Luis Alberto Spinetta

Luis Alberto Spinetta was a highly respected Argentine musician. He was one of the most influential rock musicians of South America, and together with Charly García is considered the father of Argentine rock. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the residential neighbourhood of Belgrano. As a kid he listened to all kinds of music: folklore and tango, and a little bit later, rock. In 1967, in the midst of a repressive political climate, he formed a band called Almendra with school mates. After recording their debut LP in 1969, Almendra became quite successful. However, the band did not last much longer, and soon Spinetta had formed a new band called Pescado Rabioso. The first Pescado Rabioso LP, 'Desatormentándonos', was released in 1972. This was followed by 'Pescado II' and 'Artaud', both released in 1973, although by the time the latter was recorded the band had broken up and 'Artaud' was actually a Spinetta solo album. Spinetta went on to have a long and extensive career as a musician, forming and playing in several more bands and musical projects. A book of his poetry, 'Guitarra Negra' was published in 1978 and re-printed at least twice since then. Luis Alberto Spinetta died of lung cancer at the age of 62 on February 8th 2012.