Almendra

Almendra began in a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, in 1967, with four boys who knew each other from school. Luis Alberto Spinetta played guitar and sang, Edelmiro Molinari also on guitar and vocals, Emilio del Guercio on bass and vocals, and Rodolfo García on drums. Together, along with Manal and Los Gatos, they were part of the first to take Argentine rock to another level. They split in 1970, but reunited in the 1970s and 1981, and again in 2009. In a 1985 survey, a journalist named Carlos Polimeni asked musicians and writers which Argentine rock album was the best. Most chose their first album, Almendra, as the most important.

Later, Rolling Stone placed them in the top 6 of the best Argentine rock albums. Their second album, Almendra II, ranked 40th. The song «Muchacha (Ojos de papel)» was the second best of all time in the country, according to the same magazine. Spinetta also has nine other songs on that list. The band was born from two distinct groups: Los Larkins and Los Sbirros. Los Larkins were led by Rodolfo García, who played then and later joined Almendra. He was a bigger guy than Spinetta and worked in a mechanic shop, which set him apart. Los Sbirros, on the other hand, were students from the same school as Spinetta. Edelmiro Molinari, their leader, dominated the electric guitar, and had Emilio del Guercio and his brother Ángel.