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Sui Generis is one of the most important rock and roll (or folk rock) bands in Argentinian history. In the first half of the 1970s, the band was enormously successful and became the most important band in the country. Lead by Charly García, the band reunited 2000 for a concert in Boca Juniors stadium in Buenos Aires.
Hello Sui Generis
Sui Generis was formed in 1969 by combining two bands: "To walk spanish", whose leader was Carlos Alberto "Charlie" García Moreno and "The Century indignation", starring Carlos Alberto "Nito" Mestre.
The new band experimented with psychedelic music but would eventually refine its sound as a folk-rock band. At their first big gig, the bassist, guitarist, and drummer all failed to show. Only Charlie (García used an "ie" in those days) and Nito where there, with a piano and a flute respectively. They played the show alone, and amazingly, the audience loved them. Garcías simple songs of adolescence contained substantial poetic elements that showed through the limited instrumentation .
As the band was gaining popularity, García faced manditory military service at age 20. Unhappy in the military, he pulled outragoues stunts, such as taking a corpse in a wheelchair for a walk in the sun because "he was too pale." Eventually, García ingested a large dosage of amphetamines, faking a heart attack, after which he was taken to a military hospital. There, he composed two songs: "Botas Locas" ("Crazy boots"), then censored, and "Canción para mi muerte" ("Song for my death"). He was released from the military due to his mental health "problems."
Sui Generis first LP, "Vida" ("Life"), released in 1972, became instantly popular, especially among Argentinian teenagers. Charlie wrote all Sui Generis' songs.
"Confesiones de invierno" ("Confessions in winter"), their second LP, was released in 1973. This album showcased higher production values and better studio equipment and was also a huge commercial success.
Innocence Lost
1974 was a year of changes. Charlie was sick of "the piano and the flute" sound, and decided that Sui Generis needed a change. He pursued a more traditional rock sound, with bass and drums. Rinaldo Rafanelli and Juan Rodríguez joined the band for that purpose. The new album play was originally titled "Instituciones" ("Institutions"), but Sui Generis' producer suggested they change the name to "Pequeñas anécdotas de las Instituciones" ("Little anecdotes about the Institutions") to reflect the unstable nature of Argentinian social and political institutions at the time. Charlie's initial concept was to write a song for every influential traditional institution: the Catholic Church, the Government, the family, the Judicial System, the Police, the Army, and so on. However, two songs, "Juan Represión" ("John Repression") about the police, and "Botas Locas" ("Crazy Boots") about the army, were eliminated from the album by the censors. Two more had to be partly changed, "Las increíbles aventuras del señor tijeras" ("The incredible adventures of Mr. Scissors") and "¿Para quién canto yo entonces?" ("Who am I singing for, then?"), both about the censorship itself. While Charlie achieved a different, more mature sound with "Instituciones," the public didn't like the change. They preferred the old sound, and the album sold poorly.
In this years, Charlie met María Rosa Yorio, a singer who made a couple with him, and then became the mother of his son, Miguel García.
Has been: the LP that finally was not
Anyway, García kept composing songs, and during 1975, he prepared for Sui Generis' "Ha sido" ("Has been"). There's a little trap here, because the stress in the phrase "Ha sido" actually places on the syllable "si". However, Charlie always made jokes about it and put the stress on "Ha". That way, "Ha sido" sounds just like "Ácido" (acid), a clear reference to LSD. In those years, psychedelia was very strong between the artists in Argentina. In the future, Charlie said that the LP definitely HAD something to do with LSD, because the songs spoke somehow about acid, about color fishes, about going to the sea and looking at the color fishes. Finally the long play was never released, but some of the songs were included in other [[Charly García|García's LPs, such as "Bubulina" (In 1976), "Eiti Leda" (1978).
"Ha sido" ("Has been")... wasn't. In 1975, Sui Generis' members began with some conflicts. "Nito" Mestre wasn't enthusiastic about the new style and project, the new members weren't accepted by the public and Charlie was sick entire of Sui Generis' old style, what the fans and producers wanted.
Goodbye, Sui Generis
Finally, in September the 9th. in 1975, Sui Generis said goodbye, in the Luna Park Stadium, with two shows for 20 thousand people, the biggest in the history of Argentinean rock at that time. Charlie said many years after that, that before the show he was going around the stadium and was scared about the huge amount of people. He was so nervous, he said, that on that car he smoked 24 joints. (Yes, 24 cannabis's cigarettes). "In the 70's, weed was like a religious thing", he said about that some time ago. The shows were full of adrenaline, delirium and great music. Two LP's were released that year, registering the live shows: "Adiós Sui Generis", volumes I and II ("Goodbye Sui Generis")
In 1976, Sui Generis also recorded another long play, with León Gieco (another Argentinean musician), Raúl Porchetto (same as Gieco but in soft pop version) and María Rosa Yorio. The LP was called "Porsuigieco" (Mix of Raúl PORchetto, SUI Generis, León GIECO)
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