Falsos Profetas

Falsos Profetas formed in the late 1990s in Villa del Parque, a working-class neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The original lineup included singer Matías "Chino" Martinez, guitarists Diego Arnedo and Luciano Scaglione, bassist Leandro "Lula" Lopatin, and drummer Gastón "Topo" Romano. They played small clubs for years before their 2002 debut album "Ama y Cambia" got some attention for mixing rock, punk, and reggae with socially conscious lyrics.

Their 2004 album "Víctimas del Cielo" brought mainstream success, largely on the strength of the single "Cinco Palabras." The song became an anthem across Latin America, a ballad about love and loss that connected with audiences despite, or perhaps because of, the band's reputation for lyrics that dealt plainly with drugs, poverty, and social injustice. Some found those lyrics too explicit, but the band defended them as reflections of their community's reality.

Martinez struggled with addiction and left the group in 2006 to seek treatment. Falsos Profetas continued with new singer Mariano "Manza" Manzelli and released several more albums, including "El Tiempo No Para" and "Fuego y Pasión," but the sound changed without their original frontman. Songs like "Al Despertar" and "Enero" kept their name in circulation, though they never quite matched the impact of their earlier work.