Sandro de América
Encyclopedia
Roberto Julio Sánchez (August 19, 1945 – January 4, 2010), better known by his artist names Sandro/Sandro de América ("Sandro of America"), Gitano (gypsy), and the Argentine Elvis, was an Argentine
singer and actor.
to Irma Nydia Ocampo and Vicente Sánchez in 1945. He was raised in the southern suburb of Valentín Alsina
, and learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as Romani. His paternal grandfather was Russian Rom from Hungary – Roma are known in Argentina as Gitanos (Gypsies).
Initially, in his schooldays, he imitated King of Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley
, but afterwards created a personal style that marked his career and became a pioneer in Spanish-language Rock music. He started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego in 1961, which gained popularity on the TV show Sábados Circulares, and became wideley-known in the 1960s. With songs such as Ave de Paso, Atmósfera Pesada, Quiero Llenarme de Ti, Tengo, ¿A esto le llamas amor?, Eres el demonio disfrazado (cover of (You're The) Devil in Disguise
), Porque yo te amo, Penumbras, Una muchacha y una guitarra, Trigal or Rosa Rosa, the success of his career kept growing steadily.
Sandro also had the leading role in various films, including Quiero llenarme de ti ("I Want to Fill Myself with You" – 1969) and Subí que te llevo ("Hop On, I'll Give You a Ride" – 1980), and directed one feature, Tú me enloqueces ("I'm Crazy About You"), in 1976. His co-star in the latter film, Argentine actrees Susana Giménez
, was offered a TV variety show
after he refused to host it; Giménez's show, named Hola Susana, would become a ratings leader shortly after its 1987 launch.
He also starred in two Soap Operas, notably Fue sin Querer ("I Didn't Mean to"), with Puerto Rican
actress Gladys Rodríguez
and Dominican Actor and Singer Dhario Primero.
He was the first Latino singer to sell out Madison Square Garden
five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to perform a television concert via satellite
in the World's History. The concert was broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on April 1970, and marked the debut of a Latin American artist for a world audience. He also appeared a couple of times at The Ed Sullivan Show
, as well as with Domenico Modugno
, The Doors
and many others.
Sandro's songs were re recorded by international artists such us Shirley Bassey
, Liza Minnelli
, Burt Bacharach
, Dalida
, Shirley MacLaine
, Toto Cutugno
, Nancy Wilson, Mary Hopkins, Loredana Berté
, Umberto Tozzi
, Gilbert Bécaud
, Milva
,
Julio Iglesias
, José Luis Rodríguez
, Dhario Primero, or Engelbert Humperdinck
, among others.
Argentine and other Latin American artists released an album in 1990 called Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor. Sandro continued releasing studio albums in the early 1990s and reappeared on stage in 1993 with a new show, that was presented at Teatro Gran Rex
, the most prestigious popular music venue in Buenos Aires, performing 18 attendance-record–breaking consecutive concerts. The news that he suffered from emphysema
were made public in 1998, causing a great generalized concern among his followers from all over the world. Sandro had been a self declared longtime cigarette
smoking addict, which undoubtedly was the main cause of the disease.
in Mendoza
, Argentina, the operation was a success. Five days later, in a daily press conference held by his doctors, it was reported that Sandro, although still in intensive care, was breathing without a respirator
and that he had started a slow recovery. Nevertheless, in the evening of January 4, 2010, after 45 days of receiving the transplant, and after many complications, he died of septic shock
, mesenteric ischemia
and disseminated intravascular coagulation
in the Hospital Italiano of Mendoza.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
singer and actor.
Biography
Sandro was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
to Irma Nydia Ocampo and Vicente Sánchez in 1945. He was raised in the southern suburb of Valentín Alsina
Valentín Alsina, Buenos Aires
Valentín Alsina is a city in the Lanús Partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is located next to Buenos Aires city in the Gran Buenos Aires urban area....
, and learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as Romani. His paternal grandfather was Russian Rom from Hungary – Roma are known in Argentina as Gitanos (Gypsies).
Initially, in his schooldays, he imitated King of Rock and Roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, but afterwards created a personal style that marked his career and became a pioneer in Spanish-language Rock music. He started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego in 1961, which gained popularity on the TV show Sábados Circulares, and became wideley-known in the 1960s. With songs such as Ave de Paso, Atmósfera Pesada, Quiero Llenarme de Ti, Tengo, ¿A esto le llamas amor?, Eres el demonio disfrazado (cover of (You're The) Devil in Disguise
(You're The) Devil in Disguise
" Devil in Disguise" is a UK number one single by Elvis Presley which was written by the songwriting team Giant, Baum and Kaye and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1963. It peaked at number three in the US on the Billboard singles chart and number nine on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues singles...
), Porque yo te amo, Penumbras, Una muchacha y una guitarra, Trigal or Rosa Rosa, the success of his career kept growing steadily.
Sandro also had the leading role in various films, including Quiero llenarme de ti ("I Want to Fill Myself with You" – 1969) and Subí que te llevo ("Hop On, I'll Give You a Ride" – 1980), and directed one feature, Tú me enloqueces ("I'm Crazy About You"), in 1976. His co-star in the latter film, Argentine actrees Susana Giménez
Susana Giménez
Susana Giménez, née María Susana Giménez Aubert is an Argentine actress, ex-vedette and television host....
, was offered a TV variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
after he refused to host it; Giménez's show, named Hola Susana, would become a ratings leader shortly after its 1987 launch.
He also starred in two Soap Operas, notably Fue sin Querer ("I Didn't Mean to"), with Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
actress Gladys Rodríguez
Gladys Rodríguez
Gladys Rodríguez born June 4, 1943 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, is an actress, comedian and television host.-Early years:Rodríguez was born in Santurce, a section of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Her parents moved to New York City when she was still a child. In New York, she received her...
and Dominican Actor and Singer Dhario Primero.
He was the first Latino singer to sell out Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to perform a television concert via satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
in the World's History. The concert was broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on April 1970, and marked the debut of a Latin American artist for a world audience. He also appeared a couple of times at The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, as well as with Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu "...
, The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
and many others.
Sandro's songs were re recorded by international artists such us Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, Toto Cutugno
Toto Cutugno
Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician.-Biography:Toto Cutugno was born in Fosdinovo, Tuscany, to a Sicilian father and a Tuscan mother. Shortly after his birth the family moved to La Spezia ....
, Nancy Wilson, Mary Hopkins, Loredana Berté
Loredana Bertè
Loredana Bertè is an Italian singer. In her long career she has worked with some of the best Italian songwriters such as Enrico Ruggeri, Pino Daniele, Ivano Fossati, Mario Lavezzi, Enzo Jannacci and Mango, among others. She has experimented with different genres, from rock to reggae, from funk to...
, Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Antonio Tozzi is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most internationally famous song is "Gloria" -Biography:...
, Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et Maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love"...
, Milva
Milva
Maria Ilva Biolcati , known as Milva, is an Italian singer, actress and television personality. She is also known as 'La Rossa', , due to the colour of her hair, and additionally as the 'Panther of Goro', which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female...
,
Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
, José Luis Rodríguez
José Luis Rodríguez
José Luis Rodríguez may refer to:*José Luis Rodríguez , , former Argentine football striker*José Luis Rodríguez González , El Puma, , Venezuelan singer and actor...
, Dhario Primero, or Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
, among others.
Argentine and other Latin American artists released an album in 1990 called Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor. Sandro continued releasing studio albums in the early 1990s and reappeared on stage in 1993 with a new show, that was presented at Teatro Gran Rex
Teatro Gran Rex
The Teatro Gran Rex is an Art Deco style theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina which opened on July 8, 1937, as the largest cinema in South America....
, the most prestigious popular music venue in Buenos Aires, performing 18 attendance-record–breaking consecutive concerts. The news that he suffered from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
were made public in 1998, causing a great generalized concern among his followers from all over the world. Sandro had been a self declared longtime cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
smoking addict, which undoubtedly was the main cause of the disease.
Health and Death
On November 20, 2009, Sandro received a heart-lung transplantHeart-lung transplant
A heart–lung transplant is a procedure carried out to replace both heart and lungs in a single operation. Due to a shortage of suitable donors, it is a rare procedure; only about a hundred such transplants are performed each year in the USA....
in Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
, Argentina, the operation was a success. Five days later, in a daily press conference held by his doctors, it was reported that Sandro, although still in intensive care, was breathing without a respirator
Respirator
A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling harmful dusts, fumes, vapors, or gases. Respirators come in a wide range of types and sizes used by the military, private industry, and the public...
and that he had started a slow recovery. Nevertheless, in the evening of January 4, 2010, after 45 days of receiving the transplant, and after many complications, he died of septic shock
Septic shock
Septic shock is a medical emergency caused by decreased tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery as a result of severe infection and sepsis, though the microbe may be systemic or localized to a particular site. It can cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death...
, mesenteric ischemia
Mesenteric ischemia
Mesenteric ischemia is a medical condition in which inflammation and injury of the small intestine result from inadequate blood supply. Causes of the reduced blood flow can include changes in the systemic circulation or local factors such as constriction of blood vessels or a blood clot...
and disseminated intravascular coagulation
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Disseminated intravascular coagulation , also known as disseminated intravascular coagulopathy or consumptive coagulopathy, is a pathological activation of coagulation mechanisms that happens in response to a variety of diseases. DIC leads to the formation of small blood clots inside the blood...
in the Hospital Italiano of Mendoza.
Discography
- Sandro y los de Fuego (1965)
- Al calor de Sandro y los de Fuego (1965)
- El sorprendente mundo de Sandro (
- Alma y fuego (1966)
- Beat Latino (1967)
- Quiero llenarme de ti (Vibración y ritmo) (1968)
- Una muchacha y una guitarra (1968)
- La magia de Sandro (1969)
- Sandro de América (1969)
- Sandro (1969)
- Muchacho (1970)
- Sandro en New York (1970)
- Sandro espectacular (1971)
- Te espero... Sandro (1972)
- Sandro – Después de 10 años (1973)
- Sandro... siempre Sandro (1974)
- Tú me enloqueces (1975)
- Sandro live in Puerto Rico (1975)
- Sandro (1976)
- Sandro... un ídolo (1977)
- Querer como Dios manda (1978)
- Sandro (1978)
- Sandro (1979)
- Sandro (1981)
- Fue sin querer (1982)
- Vengo a ocupar mi lugar (1984)
- Sandro (1986)
- Sandro '88 (1988)
- Volviendo a casa (1990)
- Con gusto a mujer (1992)
- Clásico (1994)
- Historia viva (1996)
- Para mamá (2001)
- Mi vida, mi música (2003)
- Amor gitano (2004)
- Sandro en vivo (2005)
- Secretamente palabras de amor (Para escuchar en penumbras) (2006)
- Sandro Hits (2009)
Filmography
- Convención de Vagabundos (1965)
- Tacuara y Chamarro, Pichones de Hombre (1967)
- Quiero Llenarme De Ti (1969)
- La Vida Continua (1969)
- Gitano (1970)
- Muchacho (1970)
- Siempre Te Amaré (1971)
- Embrujo De Amor (1971)
- Destino De Un Capricho (1972)
- El Deseo De Vivir (1973)
- Operación rosa rosaOperación rosa rosaOperación rosa rosa is a 1974 Argentine film, directed by Polish-born director Leo Fleider. The film was written by, and starred, the singer Sandro de América....
(1974) - Tú Me Enloqueces (1976)
- Subí Que Te Llevo (1980)
- Fue sin querer (1980)