LOS PINGUOS

Argentina has this power to make you feel “the joy of life”, the celebration of fun and liberty. And this is exactly what the music of the Los Pinguos makes you feel. The six musicians who live in America enchanted the audience with their “guitar touch” and their harmonizing voices.

We call it a double pleasure when you get the Latino music from Los Pinguos and a great dinner. This pleasure was offered to the guests of the Seehotel Baren on Sunday evening. Under the theme “Montreux meets Brienz”, the six musicians shared their good vibes and helped to create a great atmosphere in the restaurant.

With their tracks “Guajira”, “Camino Bueno” and “Vengo” the theme of a better world, life and love were sung. The style of Los Pinguos brought a “dream world” to the guests and a great feeling to all the staff who was having fun while working.

The selection of songs from Los Pinguos was a ride from their first album MAGIA until their last album CALIFORNIA, which is a way for them to thank their new “home”. The singer Adrian and his crew were demonstrating with their charm that they would love to repeat this experience. “We are here for the first time (in Europe) and here in Brienz …it’s a paradise. We really like it here and with this audience we’d love to come back,” said Adrian. “It was awesome, just great. And who knows, maybe next year we will see them again,” said Bernadette de Sousa from the hotel.
- Jungfrau Zeitung (Switzerland)

The Gryphon Theatre will host the lively and infectious Latin rhythms of Los Pinguos on April 5.
Natives of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the band’s moniker translates to mean The Penguins.
The group was named after one of the band members, who is from Patagonia, where the migratory sea birds arrive every spring.
Formed in 1999, the musicians were all friends. They began filling venues throughout town, and the word spread about their outstanding sound. They soon embarked on a musical journey, which would take them to Los Angeles.
While Los Pinguos was popular in Buenos Aires, a heightened success came after moving to California. And it was in 2001, while playing in Santa Monica, that they got their first big break.
“A guy came up to us with flyers about a show,” said Adrian Buono, lead singer, Spanish guitarist and spokesperson for the band.
The guy turned out to be a talent scout, and the new show was Ed McMahan’s, The Next Big Star, which followed on the heels of his Star Search hit. After winning audience affection as well as the most votes, Los Pinguos took home the grand prize.
Since then they have opened for Placido Domingo, Paul Anka and a number or other renowned artists.
Comprised of Buono, José Agote, Juan Manzur, Juan Manuel Leguizamón and Enzo Buono, the group has been gaining momentum. Next month, Los Pinguos will cross the ocean for the first time to perform in India.
With five albums to their credit, they have had their original music used in movies and television.
Their song El Morineto was used in the Antonio Banderas film, Imagining Argentina. Mi Manera De Amante was featured in the television series, The L Word.
Spanish guitars, a Cuban Tres, Peruvian cajón (box-drum) and harmonizing vocals, make the Los Pinguos sound not only interesting to hear, but a must to dance to.
“The thing that is unique about our band is the instruments we use and the way we use the vocals with harmonies. For me, the most important thing is the songs in any band. Beyond the style, it’s good lyrics that make a difference. It’s very happy music. We have nice songs with good melodies. A lot of the songs have a lot of energy, so you want to get up and dance,” noted Buono.
Also playing at Gryphon April 4 is Jasper Station by Norm Foster, a comedy about the lives of five lone travellers who are delayed en route to their destination.
To get into the Latin groove of Los Pinguos, and for all Gryphon Theatre shows, call the box office at 728-4613.




- THE BARRIE ADVANCE, Barrie, ON, Canada, March 27, 2008

June 5, 2008

CARLSBAD – Two bands, two shows mean only two chances to see groundbreaking players in California's Latin music scene perform for free. The Carlsbad City Library concert series begins Sunday with Latin alternative band Quetzal, followed by the energetic and passionate sounds of Los Pinguos on Aug. 17.

“These two groups blew me away,” said Jessica Padilla, community coordinator for the library. “Their music is so upbeat and really lively. They're perfect for the summer.”

Performances begin at 2 p.m., and tickets are given out at the door starting at 1 p.m. on the day of performances.

Los Pinguos

From the bustling metropolis of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to the crowded streets and clubs of Los Angeles, the members of Los Pinguos have worked hard to make their mark on the U.S. music scene. The five-member group, all in their 30s, have been friends since they were teenagers in Argentina.

“In Argentina we were like a big family of musicians and friends, and we shared different bands,” said Adrian Buono, the group's lead singer. In 1999 the current combination came together to form Los Pinguos.

Beginnings: Seven years ago the band moved to the United States, where it spent its first few months playing at L.A. clubs before landing a steady gig at Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade.

“That changed our life,” Buono said. “We were so short with money and really had to struggle, but at the Promenade people loved it. We sold so many CDs and everything changed.” It was at one of those performances that a talent scout invited them to participate in the nationwide talent competition, Ed McMahon's “The Next Big Star.”

Los Pinguos was the only Latin band to perform, and after making it to the finals in Las Vegas, it secured the audience vote and won the contest. Its music has appeared on “The Shield,” “The L Word,” and is featured in “Imagining Argentina,” starring Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson.

Sound: Los Pinguos combines Latin rhythms with rock, reggae and gypsy styles using Spanish guitars, a Cuban tres, Peruvian cajón (box-drum) and harmonizing vocal. “There are songs with different rhythms but the sound is really what is unique,” Buono said.

Jose Agote writes most of the songs for the band. Also important is the energy that the members of the L.A.-based band convey to the crowd, said Buono.

“The music is so happy and energetic,” he said. “At our shows all the people dance and they love the rhythm and sound.”

Future: The members of Los Pinguos are touring and are also working on their seventh album.

“Next is the world,” Buono said. “We really want to go to Europe and I think because of our sound they're going to love us. We want to keep playing, keep recording music and have our music known everywhere in the world.”

Leah Masterson: (760) 752-6754; leah.masterson@tlnews.net
- San Diego Union Tribune

During the last few years, the world music label Putumayo Records have produced many events on the island to demonstrate the musical compositions that characterize them and with which they help hundreds of artists all around the world.

But today and tomorrow, for the first time, Putumayo will introduce live one of the bands who participated in one of their recent releases, “Radio Latino”, with presentations in Bamboobei, Piniones and tomorrow in Isabela.

We are talking about the Argentine band Los Pinguos, consisting of Adrian Buono, Jose Agote, Juan Manzur, Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Santiago Lee, who gave the song “Cielo Escarlata” to the CD. The musical richness of the band, who has an interesting fusion of Spanish guitars, Cuban Tres guitar, bass and Peruvian cajon fit perfectly into Putumayo's concept.

Los Pinguos, whose name is a slang word for Penguins, spent the last six years working in Los Angeles. Although in LA they started playing in the streets (where they sold 40,000 copies of their CDs) to become, four years ago, the winners of “The Next Big Star” show, which opened many doors in their careers. “I believe that gave us the reason and trust to go on. At that moment, those kind of shows (i.e. talent search) were not in style like they are now. For us it was like a game to compete” said Leguizamon.

The live presentations are the band's strength, especially because of their energy. The band has two configurations; one more electric in which eleven members participate and the other, acoustic, composed of the founding quintet. The last formation is what they are going to present tonight in Bamboobie, Piniones and tomorrow in El Parador Villa del Mar Hau, in Montes de Isabella beach, both starting at 8pm.

Besides Los Pinguos, they will also be featuring DJ Carol of SiSe and DJ Iohann Rashi.
- El Nuevo Dia, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 3, 2006

By Kirsten Laskey

Los Pinguos brought their music to Los Alamos three years ago, making the Trinity Beverage Company explode with their Argentine tango, salsa, and mambo music. So much dynamite powered the performance that Los Alamos Summer Concert Series producer Russ Gordon has been working to get the band to return.
He succeeded. Friday, the band will once again entertain the crowds of Los Alamos starting at 7 p.m. at 15th Street and Central Avenue.
Gordon is not the only one pleased with the band’s return. Adrian Buono, lead singer, described their last concert in Los Alamos as “the best show we’ve had because of the people.”
“They treat us very good,” he said, “A lot of people come, enjoy and dance.”
According, to the band’s website, www.lospinguos.com, they are originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. They feature a mixture of Latin rhythms performed on Spanish guitars, a Cuban Tres, Peruvian cajón or drum box and harmonizing vocals.
“(It’s) great dance music with a rock ‘n’ roll influence,” Gordon said. “(It’s) high energy. They’re tremendous.”
He continued to say Los Pinguos’ music is “sexy, politically charged at times with a lot of Argentine folk music to it.”
“People who can whistle should come,” Gordon said.
Buono described living in Los Angeles as being a major influence on their music. He explained because the city has so many different cultures, it has a great impact on music.
It is their sound and music, which has gained the Los Pinguos access to local bars and clubs in Los Angles, a performance for the cast and crew of the ABC show “Dharma and Greg” and a victory on the TV show, “Next Big Star,” the band’s website reports.
They also performed at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
“For me,” Buono said, “the kind of music and sound we have, it’s what people like because it’s unique.”
It doesn’t matter if people don’t understand the language that the songs are sung in; he said, “The energy and sound is what it’s all about.”
Looking back at the performers who have appeared in this year’s concerts, Gordon said, “I’m very pleased with the acts that have come. I think it’s been the best series yet.”
Gordon encourages people to come out and see Los Pinguos. “You don’t have to be a tango dancer or a salsa dancer or a ballroom dancer, but that will add to the fun; everyone will have a great time.”

- Get Ready to Dance & Whistle

A SPLASH ON THE STREET
With their heady sound, Los Pinguos are building a devoted following
by Maria Elena Fernandez, March 6, 2003

If you can stop dancing long enough to listen to the festive, provocative rhythms of Los Pinguos, you might hear a little salsa or a bit of cumbia, a flamenco riff here, a reggae beat there. You might even catch a samba note in the mix topped by a little rock. You just won't be able to pinpoint a musical category.

"These guys are the South American version of the Beatles," says die-hard Third Street Promenade fan Saul Vesecky, known as "Mr. Vengo" for the poster he carries naming his favorite Los Pinguos single, "Vengo." "They're like the Gipsy Kings!" says another spectator who would rather not give his name on this sunny Saturday afternoon. "Hmm, not exactly. The Latin Gipsy Kings? Can we say that?"

Sure, you could. But it would never cover the breadth of the band's work because this eclectic Argentine group of primarily acoustic musicians and singers is not a typical Latin band or a traditional flamenco ensemble; neither folksy nor fusion. They are all of that.

"We like to describe them as a hot Argentine folk groove band," says Carlos Niño, a manager at Temple Bar in Santa Monica, where the band has a monthly gig. "It's not 100% traditional, but it's more traditional than a fusion band. Their scene is a vibrant, sophisticated crowd but not chichi, Conga Room lame. It's more vibey." And highly popular.

Only in Los Angeles for two years, Los Pinguos (a derivative of "penguins," the band invented the word, unaware that it can be a vulgar word in other Latin American countries) are on the local music scene's fast track, playing gigs at the Latin Lounge, the Key Club, the Knitting Factory Hollywood, Temple Bar, King King, Studio 7 and Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Last year, Los Pinguos was the champion of Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star" talent competition, and the band's two independently recorded albums have sold a total of 12,000 copies. "For an independent group that arrived here with nothing but our dreams, it has worked out pretty well for us," says bass guitarist Enzo Buono, 33. "The five of us had to settle down in L.A. and look for places to play our music, but we've been able to always live off our own songs. Of course, there's a lot more we want to do now."

The five Buenos Aires natives formed the group in Argentina four years ago, after years of studying music and playing in different bands. Chasing their dream to become international musical stars, this summer Los Pinguos -- twin brothers Enzo and Adrian Buono, Jose Agote, Juan Manuel Leguizamón and Juan Manzur -- will release its third independently produced and distributed album, "Serenata."

"We are primarily an acoustic set," says eye-catching percussionist Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 32, who sits on top of his wooden Peruvian box to drum on it. "Our essence is the nylon guitars and the wooden box, and in the beginning we played a lot of rumba and flamenco mixed with some Latin music and Argentine rock. But we've been experimenting and growing outside of that with reggae, cumbia, Cuban rhythms and even boleros," or ballads.

The Latin Lounge in West Hollywood was the group's first club gig here and introduction to the entertainment industry, which resulted in performances at a season finale party for the ABC sitcom "Dharma & Greg" and the Ritmo Latino awards at the Shrine Auditorium.

But no job has been more fruitful -- and nowhere are Los Pinguos more beloved -- than on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. "Playing at promenade has led to everything else," says bandleader Adrian Buono, 33. "We've met so many people there, from producers to musicians to people who want to hire us or work with us. It's probably been the most important thing we've done in terms of advancement."

On the promenade on weekends, they are a familiar sight. From the dozens of regular fans who come out to support them to the casual passersby, Los Pinguos definitely has a following that crosses most boundaries -- race, age, gender and even celebrity. Cindy Crawford and ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland have posed for pictures. One homeless woman regularly gives them orange juice, soup or dessert. And devoted fan Jeff Roth, with his lawn chair and intimate knowledge of their music, frequently is mistaken for their manager.

"I bring them water and I just sit here and enjoy," says Roth, 53, of Hollywood, who has been following them for 18 months. "Their music is so upbeat, and I learn the words and learn some Spanish."

For the band members, relative newcomers to the area, the promenade serves as both a window to opportunity and a bridge to a new culture. "We've been able to have regular contact with the people of L.A. and feel the vibe of what it really means to live here," says Enzo Buono. "It's the most realistic stage on which we play," adds Leguizamón, who also plays the harmonica and the tambourine. "The people who listen to us there are people who are there coincidentally. It's more spontaneous and therefore more real than a carefully produced show."

The band took the last six weeks off to travel to Argentina and compose "Serenata," a romantic, melancholy collection written mostly by Agote, 32, who plays the Spanish guitar and is the group's lead singer.

The past year took a tragic turn for the band when Agote's girlfriend, Veronica Glaubach, died after giving birth to their daughter Indiana. "That was a definite marker in the history of our band," says Enzo Buono. "That baby girl is our baby girl. It changed all of our lives."

Indeed, it is a tender sight: these five men, their instruments and the baby they adore. She accompanies them to practice and to their gigs, and smiles widely when she hears her father's melodic voice. The men take turns playing with her, and understand when Agote excuses himself from a rehearsal to feed her and put her to sleep.

"You'll be able to detect everything we've been through in these new songs," Enzo Buono said. "They are melancholic but they're also hopeful."

Looking toward the future, Los Pinguos is expanding. For larger stage performances -- such as their monthly gig at Temple Bar and their new Wednesday night at Zabumba -- they have added drummer Nicolas Raiman, trumpet player Luis Erik Gonzalez, trombonist Francisco Torres and Nahuel Conte, another percussionist.

The group of longtime friends, who behave like brothers, wants everything the city of dreams offers.

"A recording contract with a major label so we can cross over into this market," says Enzo Buono.

"We want to travel all over the world with our music," says acoustic guitarist Manzur, 33. "And break down boundaries," adds Adrian Buono.

"And win a Grammy!" says Leguizamón.

"And," says Agote, "never stop dreaming." - Los Angeles Times