History
Los Ángeles Negros
Los Ángeles Negros are a renowned Chilean musical group, originating from San Carlos. Formed in the late 1960s, they achieved significant international fame. The group was founded by Mario Gutiérrez and was represented by Nicolás Oliva for over a decade. They are distinguished by the distinctive voice of their original singer, Óscar Germaín de la Fuente Maureira, and the collective talent of all the musicians who have been part of the ensemble.
History
In late 1967, in San Carlos, Ñuble Province, Chile, musicians Mario Gutiérrez (guitar), Luis Alarcón (bass guitar), Federico "Perenque" (second guitar), and Cristian Blazzer (drums) came together to form a musical group. The need for a keyboardist led them to seek a new member. During rehearsals, Luis Alarcón, composer of the song “Quisiera no quererte más,” passed away, and Sergio Rojas took over as the bassist. With this solidified lineup, they decided to participate in a festival in Chillán. The festival, organized by Radio “La Discusión” and the record label “INDIS,” sought contestants for a radio competition. However, they lacked a vocalist. It was there they met Germaín de la Fuente, who was part of another group called "Los Monarcas." After witnessing his performance, the band members invited De la Fuente to join them. Their collaboration resulted in winning the contest and recording their first LP, which propelled them to stardom in March 1968. Their winning song was "Porque te Quiero," from their debut 45 RPM single, composed by Orlando Salinas. The flip side of this single featured "Día sin sol," which quickly became a hit.
Following this initial success, in late 1969, the Chilean branch of the transnational record label Odeón (now EMI MUSIC) took notice of the group. A call from the company's artistic director, Jorge Oñate, fulfilled the group's aspiration to record for an internationally distributed label. This first album also featured Miguel Ángel Concha ("Nano") on bass, Jorge González on keyboards, and Luis Ortiz on drums, all recently arrived from Canada. With this album, they received their first invitation to tour abroad.
In April 1970, the group was contracted to perform in Ecuador, meeting with great success. Consequently, "Los Ángeles Negros" recorded their second album, titled “Y Volveré.” This new release expanded the group's international reach, leading to new contracts for performances in Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, parts of Brazil, Venezuela, Central America, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Aruba, and finally, Mexico in late 1971. They established their base of operations in Mexico in 1973 and eventually settled there permanently in 1982.
Interestingly, in Argentina, "Los Ángeles Negros" gained recognition even before any of their records were officially released, being categorized within commercial music. Radio stations in northern Chile, particularly from Antofagasta, were widely heard across the border. In the Argentine city of Salta, audiences began searching for "Los Ángeles Negros" in record stores, sparking the interest of proprietors who then asked a distributor from Córdoba to investigate this phenomenon.
Shortly thereafter, EMI Odeón Argentina released "Cómo quisiera decirte" at the request of Mr. Carlos Maldonado, owner of Feria Musical in Córdoba and the exclusive record distributor for all of northern Argentina. The success was rapid, with their songs frequently playing on LV 3 radio in Córdoba. A businessman from Córdoba named Nicolás Oliva traveled to Santiago, Chile, to connect with them and offered them an opportunity to visit Argentina. Their debut in Argentina took place in Córdoba at the popular venue "Cuore." From that point on, Mr. Oliva served as their representative for over ten years.
In June 1970, while in Buenos Aires, EMI Odeón Argentina invited them to record a song in their studios. After obtaining permission from EMI Chile, on a Friday at 8 PM, they began recording the song "Mi ventana." It was a dream for them to record with Argentine violinists and professional musicians. The recording concluded at 1 AM. The following day, EMI organized a luncheon at the renowned "Costanera," by the Río de la Plata. EMI executives presented them with an unforgettable surprise during the lunch: a 45 RPM record featuring "Mi ventana" recorded the previous night, with "Murió la flor" on the B-side. They had worked through the night on the complex process to produce the record.
Following their third production for EMI Odeón Chilena, in 1971, they signed a contract for four albums with EMI Argentina.
