On April 11 and 12, 1970, Sandro performed at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden, becoming the first Latin American to do so.
On April 11, 1970, Sandro’s fans were attentive to the news coming from New York. His tours around the continent were frequent, but this time it was different: he was preparing to take the stage at Madison Square Garden, becoming not only the first Argentine to do so, but also the first Latin American. The conquest of this temple of music – and sport – where the great international stars are enshrined was not only the merit of Latin artists such as Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan or Ricky Martin. The precursor was our Sandro from America.
Sandro with Cacho Fontana at Madison Square Garden. (Photo: Cacho Fontana)
Roberto Sánchez Ocampo, at the time he was 24 years old, was a popular music phenomenon on the continent. At the beginning of his career he knew how to be a pioneer of Argentine rock. His sensual and unrestrained movements on the stages of television studios, such as those of Pipo Mancera’s Circular Saturdays, sparked controversy and he was compared to Elvis. He was the “Argentine Elvis.” He sang Spanish versions of his North American reference along with “Los de Fuego”, he also sang songs by The Beatles and Tommy Lee Jones. At the end of the sixties he ventured into romantic ballads, he already had successful albums under his belt such as Sandro’s Magic and Sandro of America, and he was filming his fifth film. Sandro devastated all of South America, the Caribbean and part of the United States.
Sandro’s promotional poster at Madison Square Garden
Thus, the idol of Argentine song arrived at the emblematic stage of the Big Apple, a place inaccessible to Latin artists, to demonstrate that yes, he was indeed Sandro from America. The venue, which was an old railroad depot, next to Pennsylvania Station, on the West Side, had opened its doors two years earlier, on February 11, 1968 as a multipurpose pavilion, when the concerts began and functioned as the headquarters of the New York Knicks (famous basketball team) and the New York Rangers (ice hockey). One of the great bands of those times had made its debut the year before, The Rolling Stones. Curiously, The Beatles never played in this space – they did it at Carnegie Hall – and John Lennon did it alone in 1972.
“The Gypsy” was at the peak of his career. Those two presentations marked a milestone in his career. At a concert he said that “the one above” had sympathy for him because he had given him a lot in life. He did not have the same luck with music specialists and many Argentine rock figures, who openly despised him. As Bobby Flores said in this medium: “How a showman of such a category was not only not considered the top rocker in the country, but in addition to despising him, he was systematically denied by the new hairy guys. From my point of view, I think that rocker envy and prejudice was awakened by such international success.”
The Argentine singer in his beginnings performing the song Bebop a Lula
According to Sandro’s official website, the concert was broadcast live from New York to almost all of Latin America and in Argentina it was seen on the Channel 9 screen. It was the first satellite transmission of a live musical show in direct from history and seen in 14 countries with a total of 250 million viewers.
The singer who had grown up in Valentín Alsina arrived at his appointment with New York in the middle of a flu condition attributed to the filming of scenes in Tigre for his film Muchacho. It is also known that despite this he smoked excessively, that he had rehearsed without pause with Jorge López Ruiz’s orchestra and that he was seen “like a caged lion in his dressing room” before giving his first recital.
His presentation was made by another celebrity of his time, the television announcer and entertainer Cacho Fontana. Who introduced it to all of America, mentioning numerous channels from various South American and Caribbean countries. “We will attend the first satellite recital given by a singer in the world and America is the starting point in this type of shows. And he will do it by providing the music and songs of one of the most important and overwhelming personalities of this time. Ladies and gentlemen, with the orchestra conducted by the Argentine maestro Jorge López Ruiz, here is the idol of America… Sandro”, and in the background you can hear the shouting that always accompanied him wherever he went from his euphoric female admirers. Sandro caused excessive reactions, nervous breakdowns, fainting.
That same day on channel 13, Circular Saturdays broadcast the launch of Apollo XIII, the NASA ship on its trip to the Moon, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center. It was scheduled for 7:15 p.m. While Sandro would take the stage at the Felt Forum at MSG at 8:30 p.m. The competition was fierce.
The announcer and TV host Cacho Fontana was in charge of the presentation of the musical idol at the concert in New York
In an interview with the Clarín newspaper, Cacho Fontana said he was part of this historic moment with Sandro. “I remember that we met when Romay gave us each a ‘9 de Oro’ award and Sandro commented that he was going to perform at the Madison. I asked who was going to present it and Romay answered: ‘You.’ In some way I asked him, it’s like I invited myself.” And he gave more details about the nights at MSG: “Sandro was really happy, nervous about his responsibility and about the moment he was preparing to live. It was a truly unforgettable day, very important for him.”
The stories of the time say that Sandro ran onto the stage on the first night and was received with an unexpected ovation from thousands of spectators, before the eyes of millions of viewers. For two hours he sang his repertoire. That night he started the first part with Tengo, Una chica y una guitar, Porque yo te amo, Rosa Rosa and more hits. In that same place, he premiered two songs: It shows you and I love you so much, my beloved. Sandro sang to a full house and in the United States he was compared to Tom Jones.
In the second presentation, which began at 6 p.m., the audience knocked down an easel to reach the stage, according to a cable received from the Canal TV correspondent. That overflow “caused the musicians to flee, fight with the Police, really crazy stuff. “Sandro took over the place and turned out to be the real Mr. Madison,” he defined. There is no film record of those two glorious nights of the greatest national idol at that time.
According to Sandro’s Official Website, at the end of the recital, when some journalists asked him if this was his definitive consecration as an idol, he responded: “I don’t think I am an idol. When 30 years pass maybe I will know. Now I’m just a trendy singer. The public is the one who decides,” he responded humbly.
Sandro returned to Argentina on April 13. And he was received by crowds to the astonishment of the airport staff who to date had not seen such an important reception for an artist. In the central hall of the Ezeiza airport, he improvised a press conference and was later helped out through a side door of the airport.
Sandro filmed a total of 11 films. “You drive me crazy” he starred alongside Susana Giménez
54 years after those historic nights, he can be remembered as the Argentine idol who transcended borders, as Gardel had done, and unleashed passions throughout generations. His followers, “the girls,” as he called them, were faithful to him until the end, on January 4, 2010. A way of saying why he was never forgotten. Sandro of America died at age 64 from septic shock. He was fighting a serious illness, chronic pulmonary emphysema caused by his strong addiction to tobacco. After a double heart and lung transplant in 2009, he had more interventions.
Throughout his career Sandro de América sold 22 million records worldwide for which he obtained numerous gold and platinum records. His rating peaks reached 50, he was the protagonist of 11 films between 1969 and 1981. He was awarded a Latin Grammy for his career. His song Tengo was ranked number 15 among the best Argentine rock songs by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine. He also broke another incredible record: he performed 40 consecutive shows at the Gran Rex to full houses.
2024-04-11 05:55:22
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