Born as the eldest son in a large family, Alberto Cortéz attended the Manuel Ignacio Molina secondary school in San Rafael. An early and near-vocational passion for music led him to begin composing songs at age 11. He later studied piano at the Chopin Conservatory in Mendoza while continuing to refine his voice and technique. At 18 he moved to Buenos Aires to attend university, although the stay proved brief. He next traveled to Europe, where the influence of Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel proved decisive. After performing with a traveling musical sextet, he prepared to return home until a producer’s call prompted the recording of his debut album, Welcome to the Latin Club, in 1961. While his first releases pursued commercial goals, Cortéz subsequently turned to the works of classic Spanish writers and poets for inspiration and lyrical material. He issued Poemas y Canciones, Vol. 1 in 1967 and its second volume the following year, both rooted in major Spanish literary sources. From 1969 through 1980 he released one album annually and toured Europe, Latin America, and North America, including a performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 1989 he signed with Mercury Records and released Alma Fuerte, inaugurating another fertile stretch of recording and performing that paralleled the expansion of his audience. Aromas and Fe, the latter appearing in 1998, belong to this period. Cortéz has often been compared to Luis Rojas and Juan Carlos Coronel.
