Sui Generis
This page is about the Argentinean rock band. For the Latin expression, please see Sui generis.
Sui Generis is one of the most important rock and roll (or folk rock) bands in Argentinean history. In the first half of the 1970s, the band was enormously successful and became the most important band in the country. Led by Charly García, the band reunited 2000 for a concert in Boca Juniors’ stadium in Buenos Aires.
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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 were there, with a piano and a flute respectively. They played the show alone, and amazingly, the audience loved them. García’s simple songs of adolescence contained substantial poetic elements that showed through the limited instrumentation .
As the band was gaining popularity, García faced mandatory 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") was released in 1972 and became instantly popular, especially among Argentinean teenagers. Charlie wrote all of the songs on “Vida.”
"Confesiones de invierno" ("Confessions in winter"), their second LP, was released in 1973. This album boasted higher production values and better studio equipment, and was also a huge commercial success.
Innocence Lost
1974 was a turning point for Sui Generis. 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, for which purpose he recruited Rinaldo Rafanelli and Juan Rodríguez. The new album 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 Argentinean 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 Argentinean 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 rejected the change. They preferred the old sound, and the album sold poorly.
In these years, Charlie met María Rosa Yorio, who later bore his son, Miguel García.
Has been: the LP that wasn’t
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 blatant reference to LSD. In those years, psychedelia was very strong among the artists in Argentina. In the future, Charlie would say that the LP definitely referenced LSD, because the songs spoke about going to the sea and looking at the colorful fishes – that is, an acid trip.
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. The “Ha sido” LP was never released, but some of the songs were included in others of García’s LPs, such as "Bubulina" (1976), and "Eiti Leda" (1978).
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 claimed to have smoked 24 joints to calm his nerves. "In the 70's, weed was like a religious thing", he later commented. 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 LP, 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)