Los Ángeles Negros | |
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 Los Ángeles Negros' classic line-up. From left to right:Germaín de la Fuente, Luis Ortíz, Jorge González, Mario Gutiérrez, and Miguel Ángel "Nano" Concha. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | San Carlos,Chile |
| Genres | Balada rockmántica[1] |
| Years active | 1968 (1968)–present |
| Labels | EMIOdeon |
| Members | Principal
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| Website | losangelesnegros |
Los Ángeles Negros (English:The Black Angels) are aChileanpop ballad band formed inSan Carlos de Chile in 1968. The band's best-known line-up consisted of singerGermaín de la Fuente, guitarist Mario Gutiérrez, keyboardist Jorge González, bassist Miguel Ángel "Nano" Concha, and drummer Luis Ortiz. Their music is a blend ofboleros,psychedelicfunk androck music, known asBalada rockmántica.
The original members of the band included three teenagers and a worker from a local school. After winning a local competition in June 1968, they recorded and released their first single, "Porque Te Quiero", which attracted the attention of Chile'sOdeon Records representatives, urging two of the four members of the band to record an album with three other studio musicians. As a result, they recordedPorque Te Quiero in 1969, and several chart-topping singles across Latin America in the following years.
Following De la Fuente's departure from the group, most of the classic band members also left and established bands with similar names, includingGermaín y sus Ángeles Negros and Los Ángeles de Chile. Guitarist Mario Gutiérrez continued to work with other musicians under the name of Los Ángeles Negros. Songs by Los Ángeles Negros have been covered by singers includingCelia Cruz,Raphael, andJosé Luis Rodríguez, while others have beensampled byhip-hop andrap musicians such asFunkdoobiest,Damian Marley, theBeastie Boys, andJay-Z.
Cristián Blasser and Mario Gutiérrez, students from the Escuela Consolidada de San Carlos (now Liceo Politécnico de San Carlos), and Sergio Rojas, who worked at the school, formed a band in 1968. Upon hearing an announcement of a bands tournament organized by La Discusión radio station fromChillán, they recruitedGermaín de la Fuente, who was well known in the local scene for his vocal abilities. Blasser played the battery and Gutiérrez played the guitar, Rojas the bass, and De la Fuente became the keyboardist and lead vocalist. Most of the band members were musically inspired by acts such asThe Beatles except De la Fuente, who did not like them at all and wanted to dobolero music. As a result, they created a mixed style[2] known as theBalada rockmántica orBolero-beat.[1]
Sergio Rojas suggested the band to be named Los Ángeles Negros (The Black Angels), in reference to another Chilean band calledPat Henry y Los Diablos Azules (Pat Henry and the Blue Devils). Although the band was initially reluctant to use a name in Spanish, they adopted Los Ángeles Negros after De la Fuente's mother said she liked it.[3]
In June 1968 Los Ángeles Negros won La Discusión radio station's competition, in which they competed against a band named Los Cangrejo, and received the opportunity to record a single in Sello Indis,[4] an independent label owned by pianist Raúl Lara. They recorded "Porque Te Quiero"/"Día Sin Sol", which was released by Indis as a single.[2]
After recording the songs inSantiago, the band returned to San Carlos and became a quintet when guitarist Federico Blasser joined them. In the meantime, their single received high airplay in some Chilean provinces, and because of De la Fuente's voice, attracted the attention of Jorge Oñate, the director of Chile'sOdeon Records, who asked the band to go to Santiago to record an LP for his record company. However, only De la Fuente and guitarist Mario Gutiérrez eventually went. Oñate quickly contacted three studio musicians —drummer Luis Ortiz, keyboardist Jorge González, and bassist Miguel Ángel "Nano" Concha— with which De la Fuente and Gutiérrez recorded Los Ángeles Negros' debut LP,Porque Te Quiero, released in 1969.[2]
Following the release ofPorque Te Quiero, Gutiérrez and De la Fuente suggested the studio musicians to stay permanently in the group, a proposal which they accepted. The new band members used to be part of another Chilean group called Los Minimás, whose music was influenced by thepsychedelicfunk, which they incorporated in their next recordings with Los Ángeles Negros. Later, in October 1970, they recorded and released their second album,Y Volveré. The record contained songs which helped the band become popular throughout Chile and Latin America, including "Y Volveré" (cover version of "Emporte-moi" byAlain Barrière with new lyrics by De la Fuente), "Como Quisiera Decirte", and "Murió la Flor".[2]
Los Ángeles Negros then began a tour in Latin America, visiting countries includingEcuador,Peru,Venezuela, andArgentina. According to Jorge Leiva from the ChileanNational Council of Culture and the Arts' websiteMúsica Popular, they performed at "stadiums which were full of people, with an unusual media coverage". In 1971, they moved toMexico, where their LPY Volveré sold 700,000 copies. The band released seven new LPs between 1970 and 1974:Mi Ventana (1970),Esta Noche La Paso Contigo (1971),La Cita (1971),Con Todo Mi Amor (1972),Déjenme Si Estoy Llorando (1973),Quédate en Mis Sueños (1974), andAplaude Mi Final (1974).[2]
Their popularity in Chile decreased, however. Besides the fact that the country was taken control by aGovernment Junta after the1973 coup d'état, the musical scene of the time was mostly "folkloric", withVíctor Jara andVioleta Parra as some prominent figures. The band was also despectively qualified as "cebolleros" (drama queens). The internal relationship of the band was deteriorated, which concluded with the departure of Ortiz from Los Ángeles Negros, following an argument with De la Fuente in mid-1972. De la Fuente lost interest in the band, and subsequently quit the group in March 1974.[2]
After Ortíz and De la Fuente left the band, the remaining members continued to play under the direction of Miguel Ángel "Nano" Concha as Los Ángeles Negros. Ismael Montes replaced De la Fuente as the singer, and Luis Astudillo replaced Ortiz as the drummer. Los Ángeles Negros recorded and released the albumMi Vida Como Un Carrusel in 1975. Meanwhile, De la Fuente along with other Mexican musicians formed the band Germaín y sus Ángeles Negros, and settled inMexico City.[2]
Los Ángeles Negros played during the following years with the Argentine singer Oscar Antonio Seín and Enrique Castillo, Mickey Alarcón and Guillermo Lynch from Chile, releasing the albumsDespacito,Bolerísimo, an instrumental one (all three from 1976),Serenata Sin Luna (1977),Pasión y Vida (1978),Será Varón, Será Mujer (1979), andTu Enamorado (1980). Drummer Luis Ortíz returned to the band in 1982, following Astudillo's departure in 1981. They achieved success with songs such as "Volverás" and "Paloma Del Sur". After the successful period in the early 1980s when the band performed live at least 150 times in Mexico in a year, they decided to move to this country in 1982.[2]
However, in 1982, keyboardist Jorge Gonzalez left for De la Fuente's band, although he would occasionally play for Los Ángeles Negros as a "hired musician". Singer Eddie Martínez joined Los Ángeles Negros, while drummer Luis Astudillo returned to the band for the second time in 1986, after Ortiz moved to Canadá the previous year. From Ortíz comeback in 1981 until his new departure, the band releasedVolverás (1981),Siempre Románticos (1982),Maldito Piano/Locamente Mía (1983),Con Alas Nuevas (1984), andProhibido (1985). The band did not release new albums until the 1989 albumEl Esperado Regreso. The next year they releasedDe Aquí En Adelante, an album "inspired by tropical music, which showed the band's difficulties finding a new musical path", according to Jorge Leiva.[2]
"Nano" Concha decided to return to Chile in 1992, and established an oldies music store inSantiago. Former members González and De la Fuente also returned to Chile, in 1993.[2]
Guitarist Gutiérrez continued to be part of Los Ángeles Negros as the only original member, and later became its leader until 2021. Los Ángeles Negros recruited another singer in addition to Martínez, the Chilean Johnny Antonio Saavedra. The band plays yearly at least 50 times in Mexico, keeping the Ángeles Negros' most well-known songs in their live repertoire, and they have released two albums since 1993:Toda Una Vida (1996), andMetamorfosis (2003).[2]
Gutiérrez has been involved in several legal battles against the former members of the band and other unrelated individuals who perform as "Los Ángeles Negros" or similar names, who are for him "músicos piratas" (illegal musicians).[5] Those individuals include singer Germaín de la Fuente, who performs since 1974 as Germaín y sus Ángeles Negros, keyboardist Jorge González with singer Micky Alarcón, who created a band called El Sonido de los Ángeles in the late 1990s, and drummer Luis Ortíz and singer Guillermo Lynch, who created the band Los Ángeles de Chile.[2]
De la Fuente, González, Concha, and Ortíz announced their reunion in February 2009 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary ofY Volveré, originally released in 1969.[6] Their labelEMI qualified the event as "unprecedented". Gutiérrez did not want to participate in the Ángeles Negros reunion, fearing eventual criticism.[7] They played together for the first time since 1972 at theTeatro Caupolicán on 14 February 2010. The group's reunion, however, lasted until March of that year, because of "economic issues" just before a performance at Sala SCD, a concert hall in Santiago.[2]
The style of Los Ángeles Negros,Balada rockmántica orBolero-beat, was immediately imitated by Chilean bands such asLos Golpes, Capablanca,Los Galos, and the Peruvian band Los Pasteles Verdes. They also influenced bands such asLos Bukis from Mexico,[2] andLos Bunkers from Chile.[8] Los Ángeles Negros are regarded as a "classic example of romantic Latin music."[9]
Several songs by Los Ángeles Negros have been covered by bands and artists such asLos Tr3s,Los Bunkers,Sexual Democracia,José José,Raphael, andCelia Cruz, while others have beensampled byhip hop andrap acts such as theBeatnuts theBeastie Boys,Jay-Z,Damian Marley, andFunkdoobiest.[2]
A documentary titledÁngeles Negros directed by Chilean filmmakers Pachi Bustos and Jorge Leiva was premiered at the Hoyts and Arte Alameda cinemas in Santiago on 18 October 2007. The documentary, which was recorded in Chile, Mexico, and theUnited States, is a "tribute" to the band, and "reviews their history".[10] The band was awarded "El Micrófono de Oro" (The Golden Microphone) by the Asociación Nacional de Locutores de México in 2012.[11] The band's 1969 song "El Rey y Yo" was featured in 2013 videogameGrand Theft Auto V, specifically in the game's radioEast Los FM. "['El Rey y Yo'] is the gamers' preferred song", states aLa Cuarta article describing the song's inclusion in the videogame.[12]
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Studio albums[2]
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