This episode we listen to an era of Latin American rock that never reached the ears of the masses.

Track List:

– “Cielo”, Los Yorks

– “Has de Ser Mi Mujer”, Los Datsuns

– ” Vuelva A Mi”, Grupo La Rebelion

– “La Samoana”, Chicano Batman

– “La Balsa”, Los Gatos

The genre Rock en Español is often defined by the bands that reached large commercial success throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s riding on the back of the Rock en Tu Idioma publicity campaign. This episode we listen to their predecessors, the bands who predate the international push for Rock music in Spanish, bands who’s success often never expanded much beyond the borders of their own countries.

The songs we listen to in this episode primarily came from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. This was a period where bands in Latin America were just moving beyond covering already popular English rock songs in Spanish and beginning to create their own sound.

Other elements of Latin American music were beginning to bleed into Latin American Rock. There was a noticeable comfort in Latin American Rock at this time that allowed bands to embrace the sounds around them to create a new style of Rock music rather than mimic that of the American or British.

Without knowing it these bands created a space for the Rock en Tu Idioma Campaign to prosper. They demonstrated where latinos can fit within Rock music before international, commercial success was an option.

The last group we listen to in this episode, Los Gatos, is often specifically credited as being pioneers of Rock en Español as they were one of the earliest groups to reach a larger scale of success. The song in this episode “La Balsa”, might sound familiar as the leading organ rhythm is reminiscent of American bands like The Doors, but beyond that the track is riddled with Latin American influence.

Please listen along with us this episode as we explore some of the bands that created Rock en Español.