Les Luthiers was an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish-speaking countries including Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica and Venezuela. They were formed in 1967 by Gerardo Masana, during the height of a period of very intense choral music activity in Argentina's state universities. Their outstanding characteristic is the home-made musical instruments (hence the name luthiers, French for "musical instrument maker"), some of them extremely sophisticated, which they skillfully employ in their recitals to produce music and texts full of high class and refined humor. From 1977 until his death in 2007, they worked with Roberto Fontanarrosa, a renowned Argentine cartoonist and writer.
Background The group emerged from members of the university classical choir I Musicisti. Initially a quartet (Masana, Maronna, Mundstock, and Rabinovich), they became a quintet with the addition of Carlos Núñez Cortés, then a septet with Carlos López Puccio in 1969 and Ernesto Acher in 1971. After Masana's death in 1973, they continued as a sextet, and following Acher's departure in 1986, they stabilized as a quintet—López Puccio, Núñez Cortés, Maronna, Mundstock, and Rabinovich—for 29 years until Rabinovich's death in 2015. Since 2000, Horacio "Tato" Turano and, from 2012, Martín O'Connor joined as substitute Luthiers. After Rabinovich's death, Roberto Antier (previously tested in 2010) and Tomás Mayer Wolf were hired as replacements, with Turano and O’Connor becoming full members. With Núñez Cortés's retirement in September 2017, Mayer Wolf became a full member, maintaining a six-member lineup. Due to health issues, Mundstock stepped away, and Antier joined as a full member, with Santiago Otero Ramos and Pablo Rabinovich hired as stable substitutes. This lineup, known as Les Luthiers Elenco 2019, persisted until 2023.
The group received numerous accolades, including a special mention at the Konex Awards, the Latin Grammy Special Award for Musical Excellence (United States, 2011), and the Order of Isabella the Catholic for their career (Spain, 2007). They were named illustrious citizens of Buenos Aires and honored guests in many Latin American cities. In 2012, Spain granted them Spanish citizenship by letter of nature, a special recognition for individuals of exceptional merit."extracted from the official Les Luthiers website – visited March 24, 2013" (in Spanish). In 2017, they won the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, marking their 50th anniversary.
Members
First Formation (1967–1969)
Gerardo Masana: founder, luthier, strings, winds, voice, and metal. Marcos Mundstock: presenter, winds, voice. Jorge Maronna: strings, voice. Daniel Rabinovich: guitar, winds, Latin, alt-pipe, bass-pipe, percussion, voice.
Second Formation (1969–1971)
Gerardo Masana: founder, luthier, strings, winds, voice, and metal. Marcos Mundstock: presenter, winds, voice. Jorge Maronna: strings, voice. Carlos Núñez Cortés: keyboards, winds, voice. Carlos López Puccio: violin, violata, piano, voice. Daniel Rabinovich: guitar, winds, Latin, alt-pipe, bass-pipe, percussion, voice.
Third Formation (1971–1973)
Gerardo Masana (died November 23, 1973). Marcos Mundstock (temporarily left in 1971). Jorge Maronna: strings, voice. Carlos López Puccio: Latin, keyboards, percussion, voice. Carlos Núñez Cortés: keyboards, winds, voice. Ernesto Acher: winds, keyboards, voice (initially a substitute for Mundstock, later a permanent member). Daniel Rabinovich: guitar, winds, Latin, alt-pipe, bass-pipe, percussion, voice. Fourth Formation (1973–1986)
Marcos Mundstock. Jorge Maronna: strings, voice. Carlos López Puccio: Latin, keyboards, percussion, voice. Carlos Núñez Cortés: keyboards, winds, voice. Ernesto Acher (left in late September 1986). Daniel Rabinovich: guitar, winds, Latin, alt-pipe, bass-pipe, percussion, voice. Fifth Formation (1986–2015)
Marcos Mundstock Jorge Maronna Carlos López Puccio Carlos Núñez Cortés Daniel Rabinovich (took medical leave in 2015; died August 21, 2015) Sixth Formation (2015–2017)
Marcos Mundstock Jorge Maronna Carlos López Puccio Carlos Núñez Cortés (retired September 24, 2017, after the group's 50th anniversary) Horacio "Tato" Turano Martín O'Connor Seventh Formation (2017–2019)
Marcos Mundstock Jorge Maronna Carlos López Puccio Horacio "Tato" Turano Martín O'Connor Tomás Mayer Wolf Eighth Formation "Elenco 2019" (2019–2023)
Jorge Maronna Carlos López Puccio Horacio "Tato" Turano Martín O'Connor Tomás Mayer Wolf Roberto Antier
Beginnings
During the 1960s, nearly every faculty in Argentine universities had its own musical choir. Some members began meeting outside rehearsals to create musical jokes for fun, which they later performed as humorous interludes at inter-choral festivals throughout the academic year.
In September 1965, the VI University Choir Festival took place in San Miguel de Tucumán, Publication at alternative website. located in Northwest Argentina. A group of young university students presented a humorous musical performance they had long prepared, featuring a novel orchestral ensemble of instruments they invented and built from simple materials. They staged a parody of a concert, with a soloist, a small choir, and these unconventional instruments.
The centerpiece was Cantata Modatón, composed by Gerardo Masana, a member of the Faculty of Engineering choir at the University of Buenos Aires. Masana, alongside Buenos Aires luthier and musician Carlos Iraldi, invented most of these "informal instruments." The music parodied Baroque cantatas, drawing inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, while the lyrics were sourced from a popular laxative's prospectus. Later renamed Cantata Laxatón to avoid issues with the laxative's manufacturer, the performance was a resounding success, praised for its originality, humor, and precision by attendees and critics in music publications.
Shortly after, the group unexpectedly received a contract to repeat the Tucumán show at a renowned avant-garde venue in Buenos Aires. Performing as I Musicisti, they again achieved great success. They were then invited by the Di Tella Institute of Arts, Buenos Aires’ premier center for theater, music, and visual arts studies, known globally as a "temple of artistic vanguard." Their show, IMYLOH (short for ), was another triumph.
Artistic development
In 1967, internal disputes over compensation led to the dissolution of I Musicisti. Key members—Gerardo Masana, Marcos Mundstock, Jorge Maronna, and Daniel Rabinovich—continued under the name Les Luthiers, joined by Carlos Núñez Cortés, while I Musicisti soon disbanded without its instruments or main writers. Around this time, Les Luthiers’ compositions began appearing in theater soundtracks and short films like Angelito el secuestrado by .
The group performed in theaters and café-concerts. In 1969, they hired Rosario native Carlos López Puccio as a violinist, and in 1971, Ernesto Acher joined, initially replacing Mundstock before becoming a permanent member. Early shows included:
Les Luthiers cuentan la ópera (1967) Blancanieves y los siete pecados capitales (1969) Querida condesa (1969) (1971)
They also appeared on television in with prominent comedians and in Los mejores, performing exclusive recitals. This period marked successful seasons in Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata.
On November 23, 1973, the group lost its founder, Gerardo Masana, to leukemia at age 36. His absence strained member relations, leading them to undertake institutional therapy with psychoanalyst Fernando Ulloa for 17 years.
After nine years in Argentina, they began international tours in 1977, producing a new show every two to three years. Early tours visited Uruguay and Venezuela, followed by Spain. By the late 1970s, they performed in Mexico City, including at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
In 1985, they received a Special Mention at the Konex Awards for their significant contribution to Argentine popular music, one of the highest honors from the Konex Foundation.
In 1986, a landmark performance at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón and their debut in Colombia’s Teatro Colón coincided with Ernesto Acher’s departure on August 28 due to internal differences, reducing the group to five members until 2015, when substitutes became more regular.
In 1994, Daniel Rabinovich’s heart issues led to Argentine comedian Horacio Fontova temporarily joining until Rabinovich recovered.
Since 1970, their shows followed a format of comic pieces introduced by Marcos Mundstock with a description or fictional composer biography, followed by a performance. However, four later shows—Los Premios Mastropiero (2005), Lutherapia (2008), the anthology Viejos hazmerreíres (2014), and Más tropiezos de Mastropiero (2022)—deviated, weaving pieces into narratives like an awards ceremony, a therapy session, a radio broadcast, and a TV interview.
Three books have been written about the group. The first, published in 1991 by Colombian journalist Daniel Samper Pizano, is titled Les Luthiers from L to S. The second, released in 2004, was authored by Sebastián Masana, son of the group's founder Gerardo Masana, and is called Gerardo Masana and the Founding of Les Luthiers. The third, written by group member Carlos Núñez Cortés, is titled Mastropiero's Games, offering an in-depth analysis of the various humor techniques employed by Les Luthiers.
In 2007, marking their 40th anniversary, the Buenos Aires legislature unanimously declared them Illustrious Citizens. Additionally, the Spanish government awarded Les Luthiers the Encomienda de Número of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Spain's highest honor for foreigners, granting the musicians the title of "Illustrious Lords.”
On November 18, 2007, Les Luthiers celebrated their 40th anniversary with a free concert titled Cuarenta años de trayectoria at San Benito Park, located at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and La Pampa avenues in Buenos Aires. The event drew over 120,000 spectators.
In 2008, Daniel Rabinovich, Marcos Mundstock, Carlos Núñez Cortés, Jorge Maronna, and Carlos López Puccio provided the Spanish dubbed voices for the pigeon characters in Disney's animated film Bolt.
On September 7, 2012, the Spanish government granted Spanish nationality to Carlos López Puccio, Marcos Mundstock, and Daniel Rabinovich.
On October 20, 2017, they were awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.
Final years (2015–2023) Daniel Rabinovich’s death in 2015 was a significant blow, shifting the quintet to a sextet with Horacio "Tato" Turano and Martín O’Connor becoming full members, splitting Rabinovich's musical (Turano) and acting (O’Connor) roles. Roberto Antier and Tomás Mayer Wolf joined as substitutes.
In late 2017, Carlos Núñez Cortés retired, stating in an interview: "This is a personal decision tied to my desire for a well-deserved rest after 50 uninterrupted years on stage, but I'll remain connected to the group, which has been a huge part of my life and I hope will continue to be.” Mayer Wolf became a full member, filling Núñez Cortés's roles.
Health issues forced Marcos Mundstock offstage in 2019, with Antier replacing him during tours of Viejos Hazmerreíres and Gran Reserva into 2020. Santiago Otero Ramos and Pablo Rabinovich joined as substitutes/alternates.
In November 2019, the podcast La Hora de la Nostalgia began releasing episodes detailing the group's history with archival material, featuring Carlos Núñez Cortés.
The Viejos Hazmerreíres tour in Spain was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mundstock died in April 2020, and a new show in development was postponed.