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Origins of Argentine Rock:

Rock and roll first began to appear in Argentina in 1956 after the genre was created in the United States in 1954-1955, based largely on rhythm and blues and country and western (Rock Hall). Argentine “Rock Nacional” came about in 1965-1967, and the style further developed during the 1970s. During the military dictatorship of the National Reorganization Process, which took power in 1976, Rock Nacional largely avoided the government's heavy media censorship and allowed an outlet for codified criticism of the government.

Argentine rock stands out due to its rapid and early development in 1956, the integration of its own unique characteristics with the rock genre, and its internationally recognized musicians, including Eddie Pequenino, Los Cinco Latinos, Billy Cafaro, and Sandro y Los de Fuego.

Argentine rock is characterized by what is referred to in Argentina as “Rock Nacional”, a subgenre which began during the latter half of the 1960’s and has obtained widespread popularity. Rock Nacional has unique musical characteristics and covers themes that often focus on youth. It was founded by bands such as Los Gatos, Almendra, Manal, Vox Dei, Arco Iris, Los Abuelos de la Nada, La joven guardia, Alma y Vida, and Sui Generis. The genre reached widespread popularity with the song “La balsa” by Los Gatos, which was a great success for the genre due to it being a widely popular song sung in Spanish and being an original composition, as opposed to a cover of a foreign song. Argentine Rock Nacional is one of the principal predecessors of the cultural and musical movement in Latin America known since the 80’s as Rock Latino.

Several terms are used to describe the artistic expressions of rock and roll in Iberian America, which are often confused or given different meanings in different countries. Generally, these terms are:

·       “Iberian American Rock”: includes all expressions of rock and roll by natives of Latin American countries and Spain. This includes Brazilian rock and rock sung in English, Portuguese, and Native American languages.

·       “Rock en Español”: includes all rock sung in Spanish.

·       “Latin Rock”: includes all expressions of rock and roll in Latin American countries, the Caribbean, and the Latin American community of the United States. In addition to rock sung in Spanish, this includes rock sung in English, Portuguese, French, and other Latin based languages. This generally refers to a cultural movement that began in the 80’s throughout Latin America.

·       “Rock Nacional” in Argentina: refers to a movement of progressive music that rapidly gained popularity in 1967 with the song “La Balsa”.

·       “Argentine Rock”: refers to all expressions of rock performed in Argentina, regardless of language and subgenre.