Rock Nacional (Buenos Aires)
Rock nacional is the Argentine rock that emerged in Buenos Aires in the mid-1960s, built on the principle that rock could be sung in Spanish without imitating its English-language models. The cited source dates Argentine rock as a genre largely performed in Spanish, and Los Gatos' 1967 hit 'La balsa' is usually marked as its founding moment. Across the following years Almendra and Luis Alberto Spinetta, then Sui Generis and Charly García, and finally the supergroup Serú Girán turned the form into a poetic, harmonically ambitious songbook that grew up alongside the country's deepening political crisis. By the time the editorial window closes in 1982, during the Malvinas war, this Spanish-language rock had matured into a national songbook with a wide audience.
The record
People & groups9
- Tanguito2 sources
1945-09-16 · Buenos Aires
Tanguito, born José Alberto Iglesias, was a fixture of the underground bohemian scene that incubated rock nacional in 1960s Buenos Aires.
- Litto Nebbia2 sources
1948-07-21 · Buenos Aires
Born Félix Francisco Nebbia Corbacho in Rosario in 1948, Litto Nebbia led Los Gatos and co-wrote 'La balsa', the song most often cited as the birth of rock nacional.
- Luis Alberto Spinetta2 sources
1950-01-23 · Buenos Aires
Luis Alberto Spinetta, nicknamed 'El Flaco', was the poetic conscience of Argentine rock from the late 1960s onward.
- Charly García2 sources
1951-10-23 · Buenos Aires
Charly García was the restless songwriter and keyboardist who carried rock nacional through its second decade.
- Nito Mestre2 sources
1952-08-03 · Buenos Aires
Nito Mestre was Charly García's partner in Sui Generis, supplying the bright tenor harmonies and flute that softened the duo's edge.
- Los Gatos2 sources
1967 · Buenos Aires
Los Gatos formed around the young singer and songwriter Litto Nebbia, who had moved from Rosario into the Buenos Aires beat scene.
- Almendra2 sources
1967 · Buenos Aires
Almendra was the Buenos Aires quartet that Luis Alberto Spinetta founded in 1967, pairing his songwriting with the looser, melodic side of the emerging scene.
- Sui Generis2 sources
1968 · Buenos Aires
Sui Generis was the acoustic duo of Charly García and Nito Mestre, formed while they were still students in Buenos Aires.
- Serú Girán2 sources
1978 · Buenos Aires
Serú Girán was the supergroup that united Charly García, David Lebón, Pedro Aznar, and Oscar Moro at the end of the 1970s.
Works & releases9
- La balsa (single)2 sources
1967-07-03 · Buenos Aires
Released as a single in July 1967, 'La balsa' by Los Gatos was the breakthrough that turned Spanish-language rock into a commercial force in Argentina.
- Almendra (album)2 sources
1969-11-29 · Buenos Aires
Almendra's self-titled debut, issued in late 1969, gathered Spinetta's early songwriting into one of the cornerstone albums of Argentine rock.
- Manal (album)2 sources
1970 · Buenos Aires
Manal's 1970 debut album was the first sustained statement of Spanish-language blues-rock in Argentina.
- Vida (album)2 sources
1972 · Buenos Aires
Vida was the 1972 debut of Sui Generis, introducing the acoustic folk-rock of teenage Charly García and Nito Mestre.
- Confesiones de invierno (album)2 sources
1973 · Buenos Aires
Sui Generis' 1973 album Confesiones de invierno deepened the duo's craft, layering richer arrangements over Charly García's increasingly biting lyrics.
- Artaud (album)2 sources
1973-10 · Buenos Aires
Released under the Pescado Rabioso name in October 1973, Artaud was effectively a Luis Alberto Spinetta solo work inspired by the writings of Antonin Artaud.
- Adiós Sui Generis (live album)2 sources
1975 · Buenos Aires
Adiós Sui Generis is the live album documenting the duo's 1975 farewell concerts at the Luna Park arena in Buenos Aires.
- Serú Girán (album)2 sources
1978 · Buenos Aires
The self-titled 1978 debut of Serú Girán introduced the supergroup's blend of progressive arrangements and pop accessibility.
- La grasa de las capitales (album)2 sources
1979-08-19 · Buenos Aires
La grasa de las capitales, released by Serú Girán in 1979, sharpened the band's satire of media culture and middle-class complacency.
Events4
- Release of 'La balsa'2 sources
1967-07-03 · Buenos Aires
The July 1967 release of Los Gatos' single 'La balsa' is the event most often named as the birth of rock nacional.
1969-11-29 · Buenos Aires
On 29 November 1969 Almendra released its self-titled debut, a landmark in the consolidation of rock nacional as serious album-length art.
- B.A. Rock festival1 source
1970 · Buenos Aires
B.A.
1975 · Buenos Aires
In 1975 Sui Generis played a pair of farewell concerts at the Luna Park arena in Buenos Aires, drawing enormous crowds for an Argentine rock act.
Venues2
- Luna Park1 source
1932 · Buenos Aires
Luna Park is the large multi-purpose arena in central Buenos Aires that became the proving ground for rock nacional's growing audience.
- Estadio Obras Sanitarias1 source
1978 · Buenos Aires
The Estadio Obras Sanitarias, an indoor arena in Buenos Aires, became so identified with Argentine rock that it was nicknamed the temple of rock nacional.
Cross-movement connections
Connections · 1
- The Beatlesinfluences →Los Gatos