The 40 years of Modern Clicks, one of the masterpieces of Charly García deserved a special tribute in New York: the corner of Walker Street y Cortlandt Alley, where the album cover photo was taken, it was renamed “Charly García Corner”. The drummer and bandoneon player Fernando Samalea who participated in the public and musical event on Monday, noted that the tribute “was something very beautiful, unforgettable, truly historic. “Charly deserves everything.”
With the support of the Argentine Consulate and the mayor of New York, the impulse of Mariano Cabrera, Argentine actor and director residing in the Big Apple. There a mini-concert was held by the group made up of Samalea, the bassist and keyboardist. Fabián Von Quintierosinger Hilda Lizarazu the keyboardist Alfi Martins and the Chileans Kiuge Hayashida on guitar and Toño Silva on drums, all members of different García bands, and who joined and also sang Josi García Moreno, sister of the artist.
“Charly is a metaphysician and the one who has generated this. He has not only captivated the souls of countless Latin Americans, but has also been celebrated by the mayor of New York itself,” said Samalea. The composer and instrumentalist considered that the New York activity “showed the immense gratitude that we all feel for Charly, who really transformed our lives and took us on a journey through the best fantasies with his songs and lyrics.
“He has that magic component, that unique personality that makes us all have always been captivated project after project and by how he reinvented himself in this case his wonderful reinvention at the hands of Modern Clicks”, review. “It was amazing to celebrate that album that one has known as an audience: I ended up in that same place having that possibility of recreate those beautiful songs with my colleagues. Although it is obvious and corny to say it, we will keep it to ourselves forever because it surprised us.”
At the show versions of emblematic pieces from the album such as “I’m not a stranger”, “Videotape eyes” and “The dinosaurs”, but, in addition, there were interpretations of “Fanky”, “Looking for a symbol of peace” and “Rap del exilio”. In a video uploaded to the official X account of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, the group and the large audience are seen sharing a version of the song “De mi”, which García recorded in Cheap philosophy and rubber shoes (1990) and that crowned another visit to the universe of the mentor of Sui Generis, since that passage began with “Collective Unconscious” (from Going from the bed to the living room1982).
Charlie’s message
The honoree, meanwhile, said he was “honored” that a corner of New York City has been named after him. “Feel honored by the invitation and because they have chosen me so that a corner bears my name. I don’t know many world-famous artists to whom this has happened no less than in a city like New York, a metropolis so important to me and where only there could the sound of Modern Clicks”, wrote the Argentine rock star in a letter sent by the Argentine consul, Santiago Villalba.
And he ends with a joke very much in his style: “I’m happy. Excited. I can’t wait to tell a taxi driver: Drop me off here on Walker St… and me.” Finally, Charly extended his gratitude “to everyone who achieved this.”
