By Larissa Kennedy Illustration: Javie Huxley
Solidarity in the Latin American struggle for social justice has long been cadenced by music. In the 1970s and 80s, Latin America was moving to the beat of a radical rhythm, with over two decades of interconnected struggle against dictatorships, neoliberalism, and US imperialism across Latin America.
This shared soundtrack of resistance was a folk genre that came to be known as La Nueva Canción – the New Song – characterised by powerful lyrics, ladened voices, and the strum of a guitar. The possibility of a socialist future was on the horizon, and all of us committed to liberation have so much to learn from how music was used as a vehicle for mobilisation.
One of the most prominent voices of La Nueva Canción in Chile was Violeta Parra, whose poetic, philosophical lyrics earned her the title of ‘mother of the genre’. Parra’s most famous song is ‘Gracias a la Vida’ (Thanks to Life), which despite a palpable sadness is an anthem of gratitude for the mundane, the everyday – the lyrics to which are pride of place on my bedroom wall.
But her more pointedly political songs include La Carta (The Letter) where the balladeer sings, “the hungry ask for bread, the militias give them bullets.”
By Larissa Kennedy Illustration: Javie Huxley