He is the younger brother of rock star Luca Prodan, notable for his musical career in Argentina, leading the rock band Sumo. Biography The Pr ...

(Luca Prodan's brother) emerged with a bizarre and unique all-vocal, solo album called ''Viva Voce'', recorded on independent label Silly Records. The record won an A.C.E. award and was among

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's favourite records in his Real World list of 1996.

1998− : The Contemporary Period

Late 1990s & 21st century

The late 1990s charts were dominated by the success of bands like

Los Piojos Los Piojos were an Argentine rock band. Extremely popular, it became one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine music scene. Unlike most suburban outfits, however, their style evolved significantly with each successive album, not only deve ...

,

La Renga La Renga is a hard rock Argentine band, formed in 1988. They had moderate success with the albums '' A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida'' and '' Bailando en una pata'', between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996 ...

,

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el pri ...

, Redonditos de Ricota,

Las Pelotas Las Pelotas (in English: ''The Balls'', or more idiomatically, ''Bollocks!'', since the band name is a play of words between those two meanings); is an Argentine rock and reggae band from Córdoba. This band was formed after the separation of Su ...

, Los Ratones Paranoicos, La Mancha de Rolando, Caballeros de la Quema, and many more suburban rock bands. They were joined by Uruguayans No Te Va Gustar and

La Vela Puerca La Vela Puerca is a Uruguayan rock band formed in Montevideo, Uruguay, in December 1995. Its founders and current members are Sebastián Teysera (lead vocals, frontman and main songwriter), Sebastián Cebreiro (vocals, songwriter), Nicolás Lie ...

, giving rise to the term ''"rioplatense"'' rock (rock from the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

region) to label all of the similarly inclined outfits. Rolinga rock has created many fine singles and albums, but critics argue many of the bands (specially second rate groups in the ''rolinga'' scene), simply repeated the same formula to sell albums. Another feature of rolinga rock is that it tends to shun overseas success: whether this is a conscious attitude or a simple limitation of the genre is an ongoing debate. On the other hand, the likes of Divididos, Los Piojos, and Redonditos have transcended its constraints and become influential in Argentine rock and popular on an international level. The better bands in the genre also feature an unusual versatility with non-rock styles like

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

, folk,

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and othe ...

, Latin,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and even North American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, each with their own eclectic mixture. It would help elevate them from the legions of imitators in the crowded suburban scene. Divididos 6th album ''"Narigon Del Siglo"'' (2000) was one of the first great Argentine rock albums of the new decade; it was peppered with folk. The underground was more under than usual in the late 1990s, it was nonetheless extremely creative. A style that gained some mainstream exposure was ''"rock sónico"'' ("sonic" rock), influenced by the 1980s "techno-pop" of

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

and early

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

(and also

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

), through

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

and Juana La Loca. The latter group found success with sonic rock in 1997's ''Vida Modelo''. The former would increase their popularity with each new album, arriving at 2001's ''Jessico'', which received international acclaim as one of the first truly outstanding albums of the new millennium. Other underground groups started making noise at this time: Iguana Lovers, they founded the Sonic movement in Buenos Aires in 1990,

El Otro Yo El Otro Yo (''The Other Me'') is an Argentinean alternative rock band. They made their debut in the late '80s / early '90s, with a demo tape called Los Hijos de Alien, followed by Traka-Traka. Later on, the group successfully founded its own lab ...

,

Catupecu Machu Catupecu Machu is an Argentine rock band, usually classified as within Rock en Español. Its current band members are Fernando Ruiz Díaz on vocals and guitar; Sebastián Cáceres on bass guitar; Agustín Rocino on drums; and Macabre González o ...

, and Santos Inocentes, leaders-to-be of the early 2000s

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

scene in Argentina. Super Ratones's returned to the alternative charts with 2001's Grammy nominee ''Mancha Registrada''. In heavy metal,

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos ...

disbanded by 1995 giving rise to Almafuerte. With a more up-to-date sound, they were one of the late 1990s favorites along with

A.N.I.M.A.L. A.N.I.M.A.L. (''Acosados Nuestros Indios Murieron Al Luchar''; meaning "Harassed, Our Indians Died While Fighting") is a heavy metal band from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The band's sound is a combination of thrash metal, groove metal and nu met ...

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

continued to perform and record intermittently touring countries around Latin America. Classic metalists O'Connor in the underground would emerge by the early 2000s, along with exponents of

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

Cabezones and

Carajo Carajo was an Argentinian rock band from Buenos Aires. It was formed in 2000 with Marcelo "Corvata" Corvalan on bass and vocals, Andres "Andy" Vilanova on drums and Hernan "Tery" Langer on guitar and backing vocals. The first two share the his ...

. One of the most critically acclaimed bands of present is

Los Natas Los Natas or Natas are an Argentinian stoner rock band formed in 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In their later releases, they had been leaning towards a more experimental sound described by them as ''free rock''. Musical style Their musical in ...

. Originally a

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

group, in subsequent albums the band has turned more experimental. Some have called this demiurgic style (infused with Argentine folk, psychedelia, and

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

)'' "Patagonian doom"'', and this brand of metal has been ranked with the best heard in the new millennium. The band itself prefers to call it "free" rock. Bersuit Vergarabat - Quilmes Rock 04 - Ferro

Bersuit Vergarabat - Quilmes Rock 04 - Ferro

In punk,

Attaque 77 Attaque 77 ("Attack 77"), sometimes stylized as A77aque, is an Argentine punk rock group. The band was formed in 1987 as a group of friends who got together to play their favorite songs, most of them by The Ramones, their favorite band and the o ...

were still going strong, as did

Fun People Fun People was a hardcore band from Argentina. Their lyrics were in English and Spanish, often mixing both languages in a single song or even line. Human and animal rights are frequent subjects in their lyrics. The band mixes punk music with o ...

(including a European tour), until their disbanding in 2000. The punk underground of the late 1990s was buzzing with new bands ( Cadena Perpetua, Expulsados), many of them to guide the early 2000s melodic punk scene ( Smitten (band), Shaila). In tropical or fusion rock, Bersuit Vergarabat rose to the zenith of the genre. ''Libertinaje'' (1998) catapulted the band to the top, and to tours of the Americas and Europe. The follow-up ''Hijos del Culo'' (2000) also went double-platinum. Both albums display a dizzying range in style versatility. From the side of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

-rock

Los Pericos Los Pericos is an Argentine band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America. In 2006, the band received some notable exposure for North American audiences when featured on an episode of Anthony ...

and Los Cafres dominated. Ska had Los Calzones and

Kapanga ''Kapanga'' is a genus of South Pacific dwarf sheet spiders that was first described by Raymond Robert Forster Raymond Robert Forster (19 June 1922 – 1 July 2000) was a New Zealand arachnologist and museum director. He was a Fellow of the ...

, but by 2000 Los Fabulosos Cadillacs had called it quits to their internationally renowned career of rock with ska, rap, reggae, and Latin. La Mosca and Dancing Mood reached achieved greater popularity.

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas (IKV) is a musical duo formed in 1991 consisting of Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The duo split in 2001 to follow solo careers, but later performed together several times, ...

produced some catchy, original, and danceable music (a mix of rock, hip-hop, and Latin) which cemented their fan base all over the Americas, until the duo's separation in 2001. A highly talented and promising band was Karamelo Santo, another contribution of the city of Mendoza (also home of

Los Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

). They featured a very refreshing mix of rock, punk, ska, afro-Uruguayan, and cumbia rhythms that earned them critical praise in Argentina. They would spend most of the 2001–2004 period on extensive tours of Europe and the Americas.

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

would break up at the height of their popularity in 1999. To a lesser extent dance and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

music, which in Argentina have the largest scenes in Latin America, also influenced Argentine rock of the 2000s. A good example of this is the internationally prominent techno-pop act

Miranda! Miranda! is an Argentine electropop band formed in 2001. Original band members include Alejandro Sergi (vocals), Juliana Gattas (vocals), Lolo Fuentes (guitar), Bruno de Vincenti (programming), and since 2003, Nicolás Grimaldi (bass). It is c ...

, a band that owes as much to current dance and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

as the 1980s techno-pop of

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

and Los Encargados, electronic pioneers in Argentina.

Nowadays

Argentine rock, in the middle of the 2000s, can be said to showcase the following trends: * A continued commercial success of rolinga and suburban rock. In the early part of the current decade the so-called '2nd wave of suburban' crashed to the scene: Guasones, Jovenes Pordioseros, La 25, Cielo Razzo, Black Roses, Hijos Del Oeste, El Bordo, Callejeros and Casi Justicia Social. Their fan base is somewhat younger than those of the 1st wave, and their music is derivative of the 1st but with a slightly pop, more teen oriented approach. * Influenced by bands like

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

,

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

, Rush and

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out o ...

the underground

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

scene has been constantly growing since 2005, with many trends like:

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

- influenced bands like Fughu, Dudosa Moral and Destino 101, progressive -

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

-

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

like De Rien,

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

-

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

outfit Fantasía Cromática, progressive - folk Isósceles,

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

-

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...

influenced Souls Ignite and

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

–

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ...

Rodrigo San Martín and Maybe. * The current punk scene in Argentina features no real mainstream bands (besides eternal punks

Attaque 77 Attaque 77 ("Attack 77"), sometimes stylized as A77aque, is an Argentine punk rock group. The band was formed in 1987 as a group of friends who got together to play their favorite songs, most of them by The Ramones, their favorite band and the o ...

), and an underground scene with different groups. Some of them include Smitten (band); Cadena Perpetua with their well-crafted and tight songs; Romapagana certainly unusual and inspiring with their cosmopolitan mix of language and dynamic sound; Shaila who also features many English lyric songs, unusual for Argentine rock; and veterans 2 Minutos who soldier on. * Heavy Metal at mid decade features a predominance of nu-metal and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

groups;

Carajo Carajo was an Argentinian rock band from Buenos Aires. It was formed in 2000 with Marcelo "Corvata" Corvalan on bass and vocals, Andres "Andy" Vilanova on drums and Hernan "Tery" Langer on guitar and backing vocals. The first two share the his ...

, Cabezones and a recharged

A.N.I.M.A.L. A.N.I.M.A.L. (''Acosados Nuestros Indios Murieron Al Luchar''; meaning "Harassed, Our Indians Died While Fighting") is a heavy metal band from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The band's sound is a combination of thrash metal, groove metal and nu met ...

in the former (and all having toured extensively overseas), internationally acclaimed doomsters

Los Natas Los Natas or Natas are an Argentinian stoner rock band formed in 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In their later releases, they had been leaning towards a more experimental sound described by them as ''free rock''. Musical style Their musical in ...

, and Lörihen for the latter. O'Connor is one of the classic metal revivalists. Under AC/DC's influence, La Naranja Metalica consolidated its career. * In fusion or tropical rock Bersuit Vergarabat still command legions. Dancing Mood is the ska representative on the mainstream, and Nonpalidece is the current reggae-rock band in vogue. Other current bands include Karamelo Santo, Los Calzones, La Mosca Tsé - Tsé, and

Kapanga ''Kapanga'' is a genus of South Pacific dwarf sheet spiders that was first described by Raymond Robert Forster Raymond Robert Forster (19 June 1922 – 1 July 2000) was a New Zealand arachnologist and museum director. He was a Fellow of the ...

. Ex- Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Vicentico Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Arg ...

and ex-

Todos Tus Muertos Todos Tus Muertos (''All Your Dead'', in English) is a Punk rock, rasta-punk band from Argentina formed in Buenos Aires, in 1985. The longtime line-up comprised by a young vocalist Fidel Nadal, Horacio "Gamexane" Villafañe on guitar, Felix Gutié ...

Fidel Nadal Fidel Nadal (; born Fidel Ernesto Nadal on October 4, 1965) is an Afro-Argentinian Reggae musician, songwriter and pioneer of Argentine Reggae and the underground punk/hardcore movement of Argentina. Life and work Nadal was born into an acade ...

are both well embarked in their solo careers with fusion rock. * In alternative,

El Otro Yo El Otro Yo (''The Other Me'') is an Argentinean alternative rock band. They made their debut in the late '80s / early '90s, with a demo tape called Los Hijos de Alien, followed by Traka-Traka. Later on, the group successfully founded its own lab ...

continue their impressive streak of great albums and fresh sounding music.

Catupecu Machu Catupecu Machu is an Argentine rock band, usually classified as within Rock en Español. Its current band members are Fernando Ruiz Díaz on vocals and guitar; Sebastián Cáceres on bass guitar; Agustín Rocino on drums; and Macabre González o ...

's slightly threatening rock has made them a mainstream alternative band, and

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

are arguably the most internationally popular Argentine band today.

La Portuaria La Portuaria is an Argentine rock band formed at the beginning of the 1990s. The band developed a fusion sound, constructing Latin rhythms upon a base strongly influenced by jazz and rhythm 'n' blues. The line-up included Christian Basso on bass ...

, after a late 1990s hiatus in a hostile musical climate, returned in the early 2000s as alternative once again resurfaced in Argentina. * A renovated indie scene with great bands like Jaime Sin Tierra, which created lush beautiful rock before disbanding in 2001 leaving behind the seed for the sound of bands like Las Curvas de Mondrián, 1000 NICKS with their retro rock style, Dalmanerea with their original and creative "meZKla argentina" and Interama and their left-of-the-dial melodies. Entre Rios's elegant electro lounge with female vocals is one of the best kept secrets in Argentina's indie scene. The indie scene also has a neo-symphonic revival scene with the likes of

Pez Pez (, ; stylised as PEZ) is the brand name of an Austrian candy and associated manual candy dispensers. The candy is a pressed, dry, straight-edged, curved-corner block 15 mm ( inch) long, 8 mm ( inch) wide and 5 mm ...

and A Tirador Laser, bands which are reviving the sound of later 1970s Argentine rock with an updated resonance. * In addition there is a large indie scene influenced by

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...

and late 1980s/early 1990s British and American indie-rock acts such as

The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

, The Vaselines,

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and My Bloody Valentine. Some of the most popular bands from this scene include Iguana Lovers (that's started in 1990 with collaborations of Ride (band) members,

Mark Gardener Mark Stephen Gardener (born 6 December 1969, in Oxford, England) is an English rock musician, and a singer and guitarist with the shoegazing band Ride. Ride Gardener formed Ride with Andy Bell (guitar), whom he met at Cheney School in Oxfo ...

and

Loz Colbert Laurence John "Loz" Colbert (born 27 June 1970) is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Ride and formerly of The Animalhouse, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Supergrass and Gaz Coombes. His drumming style has been characterized as furi ...

and the Scottish band

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

), El Mato a un Policia Motorizado and Banda de Turistas. Some Argentinean lesser-known bands influenced by late 1980s/early 1990s British and American indie-rock artists are Fun People (Buenos Aires), Sir Hope (Córdoba) and Esto No Es Londres (Córdoba). * The start of the 2nd generation of Argentine rock solo artists formerly members of great bands of their era:

Gustavo Cerati Gustavo Adrián Cerati (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer, considered one of the most important and influential figures of Ibero-American rock. Cerati along with his band Soda Stereo ...

,

Indio Solari Carlos Alberto Solari (born 17 January 1949,), known as Indio Solari, is an Argentine musician and singer. Solari was the leader of Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota between 1976 and 2001, and together with "Semilla" Bucciarelli and Skay ...

,

Vicentico Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Arg ...

,

Fidel Nadal Fidel Nadal (; born Fidel Ernesto Nadal on October 4, 1965) is an Afro-Argentinian Reggae musician, songwriter and pioneer of Argentine Reggae and the underground punk/hardcore movement of Argentina. Life and work Nadal was born into an acade ...

, etc. Ex-

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

member Cerati spent most of the early part of the decade in the electronic side of music. In 2006 he returned with his first album of all new music since 2002 (''Ahi Vamos'') where rock was front and center, albeit a more mature rock of a man in the middle age of his life. Ex-

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known simply as Patricio Rey, Los Redondos or Los Redonditos de Ricota, was a rock band formed in La Plata, Argentina. The group was active from the mid 70s up to the early 2000s. They are known for ...

Solari's debut album ''El tesoro de los Inocentes'' was seen as the best of 2004.

Vicentico Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Arg ...

and his homonymous debut sold well, but his second effort suffered the sophomore slump. He has just released his third solo album, ''Los Pájaros''. Skay Beillinson, also ex-Redonditos, also did well with his fourth solo efforts. * Many new bands influenced by Redonditos de Ricota are reaching recognition. Those include Mavirock, and Cajale Cazazo. * The politics of grassroots feminism has had an important influence on Argentine rock artists and on the rock music scene. In 2019, the Congress passed a gender equity law requiring at least 30% of musical festival lineups be women artists. Notable feminist rockers include Marilina Bertoldi, Flopa, Marina Fages, Cam Beszkin, Mujeres Bacanas, Loli Molina, Los Besos, Rosario Bléfari, Lara Pedrosa, ibiza pareo, Sol Bassa, Potra, Florencia Ruiz, Eruca Sativa (band), and Miss Bolivia. * The first decade of this century saw the apparition of rock bands singing in English, like

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...

(not to be confused with The Watchmen, the Canadian band), or the Anglo-Argentine

The Draytones The Draytones were an Anglo-Argentine music group formed in London, England in 2006. The same year they signed a record deal with 1965 Records, an independent record label based in London. History The Draytones were formed by Argentine guitar ...

.

Skiltron Skiltron is a folk metal band formed in Buenos Aires in 2004 by Emilio Souto. Since 2018, the band has moved to Europe (Finland, Spain and France). Skiltron are considered one of the few Southern American metal bands to fuse heavy metal and C ...

, playing Celtic metal, released his first album in 2006. Skiltron split in 2011, giving origin to Triddana. Another Celtic metal is Tersivel (2004), whose first EP was recorded in 2006 and their first full-length album was released in 2010. Other notable English singing bands are Electronomicón (hard rock), Kapel Maister (symphonic metal), 42 decibel42 Decibel - Hard Rock N' Roll
/ref> (hard rock), , Maxi Trusso, Full Nothing, Siamés and Octafonic.

References

External links

Database on Argentine rock artists, songs and albumsRock News, Concerts and MoreGoing Underground: New music from Argentina
Article looking at some of Argentina's underground rock and indie bands {{Music in spanish 20th-century music genres

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Latin American music * Rock music by country

Related genre

1958−1964: Early rock and roll

1964−1975: The classic period

Late 60s beat music

Acoustic and heavy rock

Sui Generis farewell concerts

1975−1983: The intermediate period

Progressive rock

Symphonic rock at late 1970s

Serú Girán

Argentine rock and Falklands War

1983−1990: Argentine rock goes global

New Democracy Sound

Argentine Invasion

Soda Stereo

Late '80s: Loss and Experimentation

1990−1998: Modern Argentine Rock

"Canción Animal" and New Rock

Rock rolinga

1990s Metal

Other developments

The Mid '90s Schism

1998− : The Contemporary Period

Late 1990s & 21st century

Nowadays

References

External links