Gustavo Cerati‘s Chilean Chapter: A New Book details Years of Family & Musical Exploration
A new book, I Know You From Another Life, by Chilean journalist Andrés Vallejos González, sheds light on a relatively undocumented period in the life of Argentine rock icon Gustavo Cerati: his years spent in Chile between 1994 and 1997, and again briefly in 1996-97. The book, drawing on 50 interviews, details Cerati’s personal life, his connection to the Chilean music scene, and the creative atmosphere surrounding the recording of Soda Stereo’s seminal album, Yellow Love.
According to the interviews, Cerati learned of his paternity in early 1993 when Cecilia Amenábar became pregnant with their son, Benito. He embraced the news, viewing the impending fatherhood as a welcome respite from the intense pressures of Soda Stereo. Around the 30th show of a tour, Cerati informed his bandmates of his decision to step away, subsequently relocating to Chile to be closer to Amenábar’s family.
Vallejos González describes Cerati’s integration into Chilean life as complete.He immersed himself in Amenábar’s world, building relationships with her family and friends. Musically, Cerati became involved with the burgeoning Chilean electronic music scene, collaborating with the group Plan V on two albums: Plan V (1996) and Plan V vs. Black Dog (1998). While he didn’t express strong preferences for many local projects beyond acts like Appliances and Anchena, and the first album of Los Tres, he frequented bars to discover emerging bands.
The book also highlights Cerati’s broader impact on the Chilean music landscape. Soda Stereo’s arrival in Chile in 1986, and the band’s subsequent success, fundamentally changed the standards of professionalism within the industry. “What happened with Soda in Chile, that level of fanaticism, was never something seen there,” Vallejos González writes, noting their use of professional touring elements like dedicated dressing rooms, lighting, and press portrayal. He argues that “While Los Prisioneros put chile on the Latin American rock map, Soda, somehow, forced the scene to be updated.”
A meaningful portion of the book focuses on the creation of Yellow Love. The album was recorded in Buenos Aires, but the initial demos were developed in an apartment in the Las Condes neighborhood of Santiago, Chile. Vallejos gonzález aimed to capture the unique atmosphere and spiritual energy that influenced Cerati during this period.Despite extensive efforts, Cecilia Amenábar declined to be interviewed for the book. Vallejos González pursued interviews with her for four years, even after completing the manuscript, and also contacted her family, but they collectively chose to protect her privacy. He did, however, speak with Amenábar’s close friend, Marcela Rodríguez, godmother to Benito. Amenábar herself conveyed a message of support for the project, stating she wished the book success but would not participate directly.
Vallejos González, a sports journalist by profession, was motivated to write the book by his deep admiration for Cerati and a realization that his Chilean years remained largely unexplored in existing biographies. I Know You From Another Life is now available in Argentina, offering a new viewpoint on a pivotal chapter in the life and career of a Latin American rock legend.
