Gustavo Cerati

At 55 years old, Gustavo Cerati has this physical status:

Gustavo Adrián Cerati (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer, considered one of the most important and influential figures of Ibero-American rock.

Cerati along with his band Soda Stereo, were one of the most popular and influential Spanish-language rock and pop groups of the 1980s and '90s.Cerati was the recipient of many awards throughout his career including various Grammys, MTV awards, as well as the MTV (Latin America) Legend Award with Soda Stereo, the first of its kind.Cerati died in Buenos Aires on 4 September 2014 at the age of 55, after suffering a stroke four years earlier after finishing a show in Caracas, Venezuela which resulted in a coma.

He and his band had intended to go to a show-after-party at the rock club Moulin Rouge, located on Francisco Solano López Avenue in the Sabana Grande area of Caracas but his symptoms started developing backstage, right after his last performance concluded.

Early life and Soda Stereo

Cerati was born on 11 August 1959 in Barracas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He grew up in a middle class household; his paternal family was of Lombard descent and his maternal family was of Irish origin. His father was an accountant and regularly traveled abroad. From his early memories he had an idyllic love of the sun and nature. Cerati's first passion was art and in elementary school he drew comics and created his own comic book characters.

Cerati's parents, Juan José Cerati and Lilian Clark, acquired a guitar for him when he was nine years old, at that point Cerati started to take music seriously, becoming a fanatic of rock and roll:

By the age of 13, he formed a trio and started playing at house parties and in the local Catholic school, where he eventually joined the choir. Cerati was a good student until his third year of junior high school when he met a fellow student who, like himself, was into rock and roll.

After serving compulsory military service in 1979, Cerati entered the university to pursue a degree in marketing, something that he was not passionate about. His family supported him with his music, "Mi familia me vio tan enloquecido con la música, que pensaron que algo de éxito iba a tener" (My family saw that I was so crazy about music, that they thought I would have some success [with it]). At the Universidad del Salvador, a Jesuit university in Buenos Aires, he met Héctor "Zeta" Bosio, also a marketing student. The two hit it off and decided to form a band. They were fans of The Police, The Beatles, XTC, Elvis Costello, Television, and Talking Heads. In 1982, after various lineup changes that included Richard Coleman, Daniel Melero, and Andrés Calamaro as well as others, Bosio and Cerati recruited Charly Alberti as their drummer, thus forming Soda Stereo.

Soda Stereo signed to Sony Music in 1984 and released their debut LP Soda Stereo that same year. Nada Personal ("Nothing Personal") followed in 1985 giving Soda Stereo their first hit with "Cuando pase el temblor" ("When The Earthquake Is Past"). Soda released Signos ("Signs") in 1986, Doble Vida ("Double Life") (produced by longtime David Bowie collaborator Carlos Alomar) in 1988, and Canción Animal ("Animal Song") in 1990. During the 1990s Soda Stereo released Dynamo in 1992, Sueño Stereo ("Stereo Dream") in 1995, and their final album Comfort y Música Para Volar ("Comfort and music to fly with") in 1997.

Personal life

Gustavo Cerati maintained a very low public profile and not much is known about his private life. Cerati's first wife was Belén Edwards, an Argentine designer whom he married in 1987 and divorced in 1989. In 1992 he married the Chilean model, actress, and singer Cecilia Amenábar. Their marriage lasted for ten years and they had two children Benito Cerati Amenábar, also a singer and musician, and Lisa Cerati Amenábar.

After his divorce from Cecilia Amenábar, Cerati dated the Argentine model Deborah del Corral, ex-girlfriend of Soda Stereo drummer Charly Alberti in the 1990s. She also sang in Alberti's side project Plum.

In 2008 Cerati started dating the Argentine actress Leonora Balcarce. While they broke up in late 2009, she remained friendly with him and his family, visiting his bedside throughout his coma.

Cerati maintained from 2004 until his last days a close acquaintance with the Uruguayan artist Jill Mulleady.

Cerati met Argentinean model Chloe Bello during the summer of 2009, when she was 22 years old. Despite the age difference, the two of them became involved. Cerati invited Bello to attend the launch of Fuerza Natural in Mendoza and subsequently joined him on an international tour. Due to work obligations, Bello left his side before Cerati travelled to Caracas, where he suffered a stroke that led to a coma, complications from which eventually cost him his life four years later.

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Solo career

Colores Santos ("Holy Colors") with electronic musician Daniel Melero, a long-time Soda Stereo collaborator, was released in 1992 by Cerati. Cerati's first solo album "Yellow Love"), which featured Zeta Bosio and Cerati's wife at the time, as well as actress and model Cecilia Amenábar, who sang and appeared in the lead single "Te lleves" ("I'll take you so you can take me" ("I'll take me").

Plan V was released by three Chilean musicians Andrés Bucci, Guillermo Ugarte, and Christian Powditch in 1995, a joint venture with British electronic music group Plan V. Cerati founded the electronic duo Ocio in 1999, with longtime Soda Stereo engineer and trumpeter Flavio Etcheto announcing Medida Universal.

Cerati spent the majority of the century in the album "Outlandos d'Americas: A Rock en Espaol Tribute to the Police collaborating with Andy Summers of The Police and Vinnie Collecta (Frank Zappa, St.) on a front of The Police's "Bring on the Night" (Spanish: Traeme la Noche).

Bocanada ("Puff") was published in 1999 and was considered Gustavo Cerati's first as a solo artist. In Buenos Aires, Estudio CasaSubmarina (Cerati's home studio) was filming it. Many of the tracks were recorded on an MPC. In Abbey Road Studios in London, the 48-piece orchestra in "Verbo Carne" was recorded. At Townhouse Studios in London, the album was also mixed and mastered. Bocanada's immediate success in Argentina gained national and Latin American newspapers. The album was universally lauded for its simplicity and its beauty, and critics and admirers alike continue to praise it as Cerati's magnum opus. "Bocanada is a fundamental album in the history of Iberoamerican Rock, in general, in any of the Spanish speaking countries."

Cerati converted his foray into film with the score for the film +Bien (literally, "+ Good"). "Of course," "duh!" would be a better translation of the word used in Argentina. "In which he was also interested." The film was directed by Eduardo Capilla and starred Ruth Infarinato, who appeared on Latin MTV. Cecilia Amenábar, Cerati's wife at the time, appeared in the film for a brief period. At the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the soundtrack was nominated for an honor in the category of best instrumental pop album.

Cerati held a private concert in Buenos Aires' historic Avenida Theatre in August 2001. Alejandro Terán conducted a 42-piece orchestra. He was accompanied by a 42 piece orchestra conducted by him. The concert's recording was released as 11 Episodios Sinfónicos ("Eleven Symphonic Episodes") and it consisted of seven Soda Stereo masterpieces and four of his solo songs entirely orchestrated. Cerati took 11 Episodicos Sinfónicos on the road, performing Mexico City, Caracas, Santiago, and a finale of three shows at the Gran Rex Theater in Buenos Aires. Critics and followers alike loved the CD, and a live DVD was eventually released.

Cerati's third studio album Siempre es Hoy ("It's Always Today") was released in November 2002. Cerati recruited producer/engine Sacha Triujeque and Antonio "Toy" Hernández of the Mexican Hip hop group Control Machete to assist. The album was a departure from Bocanada and +Bien's slow tempo, Trip hop, and the elaborate orchestration of 11 Episodios Sinfónicos. The album featured everything from pop/rock to radio friendly experimental rock. Siempre es Hoy's tour spanned New York and Chicago.

Siempre es Hoy : Reversiones (It's Always Today: Reversiones), an album of remixes of Siempre es Hoy tracks from various Latin American Musicians and German producer Wechsel Garland appeared on Cerati in 2003.

Cerati joined forces with longtime collaborator Flavio Etcheto and Leandro Fresco to create the self-described "power laptop trio" Roken, which he played concurrently on the Siempre es Hoy tour. Roken's non-conventional approach emphasized improvisation and writing songs in real time. They appeared at many festivals around Latin America as well as in underground clubs in the United States.

A double album collection of Cerati's solo work was released simultaneously in Spain and Argentina in 2004 ("Selected Songs 93-04). The publication was followed by a small tour of Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Spain.

In April 2006, Cerati released Ah Vamos ("There We Go") after being on hold for much of 2005 on new media. Ah Vamos, a long-time Soda Stereo colleague, co-produced Cerati's triumphant return to guitar rock, with longtime Soda Stereo collaborator Tweety González. Cerati was joined by Richard Coleman, Fernando Nalé, and several others on the recording of Ah Vamos. To name a few, Héctor Castillo, a prolific engineer with credits including David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Aterciopelados, were among the album's mixes. Howie Weinberg of Masterdisk in New York City mastered the album. Fans and commentators alike lauded Ah! Vamos as a return to form for Cerati. The Ah Vamos tour travelled through Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, including Cerati's Central Park in New York), Spain, on October 12, 2006, Cerati played London, England, for the first time in his career.

The album was surrounded by accolades and accolades, including eight Gardel (equivalent of a U.S. Grammy) nominations in Argentina and winning only one of the nominations, the first for any Argentinian artist. In the Via del Mar International Song Festival, Cerati was given the top prizes, "Antorcha de Oro," (Gold Torch), and the "Gaviota De Plata" (Silver Seagull). During the 2006 Latin Grammy Awards as well as the MTV Latino awards, it was the most nominated album. Cerati received three Grammy Awards for best Rock Vocal, best Rock song, and one for best producer for his role on Shakira's Fijación Oral, Vol. Vol. 1: Oral Fixation, Vol. 1 (Oral Fixation, Vol. 1). Ah vamos also ranked on the "best of" lists in the Argentinaian press, and the City of Buenos Aires has given him a medal for his contribution to Argentinian history. Cerati completed the Ah Valiant tour with a major open air show in Buenos Aires, which took place on the corner of Avenida and Pampas. 200,000 people attended the free show.

Soda Stereo's return to form in 2007 was also a success. There will be 22 concerts in nine countries: Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Venezuela, and Per. More than one million people attended the tour, and in various cities, attendance records were broken.

Cerati and Shakira performed together at the Live Earth Festival in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2007. Cerati contributed to, Argentinian producer, singer, and two-time Oscar nominee Gustavo Santaolla's album "Sweet Sea" in addition to working with Shakira. Cerati appeared on "El Mareo," the second single by Santaolalla's Mar Dulce and recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Cerati produced a DVD version of Ah Vamos in 2008 and appeared in numerous festivals around Latin America, as well as Shakira, Fito Páez, and Gustavo Santaolalla.

Cerati recruited several of the same musicians who appeared on Ah' Vamos in late 2008 to begin working on his new album. Cerati and his band travelled to Stratosphere Sound in New York City and the Looking Glass studios in March 2009 to record tracks for Fuerza Natural ("Natural Power"). Héctor Castillo, Session drummer Sterling Campbell, Duran Duran, Didi Gutman of Brazilian Girls, bassist and lap steel guitarists Byron Isaacs, and keyboardist Glenn Patscha were among the notable contributors.

Fuerza Natural was a drastic change from Ah' Vamos' riffing and the electronics of Bocanada and Siempre es Hoy's Hoy. The collections of songs concentrated on a more acoustic pop sound, as well as folk and Neopsychedelia. Rolling Stone Argentina took note of this, saying, "pero es más folkie, más espacial y censure, conquieren a cartel de guitarras, mandolinas, y dobros que levantan polvo sobre las programaciones" (English: "Perfectie más acoustic)" (English: "pero es más acstico y y y a y e acie y y y y más y y y y y más y más más más y más más y y más y y y y y y y y dobros y dobros que levantan y y y y y y y y y y levantan y dobros y y dobrosquez y dobros es y y y y dobros, y y y ac y y aca y y y y más y y y y dobrosy y y y dobrosy y y y dobroso y dobrosy levantan y aça y dobros y y dobroscenizo o y más y estetesto y dobrosy dobrosa más y esy y dobros que levantan y y dobros y y y dobrosceniac y y y dobrosac y dobros y dobrostesac y y más y y y dobros, y más y y más y y y y dobroso y y y y y y y dobrosy y y dobroso y dobros y dobros y dobrosdolina y más y dobroso esy dobrose y más y ete y dobros y y y y y dobroso y dobrosy y dobrosto y y dobros y dobrospó y dobrosetac es y y y y dobrostesquemo y dobroso y dobros y y dobros defac y dobrosqueza y dobros espy y dobroste, y dobros y levantan espè más y dobrosadolina y dobrose y levantan y dobros y dobrosquel y dobrosaca más más y más y dobros y dobros defa y y y y más y y y dobros y dobroso y y y y y este y y y y y más y y y más y y y dobros y y y y y y y y y y y y y y más y y y levantan y y dobrosquel y levantan y y levantan y dobrosquel y y dobrosadolina y dobrosquel y levantan y y y y y y esquel más esce y y dobrosquence y dobrosle y y levantan y y y y y y y y esca y y dobrostesque y y y y y y levantan y y dobroso y y y y dobrosy dobrosy dobrosto y dobrost y do "Fuerza Natural has a curious sequence system, as it seems to be arranged in stylistic batches," Mariano Prunes wrote in AllMusic. It starts with a trio of bona fide Cerati who always fit him so well; it then shifts to a surprising but disappointing bluesy/folksy diptych."

Fuerza Natural debuted at No. 1 in Argentina, Mexico, and Chile despite mixed critiques. 1. It's the first Cerati album to be available in Argentina in digital format via MusicPass and Apple. On its first week of release and 500,000 albums around the world, the album sold 40,000 copies in Argentina. Cerati received a Latin Grammy for her "Best Rock Song" in 2010.

On November 19th, the Fuerza Natural tour began in Monterrey, Mexico. In total, Cerati appeared in Stadiums and major venues in Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, The United States, Uruguay, Colombia, and Venezuela. On May 15, 2010, Cerati's last show was held in Caracas, Venezuela. Right after the program, Cerati suffered a stroke.

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