Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The late Atahualpa Yupanqui (1908-92) was Argentina's most important
folklórico
musician of the 20th century. Yupanqui's music emerged with the
nueva canción
('new
song') movement that swept Latin America in the 1960s.
Nueva canción
was rooted in
folk music and its lyrics often dealt with social and political themes. The genre's grande
dame was Argentina's Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009) of Tucumán, winner of several Latin
Grammy awards.
Another contemporary
folklórico
musician is accordionist Chango Spasiuk, a virtuoso
of Corrientes'
chamamé
music. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Horacio Guarany's 2004 al-
bum
Cantor de Cantores
was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best Folk Album
category.
Mariana Baraj is a singer and percussionist who experiments with Latin America's tra-
ditional folk music as well as elements of jazz, classical music and improvisation.
Soledad Pastorutti's first two albums have been Sony's top sellers in Argentina - ever!
Other big names in
folklórico
are El Chaqueño Palavecino of Salta; Suna Rocha of
Córdoba; Antonio Tarragó Ross; Eduardo Falú; Víctor Heredia; Los Chalchaleros; León
Gieco (aka 'The Argentine Bob Dylan') and the Conjunto Pro Música de Rosario.
Carlos Gardel played an enormous role in creating the tango
canción
(song), and his
crooning voice, suaveness and charisma made him a huge success during tango's
golden years. Unfortunately, he died tragically in a 1935 plane crash.
Rock & Pop
Musicians such as Charly García, Fito Páez and Luis Alberto Spinetta are
rock nacional
(Argentine rock) icons. Soda Stereo, Sumo, Los Pericos and Grammy winners Los
Fabulosos Cadillacs rocked Argentina throughout the 1980s. Bersuit Vergarabat endures
as one of Argentina's best rock bands, with a musical complexity that is arguably without
peer. R&B-influenced Ratones Paranoicos opened for the Rolling Stones in 1995, while
La Portuaria - who fuse Latin beats with jazz and R&B - collaborated with David Byrne
in 2006.
Other big-name groups are offbeat Babasónicos, punk rockers Attaque 77, fusion rock-
ers Los Piojos and original Les Luthiers, along with Los Redonditos de Ricota, Los
Divididos, Catupecu Machu and Gazpacho. Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas are metal-
meets-hip-hop, while catchy Miranda! has an electro-pop style. Eclectic Kevin Johansen
sings in both English and Spanish.
Born in Córdoba in the early 1940s,
cuarteto
is Argentina's original pop music: des-
pised by the middle and upper classes for its arresting rhythm and offbeat musical pat-
