Soda Stereo

Soda Stereo was an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982. It achieved international success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and the group is regarded as the most important and influential Spanish-language band ever and a legend in Latin music. The power trio consisted of Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitars), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass), and Charly Alberti (drums). Media and press regarded Soda Stereo as "the first band to ever conquest the whole of Latin America", due to their success, popularity and several tours in most countries of Latin America.

Soda was part of a renewal in Argentina's rock scene, coinciding with the return of democracy at the beginning of the 1980s with its attending optimism and the birth of other history-making acts such as Virus, Zas, Sumo, Los Abuelos de la Nada, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and Los Enanitos Verdes. Soda's early sound was influenced by new wave bands such as the aforementioned Virus, the Police, Elvis Costello and post-punk bands such as Television (this influence particularly demonstrated in Soda's early works, e.g. Soda Stereo (1984), Nada Personal (1985), Signos (1986), and Doble Vida (1988)). The band gradually evolved into a heavier-sounding alternative rock band, eventually drawing influences from neo-psychedelia, classic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, britpop, and electronic music, particularly with the albums Canción Animal (1990), Dynamo (1992), and Sueño Stereo (1995).

By acclaim, Soda Stereo is largely considered one of the greatest bands in the history of Latin rock. At almost 6 million listeners, they are the best-selling band in the history of Argentina, setting landmarks in record sales and concert attendances. In Latin America alone, the band sold over 17 million albums in their 15-year career – this number has since continued to rise following the separation of the band.

After the band's separation, all three of its members found separate endeavours – Gustavo Cerati continued a successful solo career after the band's split, releasing five studio albums (most of which achieved Platinum and Gold status in Argentina, while Zeta Bosio worked for a time as bassist for several underground groups and is now touring as a DJ; Charly Alberti has also found moderate success, both with the foundation of his CybeRelations company, and his family band MOLE. In 2014, Cerati died of cardiac arrest after four years in a stroke-induced coma, signalling the official end for the band as a trio. In 2020, Bosio and Alberti embarked on a reunion tour under the Soda Stereo moniker across North and South America, titled Gracias Totales, it features several guest singers, among them Cerati's son Benito, Richard Coleman, Mon Laferte, Juanes, and others. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour is currently on hiatus.