As Nestor Ramljak, lead singer of Argentinian reggae group Nonpalidece tells it, reggae music reshaped and repurposed their lives.

Having fallen in love with the rhythm and the messages woven into the stories told through the genre, Ramljak says there was no escaping a music career. The band, therefore, embraced their new-found passion and, despite understanding very few English words, set out on a quest to spread reggae music across continents.

“We have a connection with the culture and reggae music. I change my way of eating; I change my mission of life because of reggae. I started to grow my dreads, and I feel the need to express that it’s not just playing reggae music, but living it and representing the culture,” he shared.

Outlining that when the group was first formed in the 90s they were known as the band that mimicked Bob Marley, the lead singer and principal composer of the group told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview that Nonpalidece, as a group, has now made a name for itself in the genre.

“We have played reggae music for 28 years straight from 1996. We took the influence of Jamaica and Bob Marley and it’s like we transformed into our own. I think reggae music is for everybody, and so you don’t need to be born in the music to love the music,” Ramljak said.

He continued: “We wanted to show the influence of reggae not just in Argentina but the rest of the world. Many years ago we were like the band who wanted to sing like Bob Marley. Today we have our own identity.”

Nonpalidece was specially invited to perform at the tribute concert held in honour of the late reggae legend Bob Marley as part of 80th birthday celebrations on February 6.

The invitation was particularly special to the group’s members as they’ve always wanted to share their music in the space that influenced it the most.

“In Argentina, Bob Marley is a big influence not just in reggae music. Our country has a great audience and a lot of Argentinians love reggae music, so this opportunity to play in Jamaica was special to us,” said Ramljak. “The invitation was even more special because we got to celebrate Bob Marley in the tribute concert. With us being an Argentinian reggae band it was an honour being here and to play and share our music and to make contact with musicians that we look up to.”

Still promoting their most recent album, Hecho En Jamaica (Made in Jamaica) the group says it wants to continue spreading messages of hope, resilience, and love through their music.

The group’s leader shared that the love for reggae continues to grow across South America and it is hoped that, as a group, they will continue playing their part in that development.

“We have a lot of Argentinean bands and South America has a great movement of Latin reggae. It is reggae music sung in Spanish. That movement allowed us to go out and connect with people and spread the message through the music and we want to see it grow even stronger,” he said. “The possibilities today are endless, and we have messages to share with the world and Latin American reggae lovers. We are close to 30 years playing and we plan to make a new album celebrating our 30th birthday. When I look at the past 30 years playing reggae music in Argentina it was hard, but it was worth it.”