The death of Martian Canteroon September 8, he left the band orphaned his lead vocal Enanitos Verdes. The Mendoza band, with 40 years of existence and the record of having the most listened to Latin American rock song on Spotify, with the hit Bolivian lamentwill continue to play.
This Friday, with a new lineup, the band returns to the stage at the Mendoza City Harvest Festivala recital where it hits like Daylight, the green wall, your prison, among others . And some surprises in homage to Marciano.
the guitarist speaks
the guitarist Philip Staiti, founder of the band together with Cantero, describes the death of his partner (due to kidney disease), the worst September, as a tragedy. And, although the pain persists, he explains in a few words why he has returned to the shows: “Music is my life”.
The Enanitos Verdes will abandon the trio format, which they had talked about before the singer’s death, to take the stage with seven members: Staiti (guitar and vocals), Jota Morelli (drums), Guillermo Vadalá (bass), Bosco (keyboards) and in the backing vocals, Arita Rodríguez and Damián Castroviejo.
The previous and decisive push to continue the tour was the presentation during the Bésame Mucho festival in Los Angeles on December 3rd. “It was a commitment we had before Marciano’s death and that we decided to keep,” says Felipe clarionbefore the final rehearsal of the presentation in the Plaza Independencia de Mendoza.
That show in the United States, in front of 60,000 people, was extended for more than an hour at the request of the audience who demanded an encore. “Noel from Sin Bandera and Rubén from Café Tacvba accompanied us. Hombre G also joined us. It was an incredible show, very emotional,” says the guitarist.
-How was the decision to continue with the band?
-Always the engine is the music. I went several months without answering calls and texts. I needed to process what happened. I experienced Marciano’s death as the loss of a family member. But we both made Enanitos Verdes when we were teenagers, in my house. And this irretrievable loss occurred to us when we were fully operational (they had finished a tour of more than 30 shows in Mexico and the United States, for their 40-year career). The visible face of the Dwarves was Marciano, but we were a group.
-Have you thought about closing the Enanitos Verdes internship?
-At first I was lost: I was thinking of the pain and the unexpectedness of his death. We had never spoken to Marciano about our deaths. We talked about the death of our parents, always about the death of others. You settle your head and the memories come back of many songs I wrote, of projects, of my whole life in Los Enanitos. The gang doesn’t boil down to just one person.
And I said, “You couldn’t be more honest. I’m Enanitos Verdes too. Sadly, Marciano is gone and the river goes on. We’ve always been a band, and will continue to be.
Go on without Marciano
-Has the sound of the band changed?
-The band today is a steamroller. We stopped being a trio and for this new stage we incorporated Mexican keyboardist Bosco and Guillermo Vadalá on bass. Followed by Jota Morelli on drums, who has been in Los Enanitos for 10 years, and Damian Castroviejo and Arita Rodriguez on backing vocals. I’m excited, a new challenge and new musical arrangements. We take songs to the next level.
-Have you thought about incorporating another singer?
– Putting another singer wouldn’t be so real for the band; For now, I don’t see it as a possibility. It’s not exchanging one card for another. This transition will look like this, with new musicians and me singing most of the songs. Once we finished a show and I told Marciano that, despite the problems and fatigue, music saves lives, and that phrase stuck with us like a crutch.
For us, returning to the stage was finding happiness, a refuge and, through music, finding peace.
-How was it going on stage without Marciano?
-This is irreplaceable because there is no possibility that I will have another relationship like this, on the road traveled, more than 40 years together. It was unique and unrepeatable, but that doesn’t mean that Vadalá and other musicians don’t find the look and language we want for our music, because we have similar paths.
-Will there be a tribute to Marciano in the show?
-The iconic songs from all our history will be there: we have 16 albums. In the set list there will be songs that people want to hear. And there I play that song I composed for Marciano, my number 1 fan. It’s the best way to pay homage: cool versions of our songs and videos from so many years together.
“We have been able to transcend generations”
-After the harvest, are you still on tour?
-We don’t have another presentation in Argentina yet, but in July we will go to festivals in Spain and Italy. Later we played in Colombia, Mexico and the United States. We have already been asked to be there for two nights at the upcoming Bésame Mucho festival in Los Angeles.
I thought it was good to play here this Friday. We are from Mendoza, we left here for Buenos Aires, and now we are recovering after this misfortune,
What kept you going for so many years?
-Never been a fad, with weird hairstyles and eye makeup. And they kept us like a rock band. We continue to be in the top 10 listened to bands in Latin America, on the same list as Bizarrap and all new trap and reggaeton singers.
We have been able to transcend generations. The validity is due to the young people who follow us at concerts and on the platforms. We are an example of rowing, of knowing how to weather the storm and find a place to shelter.
Source: Clarin
