Callejeros

Callejeros (streetwise or stray dogs) was[1] an Argentine rock band that gained international notoriety when the nightclub where they were playing, República Cromañon, was set on fire during one of its shows, killing 194 attendees, in 2004.

They were known initially as Río Verde ("Green River") and mostly played covers of Chuck Berry, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota.

In 2001 they recorded their first album, Sed ("Thirst"), in which they followed the rock format they had kept for years, but with the participation of sax player Juan Carbone, former member of Viejas Locas.

It premiered at the Atlanta football stadium in Buenos Aires and it included fourteen songs, ranging in style from tango, ballad, rhythms of candombe (black music from Uruguay) and Latin rock up to classic rock'n'roll.

Not long after the release of the album, the first single, Una nueva noche fría ("A New Cold Night"), was aired on radio and music TV stations during several months.

After playing at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium, known in Buenos Aires as the "temple of rock", in 2004, it seemed as if the band would reach far, because of its growth in popularity in such a short time.

During the show, someone in the audience lit a small firework that threw light balls up, which impacted a plastic fibre net that held the acoustical panels (made of foam rubber, to lower costs) and combustion began.

The band was investigated by the authorities regarding their responsibility in the tragedy, because it was well known that the audience frequently made use of pyrotechnic devices during their shows; though in this case Callejeros had asked them not to, to no avail.

On July 6, 2006, Callejeros appeared without prior announcement during a concert of the band Jóvenes Pordioseros, in El Teatro, a club in Flores, Buenos Aires.

The single off this album, Una nueva noche fría (Another cold night) received wide airplay on radio and music TV, from its release in August 2004 until the beginning of January 2005, when it was essentially boycotted due to the Cromagnon nightclub fire.

A picture of Patricio Rogelio Santos "Fontanet" on stage