Famous Names
Cuarteto Leo was the leading cuarteto band for almost 30 years, back in the 1970s. It established the sonic texture that prevails in cuarteto to this day.
In the 1980s, Carlos Mona Jiménez became the foremost exponent of cuarteto after the break-up of his two-member Cuarteto de Oro ("Golden Quartet"). He established a pattern of nonsense humour and extravagant behavior that many tried to ape without much success. One of his most popular songs was Quién se ha tomado todo el vino ("Who drank all the wine?"), which was danced with a characteristic hand move.
Others, such as producer-bandleader Negro Videla, travelled to the Dominican Republic and Colombia to expand the range of their repertoire. Videla is the unofficial ambassador of Dominican music in cuarteto, with successful covers of merengue hits.
Since the late 1980s, the Tru-la-lá band has had great support from dancers. At one point they were endorsed by the Catholic church for avoiding racy themes in their lyrics. All in all, they have sold over a million records.
Rodrigo Bueno became the leading cuarteto singer in the mid-1990s, and made inroads into Buenos Aires middle-class audiences. He died in a car crash on June 25, 2000. Many people believe the crash was not an accident, as Rodrigo was (allegedly) a pawn in a feud between rival mobsters. His song La mano de Dios (The Hand of God), which celebrates Diego Maradona through his most famous goal, has become a classic dance song in Argentina, and was covered by Maradona himself in his successful 2005 talk show.
As of 2006, some of the most popular cuarteto artists are:
- Carlos Rolan
- Carlitos "La Mona" Jiménez
- La Banda XXI
- La Barra
- La Fiesta
- Tru-la-la
- La Banda de Carlitos
- Jean Carlos
- Rodrigo Bueno
Read more about this topic: Cuarteto
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