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Music.
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aretheguilty
Theinnocent
theKingofSpades.
sayshishighness,
1. Introduction
Between1976and 1983Argentinawitnessedthefulldevelopmentofa phenomenon
which has come to be known as rocknacional('national rock'). At firstsightit might
appear no more than a matterof musical consumption,fashioningits participants
simplyas 'artists'on one side and 'public' on the other.Butithas proved an original
formwithinwhich the young create and inhabita space of theirown, relatively
protectedfromthe assaults of the militarydictatorship(which had made them its
principalvictims),and has come to constitute,with the passing of the years, a
counter-culture and a social movement.
The mass nature of attendanceat concertsis only one of the indicatorsof the
social relevance of the movement. Dozens of magazines published over sixteen
years (with print runs of up to 25,000 copies) and some 4,000 'underground'
magazines served to give voice to the thoughtof youth,silenced by a violentand
authoritariansociety.Fromwithinthose spaces (theconcertsand magazines) a 'we'
was constructed,an identitywithin which the musicians became leaders who,
throughthe lyricsof their songs, gave formto an alternative,counter-cultural
proposal which challenged the ideology of the dictatorship.
This genuine phenomenon of culturalresistancewas highlydysfunctionalfor
the regime. Tilman Evers claims, in this regard,that
Notes on methodology
How is one to 'recover'the memoryof a social actorwhen thisis rootedin concerts
and meetingsof groups of friendsofwhich few objectiverecordsremain?This was
the question which directedthe searchforthe methodologicaltools fitforthe object
of study. It was evident fromthe startthatgiven its highlyspecificcharacteristics,
thebest way ofdoing itwas throughsharing,in some way, thecrucialactivityofthe
movement,thatis, listeningto music in a group.
2. Difficult
times
2.1. Repression
and defence (1976-77)
ofyouthidentity
Don'tlose heart
Don'tletyourselfbe killed
Thereare so manytomorrows to
go
('Don'tLoseHeart',CharlyGarcia,1976)
They'veoffended me greatly
And no-onehas explained.
Ah,ifI couldkillthem
I'd do itwithno fear.
('TheCantervilleGhost',CharlyGarcia,1975)
Withthemilitary coup of1976fearappeared in Argentinesocietyas a socialattribute:
out offearcivilsocietyturnedback in on itselfin the contextofa situationdevoid of
points of reference.In a far-reachingattempt to re-definetraditionalpolitical
identities,the militaryregime proceeded to disperse all collectivities.Political
parties, unions, corporations and social movements retreated (on their own
initiativeor under compulsion) fromthe public sphere. Society as a whole was
privatised.
The youthmovementwas notunaffectedbythisdevelopment.On thecontrary,
!7
.
............
II
r d'
. --
......
Charly
Garcia
intheendindeath,ofothersorofthemselves,
results itmatters as thedestruction
little, willbe
bythesocialredemption
justified whichsomemanipulatorshavegenerally madeavailableto
them,so thattheycanequatewithan ideologywhatwas a maddening racetowardsthemost
extreme ofthesenses.
exaltation (26November 1977)
Once again thereappears the 'suspect youth' who, once initiatedinto rock music
(thatsecretsocietywhich celebratesitsrituals:clothes,music,drugs,freelove, etc.),
ends up inevitably,forthe military,in the guerrillaforces.And in 1977,when there
was already talkof 'the defeatof subversion',repressiveactionbegan against that
culturalmanifestationwhich appeared, in the eyes of the military,as one of its
sources: rock culture.
But the 'they', the enemy of the movement,the enemy of the youth, is also
generalised to cover broad sectors of society,to the extentthat the 'anti-youth'
discourse of the militaryobtains consensus:
I believethatinsidetheconcertyoulovedpeople,and outsideyoudidn't.I don'tknowifit
was becauseofthemusicorbecauseyouwerepredisposed. .. butitwas as ifyouhad the
needtolovethepeople,and theylovedyou.It'sthatyoudidn'tlovethepeopleinthestreet
... and you wentto theconcertwishingthateveryoneoutsidecouldbe likethoseat the
concert.It's thatyou lookedat thepeopleat theconcerts and itseemedthateveryonewas
beautiful!Becauseyou wereseeingpeoplewho lookedat youlike... likea humanbeing
looks,youknow?Withsomething in theireyes,and outsidetheyall lookedempty,do you
see? (Carlos,30,office
worker)
On one side 'us', the 'inside', peace, freedomand participation;and on the other
'them', the 'outside', violence. In this way the rock nacionalmovement was
constructingthe spaces which preserved the identityof the whole communityof
youngpeople who feltthemselvesto be representedby it. The concertsthusappear
as rituals on the basis of which a collectivityis constituted,and also privileged
spheres of communicationbetween the young '. . . to which were displaced,
beyond the unattractiveand scarcely credible officialstage, the communicative
practicesin which we Argentinessought to defend the meaning of lifeand of our
history'(Landi 1983, p. 81).
But it was also rocknacionalwhich created, in the harshest years of the
dictatorship,a means of communication,the characterofwhich ExpresoImaginario,
with a respectableprintrun of 15,000 copies, proposed fromits firsteditorialof
August 1976,'. .. to reach those spaces ofthemindwhichare nothardened,which
still maintain, through music, poetry, and love, sufficientfreshnessto contain
feelingsof life'.
So significantwas the communicativephenomenon which was generated
around the Expresothat its letterspages became its most importantsection. As a
sphere forthe consolidationof the 'we', thissectionlaid bare the preoccupationsof
the young at that time:
Youhelpmetolosemyfear. (Carlos,November 1976)
and likemostyoungpeople,thethingsthatworrymemostareviolenceand
I am eighteen,
lackofunderstanding, butwhatupsetsme mostis thatpeoplereplyin thesamevein.
(Liliana,November
1976)
As a visibleexpressionemergingfroma youthmovementwhichhad notacquiredan
organiccharacter,althoughit was undergoinga process of consolidation,it slowly
became a leader:
vanguardinthese
S. . you. .. aretheoneswhoaredoingitright... . You arealmosta little
times. (Laura,September1977)
. . .
..i- . -
:i
,),
j,i
Le6nGieco
~::;:
::?:::::~
-
:izi
U-:~:l"
,::::I-
:., ~fol
B;:::
~
~"I~ ~
SJ
*D; "rS-
A
S
iBe
~?~'*I
~n~:"
3,9 ':~J
FitoPdez
This song, along with the re-issued 'Illegal Oppression' ('Apremios ilegales') by
Pedro y Pablo (composed in factforthe earlierdictatorshipof 1966-73)
Illegaloppression Apremiosilegales
Criminalabuses abusoscriminales
Yourhumancondition tu condici6nhumana
Violatedat theirpleasure violadaa placer
Shocktreatment and thewitnesses Picanay los testigos
Shrieking as theydie muriendode alaridos
Howeverloud you scream pormas que gritasfuerte
Yourvoicewillnotbe heard no van a escuchar
How longwilleveryonehide Hasta cuandotodosdisimularin
Whattheyknowand preferto conceal lo que sabeny prefierencallar
How longthiscriminal torture Hasta cuandola torturacriminal
Rottenemissariesofevil reventados emisariosdel mal
and Charly Garcia's 'Los dinosaurios' and Spinetta's 'Maribel', dedicated to the
Mothersof the Plaza de Mayo, marked the high point of the productionof lyrics
denouncing the situation through which the young lived in the years of the
dictatorship.The privileged sphere for meeting and communicationwithin the
movementcontinued to be the mass concerts:
Whatdidgoingtonationalrockconcertsinthetimeofthemilitary government meantoyou?
Theconcertswerefreedom... a meetinginfreedom: zone.Youwantedtogetinat
a liberated
anypricebecauseyouknewthatinsidesomething was happening. .. itwasa place
different
wherepeoplelivedfreedom inthemusic,I don'tknow.. itwas intheair,yes?Weaskedfor
freedomthere. (Carlos,19,student)
A sphere for the constructionof liberty,a utopia made real, even though only
between those fourwalls: yes, but when between five,ten,twenty,and as manyas
60,000people express and feelthe same thing,it makes a movementof opinion of
genuine scale. The rock movementnot only asked forbut also to a certainextent
anticipatedthe freedomthatwas to come.
3. The movement
3.1. Oppositions and thefieldofconflict values
Rocknacionalcalls into question the way in which adults conceive the world - the
realisticconception:
... all those[adults]who surround youhavetheireyesclosedtolife,and theworstthingis
thattheywanttogetyoutobe thesameway,andatthisageyousee thingsas theyshouldbe,
notas theyare. (Rodolfo,Letters
Page,Expreso October1977)
Imaginario,
For the young, who tend to orient themselves in accordance with fundamental
behaviours rooted in values, the 'realism' of adults, theirpragmaticbehaviour, is
synonymouswith hypocrisy.This is so because a substantialpart of the values
upheld by the young come fromthe socialisationwhich they receive fromtheir
elders, so thattheirdenunciationsare directedagainst the inconsistencybetween
the values affirmedby adult societyand its social practice.
The rockmovementcoined a termto denote thishypocrisy:careta.To be caretais
to appear to be somethingone is not:
Argentina is careta,
likeall thecountries
whicharecoercedand underrepression. Itwas the
country ofthemagazineGente, ofmarriagesbetweenartists,
ofthejet-set,
thecountry where
everything is beautiful,
theappearanceputon foroutside.Butinsidetherewerepeoplewho
weredyingofhunger,and thereisn'ta singlebitofpoliticalnewsin thepapers. . . it'sall
football. (Roberto)
(PitmanyGerber etal. 1983,p.4)
In addition to those values which they absorb during a process of socialisation,
whetheradults respectthemin practiceor not,theyoung people ofeach generation
create and uphold new values. In the contextof complex modern societies, the
youngfulfilthefunctionofputtingforwardnew experimentalvalues, which society
cannotyetadopt. In this sense, certainpracticesof the young anticipatebehaviour
patternswhich will laterbe generalised throughthe whole of the social body, but
which are temporarilyrepellent to it. It is there that conflictemerges over the
breakingof bounds which the systemis not disposed forthe momentto cross:
Rockisagainstthesocietyimposedbyolderpeople. (Carlos,19,student)
We'reagainsttheestablishment. (Augusto,17,student)
To be against the societyimposed upon them and against the establishmentis to
insistthat othervalues exist to be imposed and established- one's own. For the
young, the existenceof two projectsin opposition to each other(those of the adult
and youthworlds) is expressedin a seriesofopposed pairs:violence-peace (or more
violence, in the case of 'heavy rock'); materialism-spirituality;individualism-
community;greed-disinterest;routine-innovation;interest-love;alienation-crea-
tion; realism-fantasy;the constructed-thenatural; the superficial-theprofound;
authoritarianism-liberty,etc. In this way the oppositional attitude of rock is
thecrisiswithinthecrisis
Authoritarianism:
Ifthisis thecharacterisationtherockmovementmakes oftheadultworldin general,
the existence of dictatorialregimes furtherexacerbates some of its perceived
as a resultofthisthetermsused to describethemcome to monopolise
characteristics;
the discourse of the young and the movement,to the detriment(ifonly temporary)
oftherest.Thus violence,repressionand authoritarianism (or theiropposites,peace
and freedom)come to be the fundamentalwatchwordsput forwardby rockduring
theperiod ofmilitaryrule. Notwithstandingthis- and giventhecharacteristic noted
before,that frequentlythe confrontationwith adults seems to be total- it is not
accidentalthatthe young linkthe dictatorshipto adults in general,at the same time
as they signal theirclear opposition to it:
The country has ended up penniless.Capitalhas been expatriated to theextentthatthis
nationhasbeenturnedintothemostdependentandindebtedontheplanet.Whatdidyoudo
aboutit,dad? . .. everysonshouldturnhimself intoan inquisitor ofhisfather.
Becauseifthe
government in facthands over to the politiciansa devastatedcountry,then also our
grandfathersand fathers arehandingovertous a verydubiouspieceofhistory inwhichthey
areall accomplices forwhattheyhavedoneorfailedtodo. ... In theeyesoftheirchildren,
everyfather willtakehis shareofresponsibility in thefaceofall thismess,and we young
peoplewillbe abletodemanda 'meaculpa'fromthisshrivelled andancientsociety,
nowthat
itsauthoritarian leadersaregettingolder,and findingita littlehardertokeeptheirgaze fixed
uponus. (MiguelCantilo,leaderofthegroupPedroyPablo,Primera Plana,April1983)
It is preciselythis absolute convictionof the adolescent who grew up during the
militaryperiod, and of the movementhe/sherepresents- the convictionofbeing in
no way responsibleforthe disaster- which gives solid argumentson the one hand,
and courage on the other,to confrontrepression.It is forthatreason thatthe first
mass settingin which slogans were chanted against the government,and the
militaryregimewas called a 'dictatorship',was a national rock concert.
Theenemywithinthemovement
The rockmovementin Argentinarecognisesa fundamentalfear,one whichperhaps
has itsoriginsin thefateofotheryouthmovementsat an international level, ofbeing
co-opted, exploited, or 'turned over' by the system.This possibilityis lived as a
constantthreat,and these young people were highlysensitiveto it. Two terms
coined withinthemovementare ofkeyimportanceto understandingtheradicaland
non-negotiableattitudewith regard to certainvalues: transarand zafar.
To transaris to enter into transactionswith the system,forexample making
commercialmusic,abandoning originalvalues, and so on. To zafaris theopposite,it
is to 'escape' fromthe system,to escape fromit by any means possible. When the
young detectattitudestheysuspect ofbeing transa,commentsarise such as 'they're
makingcommercialmusic now', 'they've sold out', 'they'retakingthe easy way',
is demanded of all membersofthe movement,but ofitsleaders
etc. Incorruptibility
in particular.
This fear relates to the way the system might penetraterock, producing a
separationbetween the public and the artist.In generalit is the money the artistis
as theprincipal
3.3. Theconcert channel
ofparticipation
Althoughthe cultureof rock had multiplemanifestations(a language of its own,
particulartypesofclothes,etc.), itwas centredprimarily
upon music,withtheartists
becomingtheleaders ofthe movement.These leaders are seen as co-foundersofthe
culturalphenomenon thathas been generated,as theyinterpretthe feelingsof the
young and re-createit, not only in specificmusical forms,but also in multiple
common codes. The relationshipbetween the artistand the public is practically
symbiotic:one does not exist withoutthe other. This goes much furtherthan the
simple economic problemof a public supportingan artistby attendingconcertsor
buyingrecords,because artisticproductionitselfdepends upon the qualityof this
relationship.The reason forthisis thatitis demanded ofthemusicianthatwhile his
own idiosyncrasies are respected he should continue to express the everyday
experiences,the desires and the values of the young people who make him their
4. Conclusions
The rock nacional movement has played an extremelyimportantpart in the
socialisationand re-socialisationof broad sectorsof Argentinianyouth duringthe
militaryperiod, restoringtruthfulcommunicationregarding the real country,
salvagingthemeaningoflifein a contextoflies and terror,consolidatinga collective
References
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Fontana,A. 1984. 'Fuerzas armadas, partidospoliticosy transici6na la democraciaen Argentina',CEDES
(Buenos Aires)
Humor.1984. 'Mesa redonda sobre rock nacional', March
Landi, 0. 1983. 'Culturay politicaen la transici6na la democraciaen Argentina',Criticay Utopia,No 10/11
Lechner, N. 1982. 'Especificandola politica', Criticay Utopia,8
Melucci,A. 1976. 'L'azzione ribelle.Formazionee strutturadei movimentisociali', in Movimenti di rivolta,
Milan: Etas Libri
Mires, F. 1984. 'Cultura y democracia', Nueva Sociedad,No 73 (Caracas)
Pitmany GerberL., Label, C. and Piccolini,P. 1983. 'ZPorque los adolescentesinviertensu tiempolibreen
el rock nacional?', UNBA (Buenos Aires) mimeo