The Big Cat has died

Rolando Carpio, leader, writer and guitar player of Los Saicos, died in Lima, Peru, on January the 24th 2005. For many young people in our generation, who decided to grow up with rock'n'roll by the mid and late 80s, the music of Los Saicos was known through some Subterranean (punk) bands who made covers of their anthem "Demolición" and turned it into an affirmation of Anarchy and Revolution. And, on some more restricted level, through copies of copies of some original tape, which we listened to surrounded by friends in secret ceremonies which gave us back the original music of this band and opened our eyes to the Mistery: THIS was the wildest, darkest and unbeatable of all the covers of the song that we had previously heard.

Los Saicos were born as a band in the Lince district, in the mid-60's (64-66) Lima. It's a paradox that, though that Lima exists no more, this neighbourhood has survived the same: a Creole neighbourhood, with its inhabitants always willing to pick up an acoustic guitar in order to start a party, or willing to take the dust out of some old rock album. When we started our Sotano Beat fanzine, five years ago, we knew that Los Saicos were a legend and that nobody knew where they were, there were only rumours and memories. In the making of our third number, our dream became true: Rolando Carpio was in Lima and we could interview him! We discovered an adult, stable man, who was surprised of the interest that his band aroused in us, surprised of our nervous laughs and avid questions.

We met him briefly and we learned of his love for the music of Paul Anka and The Ventures, and we enjoyed his ironic, irreverent humour. We thought that the interviews we made to him and to Erwin Flores (singer and composer) would reveal the Saicos mistery: we were wrong. By the end of the 90's, thanks to Paul Hurtado de Mendoza and Iñigo Munster, through the Electro Harmonix label, the band's only 6 singles were reissued in Spain and distributed worldwide: a work made out of passion and recognition. There is many music in this world and many worlds under this sun. In Lima, Peru, Los Saicos have their own: a sometimes distant, always distinct, Lonely Star. Beat Column from Sotano Beat fanzine.