If you’re close with me, you’d know how much I talk about rock en español. So, in order to share with you all the music I love so much, I made a little list of my highlights mixed in with some very influential albums in no particular order.  

1. 27 (2012) by Ciro y Los Persas

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Andres “Ciro” Martinez plays with blues and contemporary rock to create this beautiful iconic sound. Check out the harmonica. Some songs lean in other directions like the obvious Argentine tango influence in “Tango del Diablo” or the singer-songwriter vibe of “Me Gusta.” Situated in the middle of the album is also a patriotic hymn, “Héroes de Malvinas,” illustrating another Argentinian touch to an album that consists of so much American blues influence. Ciro is mainly known for his work with Los Piojos, a hugely influential band on the Argentinian rock scene.

2. Nada Personal (1985) Soda Stereo

If you thought I’d get through this list without mentioning Gustavo Cerati, you’d be wrong. Inspired by the British rock bands the Police and Talking Heads, this album captures the essence of 80s rock, utilizing a jangy guitar and synth percussion throughout. This album is Cerati’s first major footprint on the rock scene, which still reverberates into contemporary artists like Charly García in Argentina, Zoé and Café Tacvba in Mexico, and Cigarettes After Sex in the U.S. If the 80s sound isn’t your favorite (it isn’t mine either) I’d highly recommend diving into their grunge phase in the 90s with Dynamo (1993) and Sueño Stereo (1995).

3. Re (1994) Café Tacvba

Arguably this album is one of the best ever made in the history of latin rock. Using such a mix of so many instruments and genres–African chant vocals, traditionally Spanish samba beats, contemporary and psychedelic rock guitar, banda horns, hip-hop mixed beats, ska, metal, jazz bass, Chinese flute, and more–the album is really an experimentation with sound. Every song sounds distinct from the other, creating a surprise at every new track. Although you may think that this hodge-podge of sounds would create a jumbled mess, it doesn’t. The best way I can really describe it is that each song is a collage cut and pasted from individual distinct sounds, mixing media with splatterings of paint or clay, to create a sum greater than its parts. 

4. La Sintesis O’Konor (2017) Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado

This album screams millennial indie to its core. Many of the songs gravitate toward a sound not unlike the Arctic Monkeys/Catfish and the Bottlemen, with the bass riffs taking center stage and vocals akin to Hippo Campus. Although the songs sometimes feel like they bleed into each other, lacking a distinctive quality to each, the album is still worth a listen to take a peek into the indie scene. Other indie artists I recommend are Indios, Little Jesus, El Cuarteto de Nos, and Luca Bocci.  

5. Jessico (2002) Babasónicos 

This album has a nostalgic quality to me, being one of the first that threw me into the genre. Akin to Re, this album also experiments with sound and genre, bringing in intercultural elements like the Japanese Koto and an American country sound. However, a lot of the album sticks to a hard traditional rock sound with apathetic vocals from Diego Rodriguez, echoing the grunge movement while adding in a new energy from the turn of the millennium. Babasónicos currently, is one of the largest rock bands in Argentina, still coming out with new music. I personally love Discutable (2018).

If you’re still looking for more songs. I recommend checking out the station Pobre Jonny on Radio Garden, which only plays rock in Spanish. Here is a link!