South America is a vast territory with a huge diversity of mixed cultures. You can find the remains of the different Indigenous Civilizations -prior to Spanish and Portuguese colonization- mixed with the immense wave of European immigration, as well as cultural remnants of the Middle and Far East.

Each region of the sub continent of South America shaped its own cultural expression through music. By the middle of the XX Century, a new and revolutionary sound coming from North America shocked countries all over the world: rock'n'roll. At first, local musicians plainly imitated the sound and looks from their rock new heroes, but eventually they began to melt the strong rock influence with their own individual cultural and social environments.

It is a common mistake to believe that all countries of South America are the same. Even though we speak the same language (that is, Spanish; except Brazil, where they speak Portuguese), the big cultural diversities force us to study each country separately.

On the other hand, it is indisputable that our political and social history dances to the rhythm of whoever is the most powerful Northern power (currently the USA). By the end of the 60's almost all our Southern countries shared a notorious destiny: the terrifying military dictatorships that would raze oppress their lands.

Rock, as a cultural event, was persecuted and banned for years (just remember that in those early days it was considered a crime to wear ''long'' hair). The difficulties to organize a concert or to end up recording a disk were many. In a way, rock music became an outlet for young people to express their thoughts and their desire for a better future.

Paradoxically, with the arrival of democracies, free markets and capitalism turning music into a big business, rock music wound up becoming part of the same establishment it originally sought to challenge!

Anyway, back to the period we are interested in: Let us say that in some countries there were very few releases during the 70's. That was not the case of Argentina or Brazil, where strong local movements formed. Moreover, in Argentina local musicians began to sing in Spanish, thus reaching a wider audience. Some of these Spanish-singing songs later became hymns in their own way.

The geography and the common history of Argentina and Uruguay (the Uruguayan groups recorded almost in their entirety in Buenos Aires, Argentina's Capital City) convinced us to start these series of books with both of these neighboring countries.

Welcome to a fascinating trip to the Magic Land...