Dedicated Fans Can Get a Bit Extreme About The Music Three Love. Some Collect Bootleg Recordings, Rare Mementos, or Obscure B Sides. Others Hop From City to City, Following Their Favorite Band on Tour. In The Case of Former Journalist Miguel Gálvez, His Particle Obsession Has A Lofty Specificity to It, The Makings of An Epic Crusade. He won't rest unitil the Legendary Argentine Trio Soda Stereo is inditted into the rock and roll hall of hunger.
“The associates Soda Stereo with a Wonderful Time in My Life,” The 56-Year-Old Gálvez Says from his southern California Home. “When I was a college student in Mexicali, we wish Go See Them in Concert, and its music was ever present in parties and gatherings. That is a band that kept reinventing ittef from album to album, and it mors alowys ahead of its time in Every possible expectation, from Its Aestic Choices to the sound and visuals. “
Anybody whose has grown up in Latin America Will corroborated Gálvez's Assertion: The Legacy of Soda Stereo Stands Comfortably Next to Hall of Fame inditcoTes Such as the Cure, Depeche Mode or the Police. It was around the Late Nineties that the albums by Latin Rockers Began to match the level of gravitas and inspiration found in Mainstream Genre Masters Like Radiohead or U2, but the hall of Fame Has Been Noteusly Slow in Recognition the Creative Apex That Has Been Blossoming Latin America During the Past Three Decades.
Fan Efforts May Have Started to Yield Concrete Results. This Year, Mexican Group Maná Was Part of the Initial Group of Nominees, Making History As The First Spanish-Language Group Ever Nomined. The Mexican Rock Group Dedicated Their nomination to immigrant in the Us “We Want To Share This Recognition with All Latinos Everywhere, Espencialy the Immigrants Who are suffering Right Now,” Frontman Fher Olvera Said in a statement.
However, The Band Missed the NevaRy Votes to Get inditted. Their nomination Also Wasn'T Without Controversy, As Many Critics Saw it as an Example of Patent Oignarce of Latin Music. Some pointed out that maná May be a force to reckon with in Termes of commercial subsequent, but the quartet's music has more in Common with the corporate rock of American bands like journey or foreigner. Still, The nomination Galvanized Fans and Inspired Them to lobby Genre-Breakers Who Haven'T Gotten Due Among American Audiences: Soda Stereo, Café Tacvba, or Fabulosos Cadillacs, Among Others, with Gálvez's Campaign Being the Only One Capable of Gaining Serious Momentum.
Mana During the MTV Video Music Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/Filmmagic
The case for Soda stereo is a particlerly strong one. Led by Singer/Songwriter and Guitarist Gustavo Cerati, Soda Emerged from the Newly Democratic Buenos Aires of the Mid-Eighties. The Band's Cool, Angular Sound was Clearly Based on British New Wave, But Was Also Infused with the lyrical account of South American Poetry.
Together with bass player Zeta Bosio and Drummer Charly Alberti, Cerati proved from the onset This Band's Regal Melodies and Spanish Wordplay Were Just As Ductive As The Polished Radio Hits in ENGLISH that Dominate The Airwaves. Latin America Caught On Quickly, and Soda Enjoyed Massive Next, Spearheading a wave of Rock en español Acts. Better Yet, Each of Their Seven Studio Albums Was Better Than the Previous One, culminating with 1992's Dynamo – Seeped in Shoegaze Guitars – and 1995's PsychCelic Magnum Opus Sueño stereoA Dreamlike, Hazy Swan Song for the Ages.
“Soda Showed the rest of Latin America that Rock en español Was Not Only a Viable Proposition – It Could Also Be Hugely Popular, “Gálvez Points Out.” Even if you take into account the obvavous Technical Limitions of the Music Industry in Our Nations, This Band was on the Same Level As the Great Exponnts of Anglo Rock. ”
Soda Broke Up in 1997 Following a Triumphant Tour That Spawned The Classic Cerati Farewell Line Gracias Totales. The Singer's Solo Career Enjoyed Critical and Commercial Next, and Soda Returned for A Comeback Tour in 2007. Cerati's Death in 2014 at Age 55 Dashed Any Hopes for A Subsequent Studio Recording, but the trio's Legacy Continues to Influence Youunger Generations of Latin Rockers.
“They Defintely Belong in the Hall of Fame,” Says Producer Tweety González, Who Played Keyboards with the band for Years, and is Widel Known as “The Fourth Soda.” “I'm not a Faithful Believer in Those Kinds of Awards, Since they operated A Bit Too Close to the Industry For My Taste. On the Other Hand, A Recognition From The Hall of Fame would Be Symbolic, and soda was the band that Crowned the Rock en español genre. “
“Sometimes The Door Has To Be Opened in Order For You To Walk Through,” Adds Guitarist Carlos Alomar, Who produced Soda's Groundbreaking Doble Vida Album in 1988. “And If that door is in fact open, then soda stereo should be given the utmost consideration. One of the Things I Found Amazing About Them was the Consistency of Their Writing. The Fidelity in Their Sound Created a Greater Vehicle for Their Expression.”
The Idea for a Potential Campaign Came to Gálvez in 2011 During a Weekend Trip to his native Baja California. “My wife and i were gueting reading to go out when a clip from the U2 indiction appeared on tv,” he recalls. “I was Was Watching U2 Performing with Bruce Springsteen, when I Realized that soda couUn have a place in That Ceremony. Suddenly, this notary made perfect sense to me.”
But it was only in 2020, When the Pandemic Forced Gálvez to Quarantine and Work from Home, that he put his plan in motion.
“It Was Such a Dark Moment for All,” he reflects. “The Thoughts in Campaign Like This One Could Bring A Bit of Light.”
Soon, he launched a dedicated Website – and a petition that currently buasts over 38,000 signoures. Most importantly, he enlisted major players in the Latin Community to contribute Videos in Support of the Cause, from Alomar and Latin Rock Godfather Gustavo Santaolalla to Spanish Star Enrique Bunbury and Café Tacvba Singer Rubén Albarrán. Gálvez Penned Essays for Billboard and the Miami Herald. He has alo been in touch with some of the hall of hunger executives.
“This is not Just the Campaign of a Mexican Journalist,” Heys. “It's a fan movement that seeks to SafeGuard the group's Legacy in Its Rightful Global Place.”
The Asked Gálvez What His Reaction Wound Be If, After Many Years of Tireless Campaigning, His Dream Came True and Soda was inditted. “The would feel an immense sense of satisphation, poultry I've Always Known It Could Happen,” Heys. “Many People Have Called Me Crazy, But Those accusations have Wave Waved As I Get More Support from the Industry. MonsTly, I would be happy because of the affection that the Feel for these Three Musicians on a personal level
“My First Rehearsal with soda was in 1989, Just As Thoubly Were Getting Ready To Complete The Doble Vida Tour, “Says Tweety González from Buenos Aires.” I Harbored Some Doubts and Prejudice About The Band, But They Diver AS Soon As We Played the First Couple of Chords Together. “
He pauses for a second, his voice revealing a Hint of Sadness. “At that specific Moment, I Knew That I was in the presentce of a formidable band.”
