Nueva Canción
Nueva Canción, or "New Song," is a musical genre that originated in Chile during the 1960s, characterized by its blend of traditional folk music with contemporary elements. It prominently features regional instruments like bongos, maracas, and guitars, aiming to convey messages of social unity and resistance against oppression. Emerging in a politically charged atmosphere marked by social inequality, Nueva Canción musicians sought to inspire the working class to unite against the ruling elite. The genre gained significant popularity in the 1970s, but its artists faced severe repression from authoritarian governments, leading to arrests, torture, and exile of many musicians.
Despite this, Nueva Canción's influence spread beyond Chile to other parts of Latin America, America, and Europe, where it incorporated local cultures and stories. While its mainstream popularity waned after the fall of several dictatorships in the 1980s, the genre continues to be practiced and celebrated worldwide, with many artists believing in the enduring relevance of its themes of social justice and collective action. Through its powerful lyrics and distinctive sound, Nueva Canción remains a vital expression of cultural identity and political resistance.
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Nueva Canción
Nueva Canción, also called new song or Chilean new song, is a style of music that first developed in Chile in the 1960s. It usually sounds similar to traditional folk music. Nueva Canción features regional musical instruments, such as the bongos and maracas, in addition to guitars, drums, and basses. Vocalists are also important in this genre.
Nueva Canción is best known for its lyrics, which often encourage social unity in the face of oppression. In the past, Nueva Canción musicians believed that through the unification of the working classes, they could resist the power of the ruling class and alter the balance of power in fascist nations. This attitude caused many Latin American governments to turn against the musical genre, interrogating, torturing, and exiling musicians who performed Nueva Canción.
The genre was most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Once many of the dictatorships in South America began to fall, Nueva Canción declined in popularity. Despite this, many artists still produce traditional Nueva Canción music in the twenty-first century.
Background
The emergence of Nueva Canción music in South America was heavily linked to the area's political climate. During the 1950s and 1960s, tensions began to rise in Latin American societies. The gaps between social classes had begun to widen, and social mobility had slowed. The working classes—which included rural peasants, factory workers, and trade workers—realized that they were growing poorer while the upper classes were growing richer.
Many of the rural peasants lacked access to basic utilities. During the early 1960s, less than 25 percent of Chile's citizens had access to working sewer lines. Many others regularly went without food or clean drinking water. Additionally, only a very small percentage of the population could afford to own their own homes. The rest lived in homemade shacks, small apartments, or group housing. Many small apartments were actually owned by the few large employers. If workers lost their jobs or quit, they would be immediately evicted from their homes.
In contrast to the plight of the lower classes, a few large families owned most of the land throughout Chile. They also owned most of the means of production, including the largest farms and factories. They held most of the power inherent in South America's economic system, and they used that power to ensure that they could live in luxury.
This reality was not lost on the average Latin American citizen. During the 1950s and 1960s, many citizens came to realize that they were being kept in poverty while others used them for profit. Leftist political movements, often demanding redistribution of the nation's wealth, began to form. These groups were inspired by successful leftist revolutions in other parts of the world.
Overview
Nueva Canción emerged from the working classes in Central and South America. While most Nueva Canción music does not advocate for open rebellion against corrupt governments, it does encourage the unification of workers against them. Nueva Canción lyrics commonly deal with the struggle of life under oppressive regimes, and they remind people that they can work together both to cope and to enact change in the world.
The guitar leads in Nueva Canción songs. Guitar compositions are heavily influenced by American and Latin American folk music. They are usually written along the traditional pentatonic scale. Such pieces may also closely resemble salsa music.
In some cases, a single vocalist with a guitar performs Nueva Canción songs. On other occasions, the vocalist may be accompanied by a more traditional band lineup, including a bassist, one or more other guitarists, backup vocalists, and percussionists. Many Nueva Canción bands also include a large lineup of traditional Latin American musical instruments. These may include maracas, drums, or various types of string instruments.
Nueva Canción began to develop in the 1960s. It merged a variety of local Latin styles with contemporary North American pop and folk music. The style first developed in Chile and then spread throughout Latin America. It grew in popularity throughout the 1960s and peaked during the 1970s. However, because several Nueva Canción musicians urged resistance to oppressive governments, many of them were deemed enemies of the state. In the 1970s, governments arrested and interrogated several such artists. Many were tortured and then exiled. The Chilean government killed one musician, Victor Jara, for his involvement with Nueva Canción.
While Nueva Canción was pushed out of the mainstream, the genre's many musicians sent into exile continued producing songs. They spread Nueva Canción to America, Europe, and Cuba. New Nueva Canción bands were created in these areas, working local influences and styles into their music. Most importantly, musicians worked in the stories and histories of the local culture. Many regional Nueva Canción songs included local legends, stories of folk heroes, and even recipes for regional dishes. Recording these insights into regional cultural minorities as Nueva Canción songs helped preserve them.
Many Nueva Canción musicians believe that their music contributed to the social movements that led to the fall of several fascist regimes in South America. After the fall of many of these dictatorships, the popularity of the genre declined. Following the mid-1980s, few Nueva Canción musicians remained commercially successful. However, many musicians around the world continued to practice the genre. They kept the cultural remnants preserved in Nueva Canción songs alive by continuing to perform them. Many Nueva Canción musicians believe that themes of social unity and resistance against powerful, oppressive governments are still relevant today.
Bibliography
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"La Nueva Canción." Smithsonian Institution, www.folkways.si.edu/la-nueva-cancion-new-song-movement-south-america/latin-world-struggle-protest/music/article/smithsonian. Accessed 21 Jan 2025.
"Latin Roots: Nuevo Cancion." NPR, 1 Nov. 2012, www.npr.org/2012/11/01/164134132/latin-roots-nuevo-cancion. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
"Nueva Cancion." AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/subgenre/nueva-cancion-ma0000002719. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
"Nueva Cancion Music." Last.FM, www.last.fm/tag/nueva+cancion. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Wadi, Ramona. "The Legacy of the Nueva Canción: An Interview with Patricio Manns." Upside Down World, 22 Dec. 2010, upsidedownworld.org/archives/chile/the-legacy-of-the-nueva-cancion-an-interview-with-patricio-manns. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.