Background
Mauricio Birabent was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. The son of an engineer, he enrolled at the Otto Krause Technical School.
Mauricio Birabent was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. The son of an engineer, he enrolled at the Otto Krause Technical School.
He took guitar lessons at age 12 and, in subsequent years, began frequenting local piano bars and jazz clubs. He maintained his musical interests, however, and, in 1965, began performing at Louisiana Cueva, a Balvanera-neighborhood disco. Birabent relocated to seaside Villa Gesell in early 1966 and opened the Juan Sebastián Bar, where he formed Los Beatniks.
Los Beatniks obtained a Columbia Broadcasting System recording contract for their single, Rebelde, within months of their formation.
The release of the single coincided, however, with the overthrow of the moderate President Arturo Illia and his replacement with the repressive General Juan Carlos Onganía, who, upon learning that the album"s insert contained shirtless photos of the band, had the release immediately banned, and the group soon disbanded. He continued composing and performing, and though he struggled, his single, Ayer nomás (Only Yesterday) was made into a local hit by Los Gatos.
His second album, Ciudad de guitarras callejeras (City of Street Guitars, 1973) was a departure from his earlier, folk rock style, and drew more from the Argentine tango. Th worsening political and economic climate in Argentina led Birabent to leave for Spain in 1977.
There, he recorded Fiebre de Vivir (A Fever for Living), whose 1979 release included his version of Carl Perkins" rockabilly standard, Blue Suede Shoes, and his hit single, Sábado a la noche (Saturday Night).
Its success prompted him to return for an April 1980 concert at Buenos Aires" Obras Stadium. Birabent returned to Argentina for debut concerts for each of his subsequent albums, though his popularity gradually declined. His 1995 release, Sur y después (South, and then), was notable for its being recorded in Buenos Aires and performed in the Cervantes Theatre with the Argentine National Symphony Orchestra.