Carlos 'Indio' Solari, a legend of Argentina's rock scene, dies at 77

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Carlos Alberto Solari, the Argentine singer-songwriter known as “the Indio” who led Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, one of the country's most popular and influential rock groups, died Friday. He was 77.

Solari, who had struggled with Parkinson’s disease for at least a decade, was found dead near an indoor pool at his house in the provincial town of Ituzaingó, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, authorities said, without identifying a cause of death.

His family confirmed his death on social media, saying they would hold a public funeral to allow people to bid farewell to the rock legend. Fans began gathering at his home, with some bearing flowers and wearing T-shirts printed with his nickname. Crowds filled a large plaza in downtown Buenos Aires to mourn, commune and sing Solari's hit songs. People wept. Strangers hugged.

Eros Ruarte, 19, said he woke up Friday to his mother breaking the bad news.

“'I said, no, mom, you can't say that.' I couldn't believe it, that the Indio had died. ... He is the biggest idol in the world. I grew up listening to him," he said from the impromptu wake. “I heard his songs from my mom, my uncle.”

As the lead singer of Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota — known more simply as “Los Redondos” — Solari became a countercultural icon for disaffected Argentines coming of age as their country transitioned from a bloody military dictatorship to a democracy characterized by newfound freedoms but also instability and hyperinflation in the 1980s.

During the consumerist frenzy that gripped Argentina the 1990s, under the free-market policies of then-President Carlos Saul Menem, Solari's classic rock anthems, punchy dance tunes and cryptic lyrics gave voice to a spirit of rebellion against the excesses of capitalism and influences of foreign powers. Los Redondos released 10 studio albums, eschewing major record labels to maintain artistic independence.

The band broke up in 2001, but Solari found continued success as a solo artist, releasing five more albums under his own name that mixed mainstream rock and electronic influences and drawing hundreds of thousands of fans to parks and stadiums across Argentina.

At a massive concert in 2016, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “Mr. Parkinson is nipping at my heels. But here I am,” he said. The crowd went wild. He later retired from touring, speaking candidly in interviews about the debilitating effects of the disease.

Tributes poured in from politicians, artists and soccer stars across the country.

The Argentine Soccer Association said Solari's voice “became a popular rallying cry” and “echoed in the stands” of the soccer-crazed country.

The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, a prominent activist group which sought to find relatives who had been killed or “disappeared” by the 1976-83 dictatorship, said the singer “inspired society as a whole to doubt, to question and to think critically.”

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina's former president who is serving a corruption sentence under house arrest, posted one of his famous lyrics on social media, popularized as a call to live courageously: “Just living costs you your life.”

Solari is survived by his wife, Virginia Mones Ruiz, and 25-year-old son Bruno.

People gather to remember Carlos Alberto Solari, the Argentine singer-songwriter known as "the Indio" who led Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, on the day of his death, at Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

People gather near a drawing depicting Carlos Alberto Solari, the Argentine singer-songwriter known as "the Indio" who led Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, on the day of his death, at Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

People gather to remember Carlos Alberto Solari, the Argentine singer-songwriter known as "the Indio" who led Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, on the day of his death, at Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

A person lights a candle near a picture of Carlos Alberto Solari, the Argentine singer-songwriter known as "the Indio" who led Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, on the day of his death, at Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

FILE - Argentine singer Indio Solari performs in Olavarria, Argentina, March 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Hernan Leonardi, File)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark's government was cautiously optimistic on Saturday about Donald Trump's announcement of a deal on Greenland to bolster U.S. military presence there but keep the island under Danish control, following months of threats by the U.S. president to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

In Greenland, the Arctic island's top leaders echoed that stance and said the deal had been long in coming.

Trump said on Friday that the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”

Denmark and the U.S. already have a long-standing security agreement that has allowed the U.S. to deploy forces in Greenland and it was not immediately clear how this deal was different from previous agreements.

After Trump's announcement Friday, the office of Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the deal will be signed by all three governments next week during the United Nations General Assembly, but parliamentary action is still needed by the Danish and Greenland governments before it can be enforced.

“Next week could be a good week … for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States alike,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen wrote on Instagram Saturday morning.

“A period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic — and thus also our shared security within NATO and Europe — while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines,” he added.

Greenland’s government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he was happy about the deal which he said “benefits not only our collective security, but also the continued development here in the country.”

The foreign minister of Greenland, Múte B. Egede, said he was pleased that “we now have an agreement within reach.”

“It has taken some time,” he told Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster. “I’m pleased that we finally have an end product within reach. And it’s about time.”

Trump said that with the agreement, the U.S. would “immediately” begin the process of developing a larger military presence on the mineral-rich Danish territory.

The U.S. had long held several bases and installations on the Arctic territory through the Cold War, before dialing back its presence.

It still operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, built after the U.S. and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951. It supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

A U.S. State Department official said the agreement bans any non-NATO base in Greenland, limits adversaries from being able to make investments in Greenland, and guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base on the island. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials had quietly negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about a territory of roughly 56,000 residents.

With the announcement of the pact, Trump is able to tout a foreign policy achievement ahead of the midterm elections in the U.S.

After his return to the White House, Trump had called on Denmark to sell the island to the U.S., while insisting Greenland is crucial for U.S. security. He pointedly wouldn’t rule out taking the island by military force, even though Denmark is a NATO ally of the U.S.

Denmark and Greenland repeatedly said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there. The U.S. push for Greenland was also fiercely opposed by Russia and much of Europe.

Greenland grassroots pro-sovereignty activist Orla Joelsen wrote on X that “our fight against Trump’s ambition to take over Greenland has been won.”

“The new agreement explicitly recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination,” the activist added.

Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

FILE - Two groups from the Poseidon Expeditions tour company look at a glacier in the Scoresby Sund, Sept. 7, 2023, in Greenland. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

From right, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and the Faroe Islands' Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen visit Qooqqut, Greenland Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

FILE - Houses covered in snow are seen on the coast of a sea inlet of Nuuk, Greenland, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenland's government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visit Qoornoq, Greenland on Sept. 6, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)