La Cancion Protesta

This week I attended a conference on political songs of protest. It was interesting and lead by one of the teachers. Every conference is conducted in Spanish and translated into English. Songs of protest were used to denounce or speak against an oppressive government, to propose solutions and to honor those who have died. There was a time when singing particular songs were illegal in Central and South America and many artists were killed for their music. One artist I learned about was Violetta Parra of Chile. We listened to the music of Victor Jarra who was tortured and assasinated in September 1973. His captors beat his hands and told him to "play your guitar now."He was a firm believer in not singing just to sing, but singing with a purpose and vision. He is well known for the song "Te recuerdo Amanda" or "I remember you, Amanda." It is about two factory workers in love, but they are too busy with work to be together. In the 1970s, Ali Rafael Primera of Venezuela, died in an "accident" but it is beleived that the accident was really an assasination. We listened to his song "Casas de Cartón." It is about people and children that live on the street in cardboard "houses" while the dogs of rich people go to school. Here is a verse: "Qué triste se oye la lluvia en los techos de cartón: qué triste vivi mi gente en las casas de cartón...mira que pesa el sufrir...hoy es lo mismo que ayer, es un mundo sin mañana..." Translation: "how said to hear the rain fall on the cardboard roofs, how said to see my people in these cardboard houses...the weight of suffering...today is the same as yesterday, a world without tomorrow." And Carlos and Luis Mejía are known for "Liberation Theory" in their music. They sing about injustice and about God being a passive participant in life. They refer to Jesus, not as a savior, but as a revoluntionary that fought against the Roman empire and who fought for the oppressed. The main theme I got from the conference was that you can kill the people, but not the message, ideology, or vision.