La Pestilencia

The first Columbian punk band to earn a gold-certified record, La Pestilencia formed in 1986 in Bogotá. Co-founders Héctor Buitrago and Dilson Díaz first bonded over a mutual love of hardcore punk records, which prompted the young musicians to form a band with drummer Jorge León Piñeda and guitarist Francisco Nieto. After releasing their debut album, La muerte...Un Compromiso de Todos, in 1989, the four musicians went their separate ways, with Héctor Buitrago forming the Latin Grammy Award-winning, socially-progressive band Aterciopelados in 1992. Meanwhile, Díaz rebuilt La Pestilencia's lineup with new members, and the revised group released Las Nuevas Aventuras in 1993. A third album, El Amarillista, appeared in 1997, featuring the hit single "Vive Tu Vida." Following more than a decade's worth of independence, La Pestiliencia signed a major-label deal with Mercury Records and subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where they recorded 2001's Balística. Several years later, Productos Desaparecidos marked the band's first release for another upper-echelon label, EMI Records. The record also became the first punk album in Columbian history to reach gold status. Nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, Productos Desaparecidos was followed by 2011's Paranormal and 2018's País de Titulares, both of which maintained the band's commercial and critical acclaim.