[wimpLink artistId="11957"]Fito Páez [/wimpLink]is an Argentine singer, songwriter, author, and film director. A founding member of the politically oriented artist movement La Trova Rosarina, he is one of Argentine rock's most beloved cultural figures. After winning regional acclaim during the '80s, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] broke through to the international mainstream with 1992's [wimpLink albumId="313170"]El Amor Después del Amor[/wimpLink] -- the best-selling rock record in Argentina's history. After years of pop chart success, he returned to rock with 2006's Grammy-winning [wimpLink albumId="34120162"]El Mundo Cabe en una Canción[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] directed the celebrated feature film De Quién es el Portaligas? in 2007. In 2010 he closed the main stage of the Bicentennial Revolución de Mayo, playing a two-hour concert for two million people. In 2017, he released the acclaimed experimental work [wimpLink albumId="81108200"]La Ciudad Liberada[/wimpLink], followed by the star-studded [wimpLink albumId="133393674"]La Conquista del Espacio[/wimpLink] in 2020, and the autobiographical [wimpLink albumId="204284388"]Los Años Salvajes[/wimpLink] in 2021.
Rodolfo "Fito" Páez was born in Rosario, Argentina on March 13, 1963. He formed Staff, his first band, when he was 13. In 1977, he played in El Banquette with [wimpLink artistId="6046694"]Rubén Goldín[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="12949179"]Jorge Llonch[/wimpLink]. He began to appear solo in pubs the following year. Straight out of high school, he began touring with several bands and soon after produced his first solo album, 1984's [wimpLink albumId="1332815"]Del '63[/wimpLink]. It was promoted first in his hometown and later garnered critical and radio attention in Buenos Aires. The recording was put together with the help of some of Argentina's most prominent musicians, including [wimpLink artistId="7188783"]Daniel Wirtz[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="7027896"]Fabián Gallardo[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="5684078"]Tweety González[/wimpLink], and Paul Dorge. The disc won him respect as a songwriter and led to future projects, including 1985's [wimpLink albumId="1332715"]Giros[/wimpLink].
Its demo earned the praise of singer, poet, and songwriter [wimpLink artistId="3514691"]Luis Alberto Spinetta[/wimpLink], as well as a partnership: [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink]'s next album, 1986's La La La, was a double-length collaboration with him. The duo supported the album with a Latin American tour. The same year, he participated in the Thousand Days of Democracy Festival with [wimpLink artistId="3514691"]Spinetta[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3505192"]Juan Carlos Baglietto[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3511365"]Silvina Garré[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="4282112"]Antonio Tarragó Ros[/wimpLink]. His 1987 recording, [wimpLink albumId="1525346"]Ciudad de Pobres Corazones[/wimpLink], marked a dark political turn in his work. Dedicated to the memory of his aunt and grandmother, who were assassinated in Rosario, the album seethed with anger, but also revealed a greater songwriting depth and a more adventurous direction in using rhythms and polyrhythms.
[wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] got his first taste of production work with 1988's [wimpLink albumId="1331488"]Ey[/wimpLink]. Recorded in New York and Havana, it showcased many of the musicians he had previously worked with, including [wimpLink artistId="4402672"]Guillermo Vadalá[/wimpLink], Guillermo Colombres, and [wimpLink artistId="7625793"]Osvaldo Fattoruso[/wimpLink]. It also featured the brass and reed sections of Afrocuba. Less harsh than his previous outing, it is one of his most balanced records. [wimpLink albumId="311668"]Tercer Mundo[/wimpLink], released in 1990, explored Latin American cultural influences and depicted the harsh world of poverty and exploitation.
[wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink]'s 1992 album, [wimpLink albumId="313170"]El Amor Después del Amor[/wimpLink], marked his international breakthrough, and the pinnacle of his commercial success. It sold millions of copies and is the best-selling rock album in Argentine history. When [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] toured to support it, he played to sold-out shows of more than 40,000 people. Shortly after its release, he played a benefit concert for UNICEF that raised more than $420,000.
The follow-up, [wimpLink albumId="199568"]Circo Beat[/wimpLink], was produced by [wimpLink artistId="16692"]Phil Manzanera[/wimpLink] ([wimpLink artistId="10170"]Roxy Music[/wimpLink]). Though there were impossibly high expectations to meet, it netted several hit singles including "Mariposa Tecknicolor" and "Tema de Piluso." A companion album, Circo Beat Brazil, featured Brazilian remixes of the hits. In 1994 he released his directorial film debut, La Balada de Donna Helena. Several other projects were completed during the late '90s, including the charting acoustic album [wimpLink albumId="115145302"]Euforia[/wimpLink] and 1998's Sabrina & Páez: Enemios Intimos.
The year 2000 brought the superbly balanced, [wimpLink artistId="14002204"]Phil Ramone[/wimpLink]-produced [wimpLink albumId="168574"]Abre[/wimpLink]. It showcased [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink]'s singing voice framed in orchestral arrangements. In addition to topping the charts in several countries, it netted [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] two awards (his first wins) at the debut Latin Grammy Awards show. That November, during a break in the support tour, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] entered a Miami studio with [wimpLink artistId="14002204"]Ramone[/wimpLink] and cut the 13-song [wimpLink albumId="312787"]Rey Sol[/wimpLink]. In 2001, he produced, directed, and wrote the film Vidas Privadas starring his then-wife, actress Cecila Roth. They separated at the end of the year.
In 2004, he issued a back-to-his-roots set Naturaleza Sangre, featuring appearances from [wimpLink artistId="3508562"]Charly García[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3514691"]Luis Alberto Spinetta[/wimpLink], and Brazil's [wimpLink artistId="3510582"]Rita Lee[/wimpLink]. 2005's acoustically rendered [wimpLink albumId="34225117"]Moda y Pueblo[/wimpLink] was nearly symphonic in its approach and included an orchestra. The opener was [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] setting music to Frederico Garcia Lorca's poem "Romance de la Pena Negra." 2006's [wimpLink albumId="34120162"]El Mundo Cabe en Una Canción[/wimpLink] won a Latin Grammy for Best Rock Solo Vocal Album, and was certified gold. The following year's [wimpLink albumId="5181393"]Rodolfo[/wimpLink] had an unusual concept. It featured the singer and songwriter accompanied only on piano for most of the recording, with two instrumentals balancing the vocal tracks. It entered Argentina's Top Ten, and earned [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] another Latin Grammy for Best Singer/Songwriter Album. That same year, he wrote, directed, and produced the hit comedy film De Quién Es el Portaligas? After an exceptionally long tour of two years, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] traveled to Brazil to work in a handful of studios with producer [wimpLink artistId="6158923"]Liminha[/wimpLink] ([wimpLink artistId="25021"]Os Mutantes[/wimpLink]). He emerged with 2010's [wimpLink albumId="3473500"]Confia[/wimpLink]. The following year's Canciones Para Aliens offered a collection of covers associated with and by artists such as [wimpLink artistId="3515744"]Victor Jara[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3673429"]Nino Bravo[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="8992"]Queen[/wimpLink], and, of course, [wimpLink artistId="3508562"]Charly Garcia[/wimpLink]. The album was transmitted into space via electromagnetic waves by the Music to Space project that year.
In 2012, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] celebrated the 20th anniversary of [wimpLink albumId="313170"]El Amor Después del Amor[/wimpLink] with a concert tour and live release.
He followed it in 2013 with the publication of La Puta Diabla, his first novel, and three separate albums, all in celebration of his 50th birthday. In a September concert he premiered El Sacrificio and followed it with the benefit album Dreaming Rosario in October, donating all proceeds to the victims of the horrific gas explosions in his hometown. [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] closed the year with November's love song collection Yo Te Amo.
The following year he paid a moving tribute to [wimpLink artistId="3508562"]Garcia[/wimpLink] with Rock & Roll Revolution. He enlisted [wimpLink artistId="6158923"]Liminha[/wimpLink] again for 2015's Locura Total. Recorded in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Miami, the album was a collaboration with Brazilian singer and composer [wimpLink artistId="8655"]Paulinho Moska[/wimpLink]. The pair supported it with a South American tour. 2017's experimental, electronically enhanced [wimpLink albumId="81108200"]La Ciudad Liberada[/wimpLink], was a double length effort that contained a whopping 18 songs. It topped the Argentine charts despite causing great national controversy due to its cover art depicting [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] as a nude woman. The following year he published Los Días de Kirchner, his second novel, and scored brother-in-law Juan Pablo Kolodziej's film Camino Sinuoso, starring his wife, actress Eugenia Kolodziej.
At the beginning of 2019, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] traveled to Los Angeles, California. Working with his co-producers [wimpLink artistId="6701981"]Gustavo Borner[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="11946226"]Diego Olivero[/wimpLink], the artist enlisted a host of top-shelf studio talent including drummer [wimpLink artistId="6122183"]Abe Laboriel, Jr[/wimpLink]., percussionist [wimpLink artistId="5920561"]Lenny Castro[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="4402672"]Guillermo Vadalá[/wimpLink], a horn section, and the Nashville Recording Orchestra. He also recruited singer Lali Espósito and keyboardist Hernán Coronel of electro-cumbia band [wimpLink artistId="3917480"]Mala Fama[/wimpLink]. The finished album, titled [wimpLink albumId="133393674"]La Conquista del Espacio[/wimpLink], was released at the end of 2020. It hit the Top Five at home and landed inside the Top Ten on the Top Latin Albums and streaming charts abroad. It was rewarded with the year's Carlos Gardel de Oro Award and two Latin Grammys for Best Latin or Alternative Rock Album and Best Pop/Rock Song for "La Canción de las Bestias."
In November 2021, [wimpLink artistId="11957"]Páez[/wimpLink] released his 27th studio album, the autobiographical [wimpLink albumId="204284388"]Los Años Salvajes[/wimpLink]. Later that month, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Grammy Foundation. ~ Stacia Proefrock & Thom Jurek