Latin American rock

Of course one cannot make everyone happy but I think that's not the idea in this case. First of all, let's talk about rock...but bajofondo is not rock, sorry. And many bands/artists who made it on the doc are not that relevant in the Latinamerican arena but mainly at their home country (redonditos, botellita or neon come to mind). Anyway it is a very fun doc to watch (and listen to)!

 

I was a bit surprised that Peru's Traffic Sound got no notice in the series - given how prominent they are in Anglo-American collectors' circles, I figured they probably had more presence on their home turf. Anyway, the title track of their 1968 album Virgin is one of my favourite songs by anyone, least of all Latino psych-rock bands. Love how it breaks into an Andean waltz around the 1:28 mark...

 

must be because they mainly sing in english instead of spanish.

 

dont know why, but it reminded me of this:

 

Culturally, Brazil is not a part of Latin America, more like an island because of the different language. I would say the peak for brazilian rock was in the 80/90s. Even then just a few brazilian bands were even known outside the country, as it was more based on songwriting and lyrics than in ´´sound´´. Currently Brazilian music is dominated by Sertanejo, which is brazilian country music, rock being just the same old bands from the golden era that were still touring before the pandemic, and underground bands.

 

Good point. Brazil is a world in itself, as you said, however I think that bands like Paralamas were quite popular outside Brazil and should be mentioned. Os Mutantes is another great band, from the Tropicalia movement, but maybe not that very well known or popular elsewhere. And Sepultura is very well known, with international career, but perhaps is not considered as a "rock band" (thrash metal)?

 

I love Argentinian band Rata Blanca’s “Magos, Espadas y Rosas” album from 1990. Neoclassical style metal heavily influenced by Ritchie Blackmore.

I also highly recommend folk metal band Mago de Oz, although they are from Spain, not Latin America.

Both of these bands sing in Spanish.

 

Good point. And I suppose it says something about how isolated the North American and Latin American pop cultures are from each other that I was familiar with Traffic Sound long before I’d even heard of Soda Stereo.

 

He later became a pop and movie idol but Sandro de América, from Argentina, should be considered one of Latin America's Rock pioneer:

 

I don't know if this is the style you are looking for, but I like this song a lot so I'll post and see.

From Mexico: 'Despues Del After' by Kinky.



And, I just found this more traditional rock from Brazil. 'Bichos Escrotos' by Titãs

 

I agree 110%. It was definitely a missed opportunity. Santaolalla made no effort to be objective and you could tell he didn't want to cover the other countries or even metal and prog very much and ironically, Argentina's main contributions in rock mostly grew out of prog whether we speak of Spinetta, Charly Garcia, Pedro Aznar, Seru Giran, Sui Generis, Crucis and many others.

 

Yes there are popular rock acts formed after 2010 but obviously mostly from before that. You could focus on Argentina as it's the place where rock was the most significant but you'll find things all over to some extent.

Colombia never had the strongest rock scene, even at its peak, so that's not the best place to start though of course there's rock there too.

I'm not sure what genre you're trying to find but Eruca Sativa's 1st record was from 2008 and they are a cool younger-ish band from Argentina:

 

Eruca Sativa's vocalist and guitarist Lula Bertoldi has a younger sister who is also worth checking out (she's 32) .

Marilina Bertoldi:

 

Would Willy De Ville qualify?

 

Here's some more recent rock from Argentina for you as well (check out the other acts right above this I recommended as well)

Sig Ragga released their first album in 2009 and they have progressive touches and marvelous arrangements a bit like if Charly Garcia and Peter Gabriel had a baby:

 

Feli Colina (age 27):

 

42 Decibel is a young Argentine band for fans of AC/DC:

 

Excellent list! But the thread starter was mainly asking for current acts... Although, I totally agree with you. It's tough to beat LA classic pop/rock. More classics: Charly Garcia (terribly unknown outside of LA but in the same league as The Beatles. Yes, I'm serious. A true genius), Seru Giran (Charly's second group. Known as the LA Beatles. They are not, but they are fantastic), Spinetta, Gustavo Cerati, Mon Laferte (a current act and what an act she is!), Los Destellos, Caifanes... And on and on it goes. I would recommend you to also check out some stuff from Brazil. Fantastic music over there: Tim Maia, Os Mutantes, Jorge Ben (my favourite from Brazil)... Enjoy!

 

Check out Sig Ragga if you really appreciate Charly. They are a fabulous recent group which reminds me of Charly at his most creative:

 

Daniela Spalla is worth checking out:

 

Conociendo Rusia...the 1st album came out in 2018. and the new one is a quite sophisticated and catchy rock mix:

 

Bandalos Chinos another recent group from Argentina well worth hearing:

 

Duratierra with their fascinating mix of rock, classical and folklore from Argentina:

 

Mexico's Jose Madero:

 

Costera from Mexico: