Written by Wilmar Mejia
Photos by Joe Guzman
Enanitos Verdes (“little green men”) takes their name from an anecdotal event in their home country of Argentina where a picture taken by a family appeared to reveal “little green men” in the background and the story grew to the point that the picture made all the way to the NASA in the USA to be examined for its authenticity. Around the same time of the news noise coming from this picture, the band made its debut in their native Mendoza and a friend and journalist decided to jokingly refer to them as the Enanitos Verdes del Puente del Inca (the bridge where the infamous photograph was taken) and the name stuck. The story of the photograph and any questions about its authenticity soon faded into oblivion, but the band grew and grew, and this past week, 45 years after its foundation, the band celebrated its continued existence by performing at Dallas’ House of Blues, as part of its current tour.
For the casual fan of the music, Enanitos Verdes is closely associated with some of the most popular songs in the latin american rock songbook. And even the most casual of fans is well aware of the tragic loss of the band’s lead singer, frontman and bass player, Marciano Cantero, who passed away at the age of 62 in late 2022 due to complications after surgery. Founding member, and lead guitar player decided to take the band, and the band’s name on the road, to continue touring without their original singer.
When Eddie Van Halen and Michael Jackson, legendary figures in American rock and pop music respectively, passed away, rumors for tribute shows or tours abounded, but many conflicts prevented from any musical celebration honoring their legacy from happening. For Marciano Cantero however, Enanitos Verdes, in its current incarnation with Felipe Staiti handling vocal duties and lead guitar, the band has pulled off a phenomenal feat of keeping the band music alive, honoring the legacy of their comrade, and celebrating the life of those who were with us, and those who still are. And the band deserves every applause the audience showered them with, not only for the spectacular performance of their music, but the masterful accomplishment of setting themselves in pursuit of lofty goals, and achieving every one of them.Without much fanfare, and without an opening act, the band began its performance with a subdued stage setup, but a carefully prepared setlist. More than a spectacle, this was a music recital, where each musician used the stage to highlight their instrument and role, not themselves, and then used their instrument as an offering to a massive collection of hits, that they performed one after the other, without much stage banter other than what you would expect, greetings to the city, praise for the local women, some words fro the guys, and an overall sense of gratitude to the fans that rose above the trivial, and was clearly heartfelt. And despite saying they were thankful, the band chose to demonstrate it with their performance.
Four instruments, keyboards, drums, bass and guitar, were joined by two harmony vocalists, and each of the six members had turns to shine. And they chose their time wisely, using few seconds to wink at anyone who noticed how capable they are of playing, while remembering that their audience came here to hear (and sing along!) to the hits. While it is worth mentioning the band’s origin is in 1979 and their first international hits from mid to late 80s, it was evident that half the crowd in attendance had not even been born then. I personally remember a handful of their songs all over the airwaves year after year before the band decided to split in 1989. The band returned in the 90s and by the time their second album from that decade was released, in 1994, a new generation of fans discovered them with Lamento Boliviano, a song that 30 years later, is still the top streamed song from the latin rock genre on Spotify, with over 150 million streams over each of the last few years. Between 1994 and 2004, the band released a handful of albums, studio and in concert, with each containing massive hits, and every one of those songs was performed at House of Blues, making the show, a perfect display of the legacy of the band, to remind everyone why the band became a household name, and why, if they are still touring and packing venues all over the western hemisphere, it is because the audience still wants to celebrate life, singing the songs tha have been the soundtrack of life for not one, but several generations of latin rock fans.
Marciano Cantero was gone, but not forgotten. Instead of a long speech about his friend and colleague of more than 40 years, Felipe tactfully mentioned him within a couple of songs, and paid tribute to him by gracefully stepping into the role of lead singer without mimicking Marciano’s singing style or attempting to modify the look of the band when Marciano was on stage. He is no longer there, he is irreplaceable, and the band is simply carrying on celebrating life, with music, and his songs, both those written by him, and those made famous with his voice.
Enanitos Verdes People @ House Of Blues Friday 3 1 2024
