Miguel Abuelo
Miguel Angel Peralta, (March 21, 1946 – March 26, 1988) known by his artistic name Miguel Abuelo, was an Argentine rock musician and singer.
A native of Munro, in the Greater Buenos Aires industrial belt, Miguel Peralta was one of the young rockers that grew out of the Norte hotel, the Perla del Once café and the La Cueva night club in Buenos Aires in the late 1960s. Abuelo did not play in La Cueva but was friendly with many who did. At some point, he and fellow poetry buff Pipo Lernoud were approached by Ben Molar, a recording executive of Mandioca (the only label in Argentina dedicated to record Spanish language rock). On the spur of the moment, Peralta claimed that he had a band called Los Abuelos de la Nada (the Grandparents of Nothingness) which was ready to enter the studio. The name was taken from a passage in a book by Leopoldo Marechal.
As Molar did not call his bluff, Peralta actually assembled a band, featuring Claudio Gabis on guitar, Alberto Lara on bass, Héctor “Pomo” Lorenzo on drums, and Eduardo “Mayoneso” on keyboards. Their first single, Diana Divaga (Diana wanders), featured psychedelic influences. About this time, Miguel started using Abuelo as his artistic surname.
Gabis was reluctant to commit to the band, so Abuelo drafted promising young guitarist Norberto Napolitano, better known as Pappo. After some time, the band’s materials started drifting towards blues, and Abuelo agreed to quit and let Pappo take over. Eventually, the band mutated into Pappo’s Blues, while Gabis found his place in Manal, another blues band.
After a brief period of drifting and fighting amphetamine-induced depression, in 1970 Miguel joined Pomo, Carlos Cutaia on keyboards, and Luis Alberto Spinetta on guitar, in a band called El Huevo (The Egg). After a few rehearsals, Abuelo left. Later, with David Lebon in his place, the band would achieve fame as Pescado Rabioso.
Wishing to escape what he perceived as an oppressive environment, Abuelo followed Lernoud’s advice and took off to Barcelona in 1971.
