Soda Stereo

Soda Stereo were an Argentine rock band that are considered by critics to be the most important and influential Ibero-America band of all time. This power trio made up of Gustavo Cerati on vocals and guitar, Héctor "Zeta" Bosio on bass and backing vocals, and drummer Charly Alberti achieved international success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The band is widely considered as the forerunners of the Latin American / Ibero-America / Rock En Español movement that emerged during the mid-1980s. Soda’s early sound was influenced by new wave bands such as Virus, The Police, Elvis Costello and post-punk bands such as Television. The band gradually evolved into a heavier sounding alternative rock band, eventually drawing influences from classic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, britpop, and electronic music.

Soda played an important role in the development and diffusion of Latin American / Ibero-America rock. They were the first Latin American rock group to achieve mainstream success in South and Central America and helped popularize the Rock En Español scene of the 1980s. The band established what would become the template for Spanish-speaking rock music groups and in the process broke numerous ticket and sales records. Soda has sold over 7 million albums in Latin America and their back catalog continues to sell to this day. In 2002 Soda Stereo was awarded the "Legend Prize" by MTV Latin America, the first prize to be awarded of its kind.