Listened to passionately throughout the country, Argentina's homegrown rock music - known simply as rock nacional - is something of an acquired taste, though amongst its numerous charismatic performers there's something for just about everyone. Rock nacional first began to emerge in the 1960s with groups such as Almendra , one of whose members, Luis Alberto Spinetta , went on to a solo career and is still one of Argentina's most successful and original musicians and Los Gatos , who in 1967 had a massive hit with the eloquent La Balsa and two of whose members - Litto Nebbia and Pappo - went on to solo careers. From a sociological point of view, though, the significance of rock nacional really began to emerge under the military dictatorship of 1976-83, usually referred to simply as El Proceso. At the very beginning of the dictatorship, there was an upsurge in rock concerts, during which musicians such as Charly García , frontman of the hugely popular Serú Girán and now a soloist, provided a subtle form of resistance with song titles such as No te dejes desanimar (Don't Be Discouraged), which helped provoke a collective sense of opposition amongst rock fans. It wasn't long, however, before the military rulers clamped down on what it saw as the subversive atmosphere generated at rock concerts - one of the few opportunities for collective gatherings under the regime. In a famous 1976 speech, Admiral Massera referred to "suspect youths", whose immersion in the "secret society" of clothes, music and drugs associated with rock music made them potential guerrilla material. The clampdown began in 1977-78, with tear gas used at concerts, police repression and government-issued recommendations that stadium owners should not let their premises be used for rock concerts. Attempts to move the rock scene to smaller venues were equally repressed, and by the end of the 1970s many bands had split up or gone into exile. In 1980 cracks began to appear in the regime: a growing recession saw powerful economic groups withdrawing their support, whilst the military leaders themselves were riven by internal conflict, and a subtle freeing up of the public sphere began, followed by the slow resurgence of rock concerts. In December 1980, a concert by Serú Girán attracted 60,000 fans to La Rural in Palermo: led by Charly García, the fans began to shout, in full view of the television cameras "no se banca más" (We won't put up with it anymore). Without abandoning their previous repressive measures, the military regime, now under the leadership of General Viola, began to employ different tactics to deal with rock's subversive tendencies, producing its own, non-threatening rock magazine, and inaugurating a "musical train" which travelled around the country with some of Argentina's most famous rock musicians on board. Under Galtieri, however, there was a return to a more direct, authoritarian approach - though by now it was proving increasingly difficult to silence the opposition to the military. Rock concerts had begun to attract mass audiences again; together with religious pilgrimages to Luján, they provided the only significant gathering of young people during this dark period of Argentinian history. By 1982, the rock movement was a clearly cynical voice in society, creating massively popular songs such as Fito Páez 's self-explanatory Tiempos dificiles (Difficult Times), Charly García's Dinosaurios , whose title is a clear reference to the military rulers and Maribel by Argentina's finest rock lyricist, Spinetta, dedicated to the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. When the Malvinas conflict broke out, León Gieco 's Sólo le pido a Dios clearly expressed antiwar sentiment and a commonly held suspicion of the government's motives in lines such as "I only ask of God/ not to be indifferent to war/ it's a giant monster and it stamps hard/ on the poor innocence of the people". After the dictatorship ended, rock returned to a more apolitical role, typified by the lighthearted approach of 1984's most popular group, Los Abuelos de la Nada . However, one of the founding members of Los Abuelos, Pappo , went on to a solo career, making heavy rock and appealing to a predominantly working class section of society who felt that their lot had improved little with the coming of democracy; Pappo's music seemed to sum up their frustration with the system. One of the most popular groups of the 1980s was Sumo , fronted by the charismatic Luca Prodán , an Italian who had come to Argentina in an attempt to shake off his heroin addiction (an uncharacteristically sensitive recording of Sumo's is a version of the Velvet Underground's Heroin ). Sumo made sometimes surreal, noisy, reggae-influenced tracks, expressing distaste for the frivolous attitudes of Buenos Aires' upper-middle-class youth on tracks such as Rubia tarada (Stupid Blonde). Luca Prodán died of a heroin overdose in 1987, but is still idolized by Argentinian rock fans. Like Sumo, the strangely named and massively popular Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota (lit: Patricio Rey and the little balls of Ricotta) - who first began playing together in La Plata in the 1970s, though didn't record until the 1980s - made noisy, though slightly more serious, tracks with enigmatic titles such as Aquella vaca solitaria cubana (that solitary Cuban cow), often touching on the dissatisfactions felt by many young Argentines in the aftermath of the dictatorship. Another success story of the 1980s and 90s - albeit in a very different vein - was Fito Páez , whose 1992 album El Amor después del amor , with its sweet melodic tunes - one of them inspired by the film Thelma and Louise - sold millions throughout Latin America. Páez also made an anthemic recording Dale alegría a mi corazón (bring happiness to my heart), inspired by Diego Maradona. One of Argentina's most original bands also emerged in the 1980s - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs , with their diverse and often frenetic fusion of rock, ska, dub, punk and rap. An irreverent and ironic sense of humour often underlies their politicized lyrics, all belted out by their charismatic, astringently-voiced lead singer, Vincentico, and backed up with a tight horn section and driving Latin percussion. Their classic album is El León (1992), on which you'll find their most famous anthem, Matador (a savage indictment of the military dictatorship of the 1970s). Their follow-up, Rey Azúcar (1995), is also vibrant, including songs like Mal Bicho (Bad Critter), another with a guest appearance from Mick Jones, and a tongue-in-cheek Spanglish version of the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever , sung in duet with Debbie Harry. Though countless new groups have sprung up in the last ten years or so, rock nacional 's most enduring figures are still Charly García - whose wild exploits fill the pages of gossip magazines - Fito Paéz, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, León Gieco, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Pappo and rosarino songsmith, Litto Nebbia , who has also made some excellent tango recordings.