Rock music from Venezuela
Venezuelan rock is rock music from Venezuela, the most common being based on Rock en Español.
History.
1950s.
First steps for rock music in Venezuela started by the oil industry jump in the late 1950s and can be traced to the band "Los Flipper", " The Thunderbirds" and "Los Dangers", where after Rudy Márquez, it would be part with Henry Stephen of "Los Impala", a band from the prominent crude oil city Maracaibo and the first South American group with a high reputation and considerable impact in other continents (pretty much of his career in Spain). In Caracas "Los Holidays" released several albums, and were the first Latin-American rock band to travel and work in Europe (Mostly Spain's Costa Brava, July 1966-October 1966). Los Holidays main vocalist, Wolfgang Vivas went on to a solo career, as did guitarist/vocalist Franklin Holland (Van Splunteren) who later joined the American band "Gary and the Playboys", and created a new and very original "Proyecto Franklin Holland" in Caracas, 1984, releasing several well received albums on the Sonografica label. Then came up bands like "Los Dinámicos", "Los Clippers", "Los Darts", "Los 007", "Los Supersonicos" and "Los Claners" who followed the British and French rock patterns. Bands such as "Los Memphis" of Pablo Manavello y "Los Buitres" de Jorge Spiteri, "Ladies WC" or "Azúcar, Cacao y Leche" focused on progressive and even the fusion stage of rock. "Las Cuatro Monedas" introduced in Venezuela the Jamaican rithms as reggae and ska.
1970s.
Subsequently, some bands in the 1970s, such as "Una Luz", "People Pie", "El Zigui", "La Cuarta Calle", "Témpano" and the progressive rock trio "Ficcion" (Sobre el Abismo). "Ficcion" became emblematic in the Venezuelan Prog Rock scene and is still very active, they released (May 2013) their third album: "Ficcion III-Sobre La Ira de Dios". "Tempano" moved on to a more progressive (Atabal Yemal) and later moving to a new wave sound with the album (Essequibo). Then also came a heavy metal, hard rock movement with "Sacrifice", "Power Age" that later would become "Arkangel" founded by Paul Gilman and Freddy Marshall, "Uzi", "Spectro" and "Jose Arevalo Rock Band", "Resistencia", "Fahrenheit", "Grand Bite" and "Alta Frecuencia". As for the blues music, while a few artists did occasionally perform some classic blues in English since the late '60's, the first band recording blues music with Spanish lyrics was "Pastel de Gente" that released two albums in the mid 1980s. Some of the most prominent artists in the 1980s were the band "Aditus" and the soloists Melissa and also Jorge Aguilar who mixed rock with pop and other trends, such as the new wave, synth pop and funk respectively, making the genre more digestible to the larger audience.
1980s.
While efforts were mostly oriented to the commercial pop/rock scene, from the underground-punk scene of the 1980s emerged several bands with international promotion, such as "Sentimiento Muerto" and "Desorden Público", whose first production was launched in 1987, despite the blockade in the media of some of their music due to their strong political views and mildly offensive language. However, both bands' first recordings achieved a huge success, which led to the record companies change of attitude towards them, both allowing them to record additional records, and opening the doors for other emerging bands of the late 80's, such as "Zapato 3", "Sentimiento Muerto" and Seguridad Nacional, among others.
1990s.
In the 1990s, many new bands appeared, such as "Caramelos de Cianuro", "Malanga", "Los Amigos Invisibles", "Levítico", Candy 66, and "Zapato 3".
The post-90s era was characterized by a lack of significant new rock acts in the Venezuelan music scene, as the musical tastes of former rock-lovers shifted towards EDM.
2000s.
Several new bands have emerged trying to push again the Venezuelan rock scene. Bands like Cunaguaro Soul, Domingo en llamas, La Vida Bohème, Viniloversus, Charliepapa, Dioslepague, Los Mesoneros, Telegrama, The Asbestos, Americania, Presidente, Los Paranoias, Los Pixel and many others have created a vibrant live music scene.
2010s.
Recently, the Venezuelan rock scene has been re-energized. Recordatorio, Okills, La pequeña revancha, Arawato, etc. have emerged.
Offshoots and subgenres.
Sifrino rock.
The term ""sifri-rock" or "sifrino rock"" emerged as a label to describe a current of Venezuelan rock associated with the upper or upper-middle classes, which predominated in different periods of the country's musical history. Although popularized by the commentator Rufi Guerrero on his website Oídos Sucios in the early 2000s, this concept had existed since the early days of rock in Venezuela, when social differences were perceived between bands and their audiences.
Since the 1960s, the Venezuelan rock scene was divided between the "malandrosos" (more street-oriented bands like Los Impala or Los Supersónicos) and aesthetically good-looking (bands like Los 007 or Los Darts), with the latter being more associated with sifri-rock due to their aesthetics, influences, and target audience. These bands generally came from private schools and universities, and their members frequented spaces linked to privileged sectors of society.
Influences include British and American rock, punk, alternative, synth-pop, electronic and new wave, as well as a subtle incorporation of Latin American folk rhythms like joropo and gaita. Sifrino rock often distanced itself from the mainstream by focusing on global sounds, standing out in the Venezuelan music landscape which predominantly featured tropical rhythms such as salsa, merengue, or cumbia. This niche genre became a symbol of alternative cultural consumption for those seeking a distinct identity within the broader Venezuelan musical landscape.
Bands like Sentimiento Muerto and its successor Caramelos de Cianuro were often associated with sifri-rock due to their social origins and style. For instance, Sentimiento Muerto was derisively dubbed “Sifri Muerto” in the 1980s, highlighting its perceived disconnection from popular masses. In the 2000s, bands such as Los Amigos Invisibles, La Vida Boheme, The Asbestos, Los Mesoneros and Viniloversus further solidified the image of a rock scene linked to an educated audience from private schools. They extended the tradition of making music accessible to privileged sectors, reinforcing the association of sifri-rock with an elite cultural identity.
Sifrino rock reflects how social inequalities in Venezuela influenced the access and development of rock music. Unlike other countries where rock emerged as a working-class resistance movement, in Venezuela, rock was largely associated with the cultural and economic elite. This created tensions between those who saw it as an elitist import and those who embraced it as a form of youthful and countercultural identity. Historically criticized for its disconnection with the popular sectors, sifri-rock has evolved to include more universal themes and to diversify its audience. Recently, the Venezuelan diaspora has allowed many of these bands to expand their reach and explore new sounds, partially redefining the perception of sifri-rock as an exclusively elitist phenomenon.
References.
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