Argentine punk

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Argentine punk is a music genre. The term applies loosely to any variety of punk rock from Argentina.

[edit] 1976-1983: Military dictatorship years

1976 is the year in which punk music started to sound in the UK with bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash. That same year a military dictatorship known as National Reorganization Process began in Argentina. The represive policy of the military government against the dissidents was often their kidnapping (desaparecidos), torture, and murder in illegal concentration camps.

Considering the political background and the obvious censorship, the anarchic and revolutionary ideas of punk rock where prohibited and so from the first years of the Argentine punk rock are poorly documented, mainly because it took place in an extremely underground scene. Because of this adverse context, the birth of punk rock in Argentina has an heroic and almost mythical status. This plus the Falklands war lost against the United Kingdom in 1982 didn't help UK punk rock to be embraced even after the censorship was over. The first Argentine punk bands were:

• Los Laxantes (1979-1983): featured Félix Sagnia (bass) and Gamexane (guitar) among their members. Both of them would later become the founding members of the infamous Todos Tus Muertos in 1985. The band only recorded one demo.

• Los Baraja (1981-1984): their sound could be compared to the Sex Pistols. Along Los Violadores they would be the only ones to play UK punk rock in Argentina. The bandmembers were Basura (drums), Alejandro (bass), Marcelo "Vil Baraja" Montolivo (Guitar), Marcelo Poca Vida (voice). Poca Vida would later become a member of the punk band Cadáveres de Niños.

• Los Testículos (1979-1981): the legend says this band offered the first Punk gig in Argentina in 1979. The band featured among its members Hari B., Stuka and Sergio Gramática, who would later become Los Violadores.

• Los Violadores (1981-present): the band was the result of Pil Trafa (voice) meeting the members of Los Testículos. They would become the most important and influential punk band from the early years, probably because they recorded several albums and managed to stay together for a while. They were the only ones to dress up like The Clash and Sex Pistols and their early lyrics would often critizise the military dictatorship even during the time of repression. Their songs "1, 2, Ultraviolento" (inspired on the movie A Clockwork Orange) and "Represión" became official anthems of the punk scene..

• Sumo (1981-1987): they never wanted to be considered as a punk rock band such, but still many people do. Their singer Luca Prodan had lived in the United Kingdom until 1981 and had experienced the birth of the punk movement. Their style was based on a mix between the sound of The Clash, reggae music and post-punk or new wave bands like Joy Division (Prodan used to be a close friend of Ian Curtis). Their legacy in the History of Argentine Punk is that they brought new musical styles to the ears of the local punks that would later influence many bands that came after them.

[edit] 1983-1990: Democracy

When the military government ended in 1983 and Raúl Alfonsín's democratic government (1983-1989) started, a new generation of punk bands was born in Argentina. An important album from those years was the compilation Invasión 88 released by Radio Tripoli Records in 1988; a year in which several punk bands started to become popular, and yet most of them were unable to release an album due to financial circumstances. Invasión 88 featured songs by earlier punk bands that had already split up, such as Los Laxantes and Los Baraja, and newer bands such as Attaque 77, Exeroica, Rigidez Kadaverica, Flema, División Autista and Conmoción Cerebral. The album was criticised by some bands who refused to participate in the album (such as Cadaveres de Niños and Todos tus Muertos) because the compilation featured two songs by far right skinhead Oi! band Comando Suicida.

• Todos Tus Muertos (1985-present): most of the early bands tried to emulate The Ramones but Todos Tus Muertos wanted to go further and incorporate new styles. At the beginning of their career, their sound was heavily influenced by early Los Angeles and San Francisco hardcore punk bands such as Dead Kennedys and Bad Brains); death rock and goth rock bands such as Virgin Prunes, and reggae bands. Quite soon, they became the rulers of the new generation of punk bands in Argentina, but moved on and ended up playing more reggae than punk.

• Cadaveres de Niños (later Cadaveres): its members were Lula (drums), Jorge Gipsy (guitar), Marcelo Poca Vida (member of Los Baraja), Pablo Strangler (guitar) and Patricia Pietrafesa (bass). Pietrafesa would later move on and start She Devils; she was also the publisher of the fanzine Resistencia, the very first punk publication in the country.

• Attaque 77 (1987-present): their style was quite close to the style of The Ramones.

• Flema (1987-2002): when several bands were becoming overtly political, Flema decided to celebrate the most self-destructive side of punk. Attitude, alcohol, drugs and sex were the topics of their songs. Ricky Espinosa was often so drunk during their concerts that he could barely stand up. The band ceased to exist in 2002 when Ricky Espinosa committed suicide.

[edit] 1990 and later

In the late 1980s, a new musical scene started: the Buenos Aires Hardcore. New bands like Existencia de Odio(E.D.O.), No Demuestra Interés (N.D.I.), Diferentes Actitudes Juveniles (D.A.J.), Minoría Activa and Fun People started to bring new styles to the local scene of Argentina. By 1995, the new movement was almost dead, but some bands like Minoría Activa and Fun People survived.

• 2 Minutos (1989-present): One of the most famous punk bands in argentina during the 1990s, highly influential across the Spanish-speaking world. Quite soon they became extremely popular due to some radio hits like the anti-police song "Ya no sos igual". They became targets of criticism by older members of the scene like Pil Trafa (singer of Los Violadores) because their 'mediocre' lyrics were always about beer, football and getting drunk. They never improved and after all this years they still play the exaclty same 'ramones' style in order to keep their fans happy.

• Fun People (1989-2000): Their lyrics and style introduced new subjects that the previous punk bands had often ignored: criticism of the traditional gender roles, vegetarianism, the right of legal abortion and gay rights. However the band would often mix their political ideas with nostalgic love songs that made them get closer to The Smiths than to any punk band. They toured the USA many times. In 2000, Fun People ceased to play and its lead singer started a solo project as Boom Boom Kid, however the other members of the band have joined him in a few gigs as guests, and Fun People has played that way a few times after the year 2000.

• El Otro Yo (1989-present): some people classify their music as punk rock, others as grunge music. Now ir is better desecibed as alternative rock, which in Argentina is different than alternative music in the rest of the world. The became commercially successful and have released many records through their independent label Besotico Records. They have a huge following and their fans define themselves as alternative people. They share a lot of their fanbase with Fun People.

• Minoría Activa (1991-present): they started to play in the Buenos Aires Hardcore scene. Their style is a mix of metal, punk, hardcore and hip-hop with strong influences from bands like Sick Of It All and Agnostic Front. One of the particular things about this band is that it has two lead singers.

• She Devils (1995-present): it was the first homocore band in Argentina. They started to play in the mid 1990s. Their lead singer Patricia already had a long tradition in the scene (she had been the bass player of Cadaveres de Niños and the publisher of the fanzine Resistencia).

• Vedette SS (2002-2006): tired of the argentine obsession with The Ramones and the lack of diversity they filled the space left by Los Violadores for so many years playing the other, usually forgotten, original rock n roll punk, like the Sex Pistols, the Damned and Generation X, often mixing it with proto-punk influences like the New York Dolls and T. Rex.

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