Sandro was born in
Buenos Aires to Irma Nydia Ocampo and Vicente Sánchez in 1945. He was raised in the southern suburb of
Valentín Alsina, and learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as
Romani. His paternal grandfather was a
Russian Rom from Hungary – Roma are known in Argentina as
Gitanos (
Gypsies). Initially, in his schooldays, he imitated
Elvis Presley, but went on to create a personal style that marked his career and became a pioneer in Spanish-language rock music. On November 10, 1971, he finally was able to see Presley live, at the Boston Garden, during a tour he did of that city. In 1961, he started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego, which gained popularity on the TV show
Sábados Circulares, and became widely known in the 1960s. With songs such as "Ave de Paso", "Atmósfera Pesada", "Quiero Llenarme de Ti", "Tengo", "¿A esto le llamas amor?", "Eres el demonio disfrazado" (cover of "
(You're the) Devil in Disguise"), "Porque yo te amo", "Penumbras", "Una muchacha y una guitarra", "Trigal" or "Rosa, Rosa", success of his career kept growing steadily. Sandro also had the leading role in 11 films, including
Quiero llenarme de ti ("I Want to Fill Myself with You" – 1969) and
Subí que te llevo ("Hop On, I'll Give You a Ride" – 1980), and directed one feature,
Tú me enloqueces ("You Drive Me Crazy"), in 1976. His co-star in the latter film, Argentine actress
Susana Giménez, was offered a TV variety show after he refused to host it; Giménez's show, named
Hola Susana, would become a ratings leader shortly after its 1987 launch. He also starred in two soap operas, notably
Fue sin Querer ("I Didn't Mean To"), with Puerto Rican actress
Gladys Rodríguez. Sandro was the first Latino singer to sell out the Felt Forum at
Madison Square Garden in New York City (its top capacity being 5,000) five times during the 1970s. He also appeared a couple of times on
The Ed Sullivan Show, as well as with
Domenico Modugno,
The Doors and many others. Sandro's songs have been recorded by international artists such as
Shirley Bassey,
Liza Minnelli,
Burt Bacharach,
Dalida,
Shirley MacLaine,
Toto Cutugno,
Nancy Wilson,
Mary Hopkin,
Loredana Bertè,
Umberto Tozzi,
Gilbert Bécaud,
Milva,
Julio Iglesias,
José Luis Rodríguez and
Engelbert Humperdinck. Argentine and other Latin American artists released an album in 1990 called
Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor. Sandro continued releasing studio albums in the early 1990s and reappeared on stage in 1993 with a new show, that was presented at
Teatro Gran Rex, a prestigious popular music venue in Buenos Aires, performing 18 attendance-record-breaking consecutive concerts. The news that he suffered from
emphysema was made public in 1998, causing a great generalized concern among his followers from around the world. Sandro had been a self declared longtime cigarette smoking addict, which undoubtedly was the main cause of the disease. == Health and death ==