Argentina’s Piero Antonio Franco dies at 81!
Buenos Aires, Oct 7 (EFE).-
Argentine singer-songwriter Piero, one of the great figures of Latin American popular music, died Wednesday at age 81 in Buenos Aires, according to friends and family of the renowned artist, who lived in Spain and Colombia.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Piero at the age of 81. His voice, his songs, and his message of peace will remain with us forever. His light will continue to shine in every corner where his music is heard,” his family and friends stated in a message posted on social media.
Piero Antonio Franco De Benedictis was born in Gallipoli, Italy, on Apr. 19, 1945, and at age three he arrived in Argentina with his mother and sister, following his father, who had settled in Banfield.
In 1951, he moved with his family to the city of Allen, in the southern Argentine province of Río Negro, where he began his musical career.
He entered the seminary but, in 1963, abandoned his training to become a priest and moved to Buenos Aires, where he made his debut as a singer in Jan. 1964 on the television program “Remates musicales.”
In 1968, Piero met composer José Tcherkaski. Together, they formed a duo that produced hit songs throughout the Americas and Europe, including “Mi Viejo” and “El Jardín de los Sueños.”
Following the military coup in Argentina in early 1976, Piero was forced into exile after releasing two of his most popular protest songs: “Para el pueblo lo que es del pueblo” and “Que se vayan ellos.”
In Spain, he purchased an abandoned windmill surrounded by a small estate near Madrid to live in.He then moved to Bogotá, beginning his close connection with Colombia, a country that granted him citizenship in 1994.
In late 1981, he returned to Buenos Aires and released the album Calor humano, which conveyed a message of inner peace, love, and solidarity.
He later founded the Buenas Ondas Foundation, which provides aid to children and adolescents. He stepped away from the stage to focus on this work.
In 2000, he resumed his career as a singer-songwriter. In 2001, he released the album Canciones blindadas and toured the United States and several Latin American countries. His tour drew an audience of nearly 150,000 people.
In 2008, Piero supported the march for victims of paramilitarism and state-sponsored crimes in Colombia.
During the 2010 election campaign, he campaigned for left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro. He did so again for the 2018 and 2022 elections, when Petro was finally elected president of Colombia.
He also campaigned for a “yes” vote in the referendum on the Peace Plan launched by then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018). EFE
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