Felipe Staiti, guitarist and voice of Enanitos Verdes: “I’m not looking to sing like Marciano because he is irreplaceable”

The departure of Marciano Cantero, on September 8, 2022, left broken hearts. It was a destabilizing impact for the rest of the members of Enanitos Verdeswho instead of remembering him from melancholy and pain, decided to move forward: honoring the friend and accomplice of adventures from the stage, performing new songs and the classics that marked an era.

“Although We are not the trio, we are missing Marciano, we will continue to be wounded, but alive“, says Felipe Staiti, guitarist and now singer of the band, with whom we talked about how they cope with the absence of their leader, the details of this new stage and their projects that include a new album, a tour and a documentary.

On December 3, 2022, at the Bésame Mucho festival, at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, in California, the Green Enanitos performed live again for the first time since Marciano’s death. They were accompanied on stage to perform some songs by David Summers from Hombres G, Rubén Albarrán from Café Tacvba and Noel Schajris. Since then they haven’t stopped. On November 3, they arrived in Peru to participate in the Live Stage Rock Festival Lima 2023, but the event was canceled due to the state of emergency.

“Peru is a country that I love very much and with which I have a relationship of many years through music. We were going to play last weekend, but unfortunately it couldn’t be done. However, I took the opportunity to give strength to my line of wines, which we already have here. It has had a very good reception. I am enthusiastic about this aspect, but the driving force of my life is music.”, clarifies the Argentine artist.

The acclaimed rock band, responsible for hits such as “Lamento Boliviano” and “La muralla verde”, began its career in 1979, during the Argentine military dictatorship. Formed by Marciano, Staiti and Daniel Piccolo, the group catapulted to stardom with “I Still Cant” in the mid-1980s.

The history of the name

Enanitos Verdes is an iconic band that has great stories behind it, like the origin of its name. Felipe Staiti says that a journalist took advantage of the anomaly of a photo, taken in 1970 of a family of tourists who were at the Puente del Inca, an Argentine tourist site, to baptize the band.

“We were just starting to play when that famous photo appeared in Puente del Inca, which in reality are not little green dwarfs, they are like a little orange spot in the shape of a little devil. The news was that some green dwarfs had appeared, and a friend of ours, a correspondent for a magazine in Buenos Aires, sent a newsletter saying that the group Green Dwarfs of Puente del Inca had been formed. Obviously, as Marciano was, he related very well. At that time the groups had mystical names, ours sounded ridiculous, but he stuck.”Staiti remembers.

─How was the decision made to take the lead voice in the band?

Usually, I would sing two or three songs live, now I have to sing more, as well as play the guitar. Obviously, the lack of Marciano changed my functioning at some point. I have to be more attentive when it comes to singing because I have a mechanized guitar. We talked about it with Jota (Morelli, drummer who has been in the group for more than ten years), who totally agreed. When looking for the bassist, the first one we thought of was Guillermo Vadalá. Then keyboardist Bosco Aguilar and the choirs of Arita Rodríguez and Damián Castroviejo joined as special guests. We are doing it with all the heart, love and honesty possible, because it was not a question of looking for someone who looks like him. It would be a little fake, well He would have no history with us.

─Is your goal to sing like Marciano?

No way. That is not my goal because he is irreplaceable.

─At any point did you consider the possibility of the group ending?

The truth is, no. Frankly, we have moved forward through many storms, we are a kite emerging from a storm, but we must move forward. Even, the day after Marciano’s death, a group that paid tribute to Enanitos Verdes called me to play guitar. They practically asked me to pay tribute to myself (laughs). We are missing Marciano, but Jota and I continue.

─Did it stir a lot of feelings, making “My Number 1 Fan,” an emotional song that you dedicated to Marciano?

It cost me a lot to do it. It was the month that she died. I uploaded it to Spotify, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make a business out of grief, death or an absence. This song is a genuine feeling, it has no commercial purpose. It is a naked feeling. I don’t want to make a flag of that because it’s not the idea. I prefer to continue making music and keep the name of the Enanitos Verdes and the songs we made together high.

─How do you remember Marciano more than a year after his departure?

I have a thousand ways to remember it. Almost every day I remember him for different situations, for things. That’s why I miss the complicity we had, when it came to playing, looking at each other at shows, resolving a situation with our glances, live. I remember it at different times, when we are about to board the plane, or when we arrive at the hotel. I remember a lot the conversations we had.

─They agreed that music saves lives.

That is a catchphrase that we explained in many cases, especially when we arrived feeling down and after playing everything flowed well. That’s why Marciano and I always said that music has the power to save our lives. That’s kind of the idea of ​​continuing to play with the Green Dwarves. We are a band that we have to continue.

─Are you working on any new production?

We are thinking about making a cover album with guests. And as for the presentations, now we are going to Mexico and next week we will be in the United States. Next year in Central America. A documentary about the history of the Enanos is also coming in 2024 (it will cover the successes, failures, losses and most significant moments of the band)

─How do you define this stage of your life?

It is a stage, like all the others: fighter and against time and tide. You have to overcome the obstacles.

─What has been the most difficult obstacle you overcame?

I think the most difficult obstacle is ourselves: our fears and lack of faith. Only by eradicating them can we move forward. You have to jump into the void, because the network appears by itself.