Argentine Rock

Argentine rock (locally Rock Nacional), is composed or made by Argentine bands or artists, in the Spanish language. For nearly half a century it has been a major popular genre, and it is considered part of the popular music tradition of Argentina alongside Argentine Tango, and Argentine folk music.

The moment when Argentine rock began as a distinct musical style can be traced to the middle 1960s, when several garage groups and aspiring musicians began composing songs and lyrics that related to local social and musical themes. Rock & Roll itself, however, began in Argentina almost a decade before. During that time until the rise of Argentine rock, local groups recycled the hits of English-language rock & roll. Since then, Argentine rock started a continued and uninterrupted evolution through the 1970s and into the 1980s, when it turned into an international genre. Today it is widely considered the most prolific and successful form of Rock en Español, and one of the most important non-English language forms of rock music in the world. In Argentina it is known as "Rock Nacional" (/rok.nasjo'nal/), literally National Rock (not in a political way at all but as a local movement).

A distinct trait of Argentine rock is its uncompromising stance to sing rock only in the Spanish language. Rock music is made in many languages around the world, but in most cases it shares the lyrical creative pen with English. The Argentine rock movement was one of the first non-English forms of rock to be commercially successful outside its own nation. To this day it is rare for an Argentine rock band to sing in a language other than Spanish as it happens in other nations and languages, and even within Latin America and Spain (except to convey a sense of artistic free license, or in an attempt to isolate their message or aesthetic). Argentine rock today is a broad term describing a number of rock styles and sub-cultures within Argentina.