Marcos Camino

Marcos Máximo Camino was born on 31 August 1950 in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina. His mother encouraged him to take up the accordion, and he began playing at around five years old. He later admitted that the long hours of study sometimes kept him indoors while friends played outside, but the effort shaped his whole life. In a television interview on Pasión de Sábado he told how, at about 20, his father revealed that a school friend with whom he had shared a desk, Miguel Ocampo, was in fact his brother.

Camino's main teacher and mentor was Alberto Fernández, one of the pioneering accordionists of tropical music in Santa Fe. His greatest influence was Helí Toro Álvarez, founder of the Colombian group Cuarteto Imperial, whose repertoire Los Palmeras covered in their early years. Camino first admired Toro Álvarez as a fan and later became his friend. Details of any formal schooling have not been made public.

On 9 December 1972 Camino joined Sexteto Palmeras, replacing accordionist Osvaldo Zabala, and soon became the group's musical and general director. In 1976, when the band recorded its first LP for the MRG label, he chose the name Los Palmeras because that was what audiences already called them. Rubén "Cacho" Deicas joined as singer in 1978, and the Camino and Deicas partnership led the band for more than four decades.

The group earned its first gold record with "Cumbia y luna" in 1983. "La suavecita", from the 1986 album "Corazón no me preguntes", pushed cumbia santafesina beyond the province. In 1997 Los Palmeras signed with Leader Music, gaining national distribution, and hits such as "Cumbia sobre el mar" (1998) and "Olvídala" (1999) followed. In 2002 they recorded "Luna, lunera" with folk singer Soledad Pastorutti. Their 2004 album "Un sentimiento" included "El bombón asesino", which became a national hit, led to appearances on Almorzando con Mirtha Legrand, Susana Giménez and Showmatch, and culminated in a Luna Park concert in 2006.

In 2017 the band recorded 20 of its best-known songs with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, and on 9 November 2019 it performed at the opening ceremony of the Copa Sudamericana final in Asunción, Paraguay. Across his career Camino oversaw about 50 albums. He announced his retirement from the stage on 11 February 2026, leaving his son Marcos Camino Jr. in charge.

Camino said in an October 2025 television interview that a first marriage lasted about three years. He was later married for more than three decades to Sandra Brusa, whom he credited with suggesting a significant share of the band's hits. Their son, Marcos Camino Jr., grew up among rehearsals and concerts, played in his own band and took over Los Palmeras when his father retired. Camino was a lifelong supporter of Club Atlético Colón, and on retiring he said he wanted to enjoy his home, his five dogs and his family.

Camino saw himself as a worker of music, someone for whom every show meant organisation, discipline and sacrifice. He took pride in the band as a livelihood for others, saying "In this company there are 25 families". He championed cumbia santafesina as a music deserving of a place in the world, and defended popular taste when songs drew criticism, as in the 2021 debate over "Macho lindo".

Camino is regarded as one of the central figures in the history of cumbia santafesina. Los Palmeras made the regional style a national sound, crossing from the bailanta circuit into mainstream television and private parties of every class, and "El bombón asesino" remains one of the best-known songs in Argentine popular music. The band's association with Club Atlético Colón and the city of Santa Fe made Camino a civic figure as well as a musician. His son continues to lead Los Palmeras.

With Los Palmeras, Camino shared in the Clave de Sol award for best group from the interior of the country in 1999 and 2000, the Premio Gardel for best tropical group album in 2008 and 2017 (five Gardel awards in all, according to Clarín), and the Platinum Konex Award for tropical and cuarteto music in 2015. In 2002 the members were declared Illustrious Citizens by the Santa Fe city council. Clarín reports 13 gold records, eight platinum and one double platinum.

Key albums include "Corazón no me preguntes" (1986), "Loquito por ti" (1988), "El sonido original" (1998), "Voló la paloma" (1999), "Así es la vida" (2003), "Un sentimiento" (2004), "Te va a gustar" and "Sin fronteras" (2008), plus the 2017 symphonic album with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra. In May 2026 he gave one of his last long interviews to Cumbé Documental, and he also spoke on the TV Pública programme Se siente Argentina about the end of his partnership with Deicas.

In 2003 the band adapted "Soy parrandero" as "Soy menemista" for Carlos Menem's presidential campaign. In early 2021 the song "Macho lindo", a tribute to boxer Carlos Monzón, who had been convicted over the death of his partner, drew criticism. Camino replied that nobody would think the band was paying homage to someone who killed, that the song honoured the champion sportsman and that the public wanted to hear it. In 2025 a public dispute with Cacho Deicas over his return after a stroke ended with Deicas leaving and the dissolution of Los Palmeras Producciones SRL.

Marcos Camino died on Tuesday 10 November 2026 in the city of Santa Fe, aged 76. According to Santa Fe police, a relative raised the alarm after he went into the band's recording studio on Alvear street and did not come out; he was found there in the afternoon. Police said the death was being investigated as a suicide, prosecutor Gonzalo Iglesias took charge of the case and an autopsy was ordered. Los Palmeras confirmed the death in an official statement and asked for respect for the family's privacy. Funeral arrangements have not been made public.