Karamelo Santo

Karamelo Santo, an Argentine collective steeped in ska and punk, made their entrance in 1993 through the self-produced and independently issued album La Kulebra, absorbing inspirations that stretched from Bob Marley through the Clash to Mano Negra. Perfectos Idiotas surfaced in 1998; two years afterward, Manu Chao—former frontman of Mano Negra—asked the group to support his Argentine dates. During that same period the band performed across the U.S., appearing at numerous venues in California. Karamelo Santo maintained enduring ties with European listeners, mounting repeated tours across the continent as the sole Argentine act to surpass 180 concerts there. The nine-piece collective issued Haciendo Bulla in 2005, which included their version of the Rubén Blades and Little Steven hit “Fruta Amarga” and circulated throughout Latin America, Europe, and the U.S.