Los Enanitos Verdes

In the closing years of the 1970s the Argentinian pop/rock outfit los Enanitos Verdes came together through singer/bassist Marciano Cantero, guitarist Felipe Staiti and drummer Daniel Piccolo. Relocating from Mendoza to Buenos Aires, the group began working the city’s club circuit. Guitarist Sergio Embrioni and keyboardist Tito Dávila came aboard in 1984, enabling the band to cut and issue its debut album; two years later Andrés Calamaro oversaw the follow-up, Contra Reloj. Shortly after the release of Carrousel the trio launched an extensive South American tour that earned them a regular spot among the most popular attractions at the storied Viña del Mar Festival. At roughly the same moment “La Muralla Verde” began its ascent on leading Latin rock charts. A well-received Central American trek followed in 1989, and in 1995 the band reached the United States by appearing at the Billboard Latin Forum Showcase. After a series of North American dates the original three members committed 1998’s Tracción Acústica and 1999’s Grammy-nominated Nectar to tape. On September 8, 2022, co-founder Marciano Cantero succumbed to renal failure at age 62 following hospitalization.