Facundo Cabral

Facundo Cabral was an Argentine singer-songwriter, poet, and writer. He was born Rodolfo Enrique Cabral Camiñas on May 22, 1937, in La Plata, Buenos Aires. His work is famous for combining elements of music, comedy, satire, mysticism, and philosophy. He began his career in the late 1950s, performing as a singer and guitarist under the stage name El Indio Gasparino. Further along his career, he began performing under the name Facundo Cabral. In 1970, he scored a hit with his song "No Soy de Aquí Ni Soy de Allá," which became a popular song across the Spanish-speaking world. His debut album, Facundo el Creador, was released in 1971. During the 1976-1983 Argentine military dictatorship, Facundo Cabral was forced to leave the country due to the explicitly political nature of many of his songs. He moved to Mexico, where he continued to perform and record music, releasing albums such as El Carnaval del Mundo (1982) and the spoken-word album El Mundo Estaba Tranquilo Cuando Yo Nací (1983). He returned to Argentina in 1984, where he performed at the Luna Park stadium in Buenos Aires. In 1992, he released "Yo Vengo de Todo El Mundo," one of his most celebrated songs. Throughout his career, he collaborated with various artists such as Alberto Cortez, Julio Iglesias, Pedro Vargas, and Neil Diamond. He also recorded his songs in nine different languages. Over the course of the following years, Cabral gradually lost his eyesight, but continued to perform and write. In 1996, UNESCO declared Cabral a "World Messenger of Peace," and he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. In 2011, Cabral was murdered in Guatemala City, a death that was mourned worldwide as he had become a landmark figure in Latin American music and culture.