Luis Alberto Spinetta

From Latin pop and rock through to fusion styles, singer/songwriter and guitarist Luis Alberto Spinetta spent more than twenty years contributing to some of Argentina’s most compelling alternative rock groups. His deep commitment to music took hold in 1968 when he linked up with Emilio del Guercio, Edelmiro Molinari, and Rodolfo García to form Almendra; the group issued a debut single pairing “El Mundo Entre las Manos” with “Tema de Pototo,” then followed it in 1970 with a self-titled album that contained the enduring “rock en español” staple “Muchacha Ojos de Papel.”

Spinetta launched his solo path in 1971 via the release Spinettalandia y Sus Amigos, also known as La Búsqueda de la Estrella, while Pescado Rabioso and Invisible served as his earliest vehicles for experimentation. Relocating to the United States in 1980, he recorded the English-titled Only Love Can Sustain in New York City and Los Angeles, California. After earlier joint projects with Argentine rock figures Charly García and León Gieco, he partnered with Fito Páez on the double album La La La. Filmmaker Pablo César commissioned him to score the motion picture Fuego Gris, after which Spinetta formed Los Socios del Desierto alongside drummer Daniel Wirtz and bassist Marcelo Torres. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Luis Alberto Spinetta passed away in Buenos Aires during February 2012 at the age of 62.