Brilliante Records

Superaquello

Superaquello are:

Eduardo Alegria vocals, guitar
Francis Perez guitar
Patricia Davila vocals
Pablo Santiago keyboards, programming
Jorge Castro bass

During the 80’s the local rock scene in Puerto Rico was dominated by cover bands and new wave acts so derivative, they didn’t even sing in their native language of Spanish. Not even the bands who wrote their own material bothered to write in Spanish. Back then there was a generalized notion that Spanish was just not a cool language to be used in the rock format. Appalled by this reality Eduardo Alegría and Francis Perez (who met at the University of Puerto Rico in 1987) became obsessed with proving the contrary. They forged a friendship that was fueled by the need for artistic creation and discussion, and soon realized the amazing potential of Spanish as the language to write their songs in. Even more exciting was the realization that what made material truly exciting was writing about the things that were close and real to them as young urban Puerto Rican men. Always contextualizing the material in their cultural reality and subjective circumstances and never taking themselves too seriously became the modus operandi. The ground was laid for the cultural event that superaquello would become a decade later.

During the 90’s Alegría transferred to New York City, where he focused on creating and producing his dance and theater works, while Francis concentrated on his studies in Psychology but kept performing his material in bands like INFAMIA ALL STAR and MU PSIQUI TA. It was during the summer of 1995 that Alegría traveled to Puerto Rico to participate in a young choreographers showcase where Patricia Dávila was also featured (Alegría had danced with Dávila in the same company between ‘91 and ‘92, before moving to New York). Alegría wanted to include one of his songs as part of his presentation and invited Dávila to sing a short riff of “la, la, la’s”. When he heard her voice he felt something move inside of him.

By 1997 Alegría had decided to leave New York and move back to Puerto Rico with Perez and Dávila. It was time to finish what they had started and in those first meetings when they heard the sounds they were producing, there was no doubt they had made the right choice.It was in this acoustic trio format that the songs began to take shape. Relying on Perez’s unique guitar styling, Alegría’s clever vocal direction, Dávila’s unmistakable and charismatic girlish tone and a bunch of odd and catchy tunes- the Superaquello sound was born.

In the summer of 1998, Perez’s previous band Mu Psiqui Ta had disbanded which allowed Superaquello to absorb some of its members, most notably Pablo Santiago, the band’s computer whiz and keyboardist. In Santiago’s home studio, superaquello began recording their coveted home demos which showcased a new electro-acoustic sound, which sent Alegría’s and Perez’s compositions soaring further into inner space. The Superaquello sound was complete.

Alegría started handing out copies of the demos to many friends and colleague’s in Old San Juan’s art circles. The demos caused uproar and word started spreading like a bushfire through the internet. By the time of their second concert, in the new quintet format, the band was shocked and delighted to find a nice full house which included fans singing along. The band had become an underground phenomenon. By 1999 Superaquello could count among their fans, Latin rock icons CAFETACUBA, ATERCIOPELADOS and GUSTAVO CERATI. The demos had reached way beyond Puerto Rico’s coasts.

Their first release, Mu Psiqui Ta, (titled honoring the previous band), was released by a local indie label. The label had intended to launch Super Aquello in the mainstream, but local radio stations and promoters were not ready to take a chance on the band, considering them too experimental. Still, thanks to the fans enthusiasm, a snowballing word of mouth effect and the band’s self produced weekly gig cycles, Mu Psiqui Ta, helped superaquello reach a much wider audience.

Currently the band is busy recording a series of EPs that will be released on their own label 3Tereque-Tech Records2 and available at www.superaquello.com�