Rock nacional is a musical genre, loosely applying to any variety of rock and roll from Argentina. Rock music emerged from the United States, gaining international popularity in the 1950s.

In 1963, the field of Argentine rock began with the signing of Los Shakers , a Uruguayan group, to a contract in Buenos Aires. They quickly found success and were followed by The Seasons, Los Walkers , Los In and Los Vip's . The first group to sing in Spanish was Los Gatos Salvajes . In 1966, Los Beatniks recorded the first garage single in Spanish.

The first mainstream Argentine rock bands were 1960s groups like Luis Alberto Spinetta's Almendra and Litto Nebbia 's and Pappo's Los Gatos, whose 1967 "La Balsa" was the first major hit for rock nacional. The following year, 1968, saw the first publication of Pinap , a rock magazine, and the founding of the first Argentine rock label, Mandioca . In 1969, four major concerts were held: the June Sunday concerts, Festival Nacional de Música Beat , Festival Pinap and Festival de Música Joven .

Pinap had dissolved by 1970, and was replaced by the still popular magazine Pelo . That same year, Pelo organized a huge concert called Festival BARock , the first in a series of well-known shows. In 1972, the Acusticazo concert inspired a wave of folky acoustic acts like Vivencia , Pacifico and Sui Generis, while heavier bands like Pappo's Blues , Billy Bond y la Pesada , Jorge Pinchevsky , Kubero Díaz , Claudio Gábis and Alejandro Medina also became popular.

Throughout the 70s, a distinctively Argentine progressive rock scene appeared, led by bands like Crucis (Crucis , 1976), El Reloj (II, 1976), Bubu (Anabelas , 1978) and Pablo (El Enterrador , 1980) or Aquellarre .

Despite the success of "La Balsa" and other recordings, rock nacional developed slowly until the military dictatorship (El Proceso ) began in 1976. During the first few years of military goverment , a number of rock concerts were held featuring musicians like Charly García and his band Serú Girán . Rock was seen as subversive, however, by the nation's authority figures, who began to clamp down on the music. In a 1976 speech, Admiral Massera denounced rock musicians and fans as potential subversives, and repression began in 1977. Before the end of the 1970s, rock had gone largely underground.

It was not long, however, before rock fans began to re-emerge. A 1980 Serú Girán concert found an audience of more than 60,000 fans chanting no se banca más (we won't put up with it anymore). In response, authorities set up their own music media and concerts in the hopes of neutralizing the threat. Nevertheless, by 1982, it became clear that his hope was not realized with the release of critical songs like "Tiempos Dificiles" by Fito Páez, "Maribel" by Spinetta, "Sólo le Pido a Dios" by León Gieco and "Dinosaurios" by Charly García. The dictatorship ended in 1983.

Only a year later, in 1984, rock music began to take a lighter approach, and groups like Los Abuelos de la Nada and Sumo . The former was led by Pappo, who eventually began a solo career appealing to the middle class, and the latter was led by Luca Prodán , an Italian who had emigrated while fighting a heroin addiction. Later in the decade and into the 1990s, artists like Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and the solo Fito Páez.