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Artist
Gato Pérez
12+ albums
rumbaspanishrumba catalanamestizoventilador
about
Xavier Patricio Pérez Álvarez (Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 11, 1951-Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain, October 18, 1990) artistically known as Gato Pérez, was an Argentine musician established in Catalonia, who stood out especially in the musical genre of the Catalan rumba that he fused with salsa. He was a singer, composer, and played both the guitar and bass. Gato Pérez was delivered via a caesarean birth in Buenos Aires and spent his formative years in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. He attended a bilingual school that catered to the children of the industrial and financial bourgeoisie of Buenos Aires, a group which he absolutely despised. Pérez's early exposure to music was with his grandfather, with whom he listened to the radio and the popular serials of the sixties. It was through the radio that Pérez was introduced to the revolutionary sounds of Bill Haley and His Comets, which had a profound impact on him. Pérez's first public performance was at his English school's prom, where he played songs that were popular at the time such as "Claudette" and "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers. Argentina experienced an earlier influx of rock and roll music than Spain, and Argentine musicians, including Pérez, were quick to master the genre and ignite the stage with their performances. This early experience would prove crucial, as the same Argentine musicians were instrumental in introducing fresh and distinctively Hispanic rock music during Spain's Trans
