Fito Páez is an Argentine pop rock legend and filmmaker who has released almost 30 albums since 1984.
Fito Páez in New York City
APRIL
The Greene Space
Fito Páez, introduces his new album “Novela” for The Grammy Museum at The Greene Space in Hudson Square, Manhattan; on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 7:30pm. grammymuseum.org 🇦🇷
New York City Venues
- Carnegie Hall
- Greene Space
- Irving Plaza
- Radio City Music Hall
Fito Páez
Fito Páez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina in 1963. He’s not the first generation of Argentine rockers, but is among the most loved, partly because over 29 albums (as of 2025), he just keeps making great music. He’s handsome in very Argentine bohemian way, and has a distinctive voice. When you hear him sing, you know it’s Fito. He has always had a bit of a metaphysical tone to his writing.
Páez started rocking in the late 1970s and released his first solo album in 1984. His second album “Giros” (1985) was really popular in Argentina. “11 y 6” was a hit, but my favorite song is his “Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazón” which was famously covered by Indigenous Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa. I used that song to seduce my wife because it describes the kind of love you dream of having ~ even though you know how much work it is to love someone completely. It says that we are going to change our house so we never have to change it again. You can hear Argentine gaucho rhythms in the song.
“El Amor Después del Amor” (1992) is perhaps Fito’s most classic album. It made him a superstar. He is always playing with the up and down cycles of life. He is a natural magical realist. That may be because the Rosario of his youth was a small town. Small town Latin life is very attached to folk spirituality. Both good and bad experiences are often attributed to spirits. It’s how common people make sense of life.
Albums
“Novela” (Novel, 2025) is a semi-autobiographical psychedelic rock opera set in a magical circus world. In the tradition of the Beatle’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” the Who’s “Tommy,” and maybe “Harry Potter,” Páez takes his audience on a cinematic journey through a strange world.
The opera is assembled from 25 unreleased songs. He started writing it in 1988, but only finished in 2025. The story is set in a school for witchcraft far out in a rather surreal universe. He introduces various school characters including headmaster Rectitud Martirius and mischievous star students Maldivina and Turbialuz. As punishment for their mischief, Martirius gives the students the assignment of creating a perfect love somewhere far away.
Then we meet the main characters, lovers Loka (sounds like Spanish for crazy) and Jimmy who is a rocker in Santa Fe, Argentina. Things start happening at a circus owned by Loka’s father Jok. Between the school for witches, a strange universe, and an Argentine circus, lots of strangely wonderful things happen.
Artists are contemporary witches who create things from nothing as if by magic. People admire artists, but most have no idea of the storm that continuously blows through our minds. Páez has been touring for so long that he has probably seen almost everything on the road, especially in Latin America where he is most popular. Latin life is often a bit surreal.
“Novela” comes out in interesting times. Over more than a decade of covering Latin culture, I have noticed that great art is often released as if it was planned for the moment. It’s pure chance because most projects take years to produce. When Fito started his rock opera in 1988, he couldn’t possibly have known that he would release it as Argentina and the entire world devolved into a surreal circus. But that’s the magic of great artists and great art.
Whether the world is right side up or upside down, Fito always returns to the idea that love is the answer. That’s the magic of “Novela” and what makes it great music for our time. After all these years, Páez is still coming to offer you his heart.
Information
- Instagram @fitopaezmusica
- Facebook @fitopaez
- X @FitoPaezMusica
- YouTube @FitoPaezVEVO