Argentina is home to arguably some of the greatest bands and music worldwide. The bands in this list have gained legendary status in Argentina and throughout Latin America. Unfortunately, outside of the Spanish-speaking world, their music is not too well known – a great shame as (in my humble opinion) some of the greatest music to have been created has come out of Argentina! In this list, we’ll look at five of the most important, influential and renowned bands of Argentina, ranked according to both my personal opinion and the opinion of many in Argentina!
1. Soda Stereo
First on our list is Soda Stereo. Formed in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati, Charly Alberti and Zeta Bosio, Soda Stereo has gone down in history as one of the greatest bands of Latin America and arguably the most iconic of rock in the Spanish language, selling over 20 million albums since the band’s inception. With hit songs such as De Música Ligera, Persiana Americana and En La Ciudad De La Furia, the band easily places first on any list involving Latin American rock.
Soda Stereo were inspired by bands like The Cure and The Police and began life playing underground gigs in Buenos Aires. In 1984, they released their first album, Soda Stereo, and began to dominate the music scene across Latin America with their twangy guitar sounds until the band’s split in 1997, at which point the band conducted a final tour across Latin America, finishing in El Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires (the stadium of Argentine football club, River Plate) on 20th September.
The band then went their separate ways until a long-awaited reunion in 2007. Me Verás Volver, would be Soda Stereo’s final tour as a trio and featured 22 concerts across the American continent, with a total of 1 million spectators. Despite much enthusiasm from fans for another tour in 2008, the band decided against the idea, although they didn’t completely reject the idea of returning a few years later. Sadly, however, lead singer and guitarist of the band, Gustavo Cerati, suffered a stroke in 2010 and fell into a coma for 4 years, eventually passing away on 4th September, 2014. Cerati’s death was a massive shock to Argentina and Latin America; to this day, he is known as a legend whose music will go down in history as some of the greatest.
After the death of Cerati, the Gracias Totales tour was announced by the remaining members of Soda Stereo in 2019. The duo played alongside special guests, including Benito Cerati (Gustavo’s son), Julieta Venegas and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. The tour was named in such a way as to honour Gustavo Cerati; he had become known for saying “gracias totales” to the band’s fans after their concerts.
2. PAtricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
Second on our list comes Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known as Los Redondos. The band was formed in La Plata, Buenos Aires in 1976 and was comprised of Indio Solari, Skay Beilinson, Semilla Bucciarelli, Walter Sidotti and Sergio Dawi. Whilst Los Redondos may not have achieved as much commercial success as Soda Stereo, the band is considered one of the most important and influential in the history of Argentine rock.
The band started out playing in bars and clubs in La Plata and by the late 70s had begun touring parts of Argentina. In 1982, the band signed its first record deal and in the second half of the 1980s began to play concerts in increasingly larger venues, achieving greater and greater success experimenting with psychedelic and alternative rock. During their concerts, violence had become common between fans and the police, reaching a level that lead to both injuries and deaths. Consequently, Los Redondos began to move away from playing in Buenos Aires started playing instead in other places in Argentina.
The group reached its climax in 2000, when it held a concert to over 70,000 at River Plate’s stadium. Despite the level of success they reached however, tensions among members of the band and ongoing violence at concerts meant that the group decided to split in 2001.
3. Serú Girán
Serú Girán is one of the most significant bands of Argentina’s history. Formed in 1978 by Charly García, Pedro Aznar, David Lebón and Oscar Moro, Serú Girán became a voice for the people, speaking up against the military dictatorship which was in place in Argentina during the 70s and 80s. During a time where people were made to disappear, babies were stolen from their parents and innocent people were killed by the government, Serú Girán managed to hide messages in their songs speaking out against those who were behind the dictatorship.
The group has appropriately been named a “supergroup” in the past, given that its members were already accomplished musicians within Argentina. Despite the release of their first album (Serú Girán in 1978) receiving mixed opinions from fans and critics, it contained a song which has since gained its place as something of a national song of Argentina – Seminare (shown above). The band later went on to release their second album in 1980 (La grasa de las capitales), which is considered one of the best albums of Argentine rock.
The band eventually split in 1982 and each member decided to continue with their solo careers, although they have always stayed in touch. In a concert in the Teatro Colón in 2019, Pedro Aznar invited Charly García and David Lebón to the stage as special guests. Serú Girán have inspired countless musicians and will go down in history as one of the greatest.
4. Los Abuelos de la Nada
Los Abuelos de la Nada was originally formed in 1967, only to separate and reform several years later with a new line-up in 1981. The new band would be made up of Miguel Abuelo, Andrés Calamaro, Daniel Melingo, Gustavo Bazterrica and Cachorro López. They quickly became one of the biggest bands of Argentine rock and have released several songs which have become hits, including Costumbres Argentinas (shown above), Mil Horas, Lunes Por La Madrugada and Sin Gamulán.
The band’s first album, Los Abuelos de la Nada, was released in 1982 and was aided in production by none other than Charly García. Thanks to great success from this album, and one song in particular (Sin Gamulán), the band was able to perform their first concert in the Teatro Coliseo at the end of 1982.
Los Abuelos de la Nada came to an end in 1985, after the choice of Andrés Calamaro to leave the band and pursue his solo career. Other band members then made the same decision and eventually the end of Los Abuelos de la Nada was confirmed by Miguel Abuelo towards the end of 1985. The band then got together again in 1986 with some new members and released what would be their final album, however this came to an abrupt end in 1988 when, sadly, Miguel Abuelo passed away at just 42 years old. Since then, the band has got together on several occasions, but no new songs have ever been written.
5. Pescado Rabioso
Last (but by absolutely no means least) on our list is Pescado Rabioso. The group was formed in 1971 by Luis Alberto Spinetta, David Lebón, Black Amaya and Carlos Cutaia, and have gone down in history as the band to introduce blues, hard rock and psychedelic rock to Argentina’s music scene.
Pescado Rabioso was formed initially by Luis Alberto Spinetta after the separation of his previous band, Almendra, and the band name was chosen to create a “punk” energy around it. The first album was recorded in 1972 and released with the name Desatormentándonos; the translation literally means “un-tormenting ourselves”. A second album, Pescado 2, was then released in 1973 before the band going their separate ways. Before the split, however, Spinetta released a solo album under the name of Pescado Rabioso named Artaud. Although all of the songs were written by Spinetta, he wished for the album to be released under the band’s name. This would be the last original album released by the band, bar the release of a “greatest hits” album which was brought out in 1976.
Despite the relatively short life of Pescado Rabioso, the group holds a place at the foundations of rock in Argentina, and has surely inspired many musicians to date.
Do you agree with this list? If not, tell us who you’d put up there! Also, if you’ve never listened to any of the bands above, give them a listen and let us know what you think in the comments down below!