Álvaro Peña-Rojas

Álvaro Peña-Rojas (September 7, 1943 – January 8, 2026) was a Chilean singer-songwriter, and a pioneer of punk rock in Chile. While he was not an award winning musician with large tours, he has established a cult status.^[1][2]

Peña-Rojas was born in Valparaíso.^[3][4] He attended The Mackay School.^[1] He had saxophone lessons^[1] and was self-taught on the piano.^[5] His first performance was in 1962 playing saxophone.^[6] He played rock and roll, mambo, and bebop to punk and experimental music.^[7] Some of the early bands he played with were Los Dandys, Los Challengers, and Los Bumerangs.^[1] With Challengers and Bumerangs he had three singles released between 1965 and 1967.^[1] He then played for the Casino Orchestra where he became proficient in Latin rhythms.^[1]

Peña-Rojas opted for a different career once he became a husband and father.^[1] He became a creative copywriter at J. Walter Thompson.^[6]

He was already in London when the 1973 Chilean coup d'état happened and he decided to remain in England as a refugee.^[1] In 1974 he became one of the founding members of The 101ers, a rockabilly band.^[1] The band included Joe Strummer who later co-founded The Clash.^[3] Peña-Rojas played tenor saxophone in the band.^[7] The association helped him to develop a connection to the punk subculture.^[1]

His first solo album was made in 1977.^[1] The album included the song "Valparaíso" about the places he left behind.^[1] He self-produced many recordings during his career^[5] under his Squeaky Shoes label. His discography contains LPs, EPs, and limited-edition singles.^[1] He sold many of the recordings at his concerts rather than at a retailer.^[1] He also changed the covers frequently, even drawing some himself.^[1] All of that makes it difficult to have a complete discography.^[1]