Nueva canción Chilena | |
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Stylistic origins | Latin American, folk music, Guitar music, Andean music |
Cultural origins | Chilean culture, Music and politics |
Typical instruments | bass guitar, charango, drums, guitar and pan flute |
Regional scenes | |
Argentina; Brazil; Bolivia; Chile; Colombia; Cuba; Mexico; Nicaragua; Paraguay; Peru; Portugal; Spain; Uruguay; Venezuela |
The Nueva Canción Chilena or "New Chilean Song” was a movement and genre of Chilean traditional and folk music incorporating strong political and social themes. The movement was to spread throughout Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s, in what is called "Nueva canción" sparking a renewal in traditional folk music and playing a key role in political movements in the region.
The foundations of the Chilean New Song were laid through the efforts of Violeta Parra to revive over 3,000 Chilean songs, recipes, traditions, and proverbs, and it eventually aligned with the 1970 presidential campaign of Salvador Allende, incorporating the songs of Víctor Jara, Inti-Illimani and Quilapayun among others.
Other key proponents of the movement include Patricio Manns, Rolando Alarcón, Payo Grondona, Patricio Castillo, Homero Caro, and Kiko Álvarez, as well as non-Chilean musicians, such as César Isella and Atahualpa Yupanqui from Argentina and Paco Ibañéz of Spain.
The Chilean New Song movement was spurred by a renewed interest in Chilean traditional music and folklore in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Folk singers such as Violeta Parra and Víctor Jara traversed the regions of Chile both collecting traditional melodies and songs and seeking inspiration to create songs with social themes. These songs diverged from songs known in the cities at the time, which were often stylized interpretations of central Chilean folk music that emphasized patriotism and idyllic representations of country life; in contrast, the New Song sought to give a voice to Chile’s rural peoples, its working class, and their realities. Early musicians in the movement often used folk instruments such as the quena (Andean flute) or zampoñas (pan-pipes). This phase of the Chilean New Song has been referred to as the “discovery and protest” phase.