Argentina's Elvis, the singer Sandro, dies

His gyrating hips brought comparisons to the North American legend but he ultimately became a ballad singer and one of Latin America's most popular musicians.

The singer Sandro, who was called Argentina's Elvis Presley, has died aged 64 after a career spanning over four decades in which he helped promote Latino music to a world audience. Doctor Claudio Burgos from the Italian Hospital in the Argentine city of Mendoza said Sandro died from an infection after heart and lung transplant surgery. The singer, whose real name was Roberto Sanchez, began his career in the 1960s as a Latin American version of Elvis Presley complete with gyrating hips but moved on to become a ballad singer and one of Latin America's most popular musicians.

The winner of a Latin Grammy for career achievement in 2005, Sandro recorded more than 50 albums and acted in a string of movies. He was the first Latino singer to play New York's Madison Square Garden in the 1970s. He had been struggling with his health since undergoing transplant surgery in November because of chronic lung disease which he blamed on smoking. *Reuters