INTRODUCTION
Until the late 1990's, Elvis' South-American items collectors had practically no references concerning the true value of records, movie memorabilia and publications from this side of the world. Then, in 1996 THE ULTIMATE ALBUM COVER AND PRICE GUIDE book by my very good friend Paul Dowling came along and shocked many Elvis collectors. Then and there, many vinyl lovers found out South-American items were at least as interesting as some Japanese and European gems. ¡VIVA ELVIS! – THE ULTIMATE DISCOGRAPHY AND RECORD PRICE GUIDE FROM ARGENTINA went further. It listed, depicted and priced every Argentinean pressing. Recently, the ARTIST OF THE CENTURY booklets included lots of rare South-American pressings.
So I guess ELVIS, SOUTH AMERICAN STYLE comes along just in time!
This book, the first in a series to be continued very soon, is focused on five South-American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Dozens of NEVER BEFORE shown items are depicted here including records, CD's, Super 8mm films, publications, movie memorabilia, original RCA Victor ads, inserts and bonus items. We have attempted to focus on the lesser known items. That is, those not included in previous publications or only partially shown. Backcovers, in many cases, are more important than covers. Take for instance the DIVERSION EN ACAPULCO (LPM-2756) Lp from Peru. While the front cover is as US, the backcover depicts a girl sipping a Marguerita!!! Labels are also important. We have included at least the ones we think will give you a perspective of how South-American RCAs changed with the times.
Putting together ELVIS, SOUTH-AMERICAN STYLE has involved a lot of work, time and money. We sincerely hope you enjoy its reading as much as we enjoyed its making!
Carlos R. Ares & Claudia León
