Nueva Canción: Latin American Music For Protest

Introduction

Rise of Political Oppression

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Latin America was struck with a rise in political and social unrest. From the northern island of Cuba to the southern regions of Chile and Argentina, dictatorship began to rise out of democratically elected states. Many countries were "saddled with ineffective or authoritarian governments, and the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished was widening" (Gorlinski, 2019). Social conditions began to crack under the burden, and within the turmoil, resistance against political oppression began to emerge. The populace had banded together to form a new social movement called nueva canción.

Chilean military surround state palace (9/11/1973)

From Getty Images

Nueva Canción

From Nueva Canción Chilena- New Chilean Music- to the Cuban Nueva Trova, nueva canción was a pan-Latin American social movement. It started in the late 1950s and early 1960s to combat the rise of dictatorship in Latin American states and highlights the people's struggle for social justice. It became an "emblem of the socially, economically, and politically marginalized peoples of Latin America" (Gorlinski, 2019). The people of the movement would put "their lives at risk opposing authoritarian regimes and participating in rallies to support their political parties" (Vila ed., 2014, 1).

Crowd marches in support of Salvador Allende

From Wikimedia Commons

Moreover, nueva canción became an outlet for artists to express the population's collective struggles with violent repression. The movement encompassed a diverse portfolio of music genres, having no "blueprint or model that characterised the music that the individual singer-songwriters and groups involved were making.” (Kutschke and Norton eds., 2013, 123) Yet despite the diversity, the music of the movement had united the people. It inspired and motivated the people to a common goal. The music "not only expressed the dreams and hopes of masses of people for progressive social change but contributed to creating cultural and political change... and articulating the vision of a different, socially just future." (McSherry, 2017, 13-14)

Nueva canción peaked with the inauguration of former Chilean president Salvador Allende. A left-wing socialist, Allende had championed the New Song Movement and its goals. His election "...was seen as a beacon of hope" (Folkways, n.d.). Even after Allende's election, "new song musicians continued their unofficial, but active, involvement" (Morris, 1986, 121).

Musical Characteristics

The music of the movement holds deep roots in the rural native communities and folk music. An increase in poor rural conditions caused mass urbanization across Latin America, primarily delocalizing Native communities. They, in turn, brought "distinct musical traditions that students and the middle class blended with other styles rooted in European culture" (Folkways, n.d.). The new era of artists built off "Latin American folk traditions but with modern innovations." (McSherry, 2017, 14) They experimented with their music and lyric styles by moving away from adhering to only traditional instrumentation and rhythms. On the contrary, they began "toward the inclusion of electronic instruments, classical harmonies, and jazz elements." (Morris, 1986, 126) Lyrically, the movement's songs utilized a poetic style that "cried out for social justice, equality, self-determination and structural change." (McSherry, 2017, 18)

The artists of nueva canción expressed major societal themes through their music. They highlighted "issues such as poverty, imperialism, democracy, human rights, and religious freedom." (Folkways, n.d.) It called the people into action while denouncing the oppressive political acts of the government. In many instances, artists had to bypass censorship within countries, which "led to the development of highly poetic texts and complex metaphors." (Morris, 1986, 126)