Chilean New Song and the Question of Culture in the Allende Government: Voices for a Revolution

by Natália Ayo Schmiedecke, Sheyla Riyadh Weyersbach (Translator), Katie Clarkson (Revised by), Jessica Galetta (Revised by)

Overview

Focusing on the cultural debate within the left during the Popular Unity government in Chile (1970-73), Chilean New Song and the Question of Culture in the Allende Government situates the discourses and artistic production linked to the Chilean New Song movement, in order to demonstrate that the musicians were part of the committed intelligentsia. Thus, they actively participated in the discussion and proposal of ways to integrate culture in the revolutionary process, playing an important political and cultural role. The analysis is mainly based on the government-friendly press and on records released between 1970 and 1973, verifying how the main trends observed in the cultural debate were expressed in the movement; the extent to which the positions defended by the musicians have been in tune with governmental purposes; and if they have in fact influenced the cultural policies debated and pursued by Popular Unity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781793622853
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	01/28/2022
Series:	Music, Culture, and Identity in Latin America
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.29(w) x 8.99(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Natália Ayo Schmiedecke is research associate at the University of Hamburg.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Place of Culture in the Government of the Popular Unity

Chapter 2: Official Song?

Chapter 3: Controversies within Chilean New Song

Chapter 4: Final Considerations: Is a Song Worth More Than Ten Speeches?

Editorial Reviews

The study of the New Song in Latin America in general and of the Chilean New Song in particular continues to attract the attention of historians, musicologists, and publishers... In this book, the Brazilian researcher addresses the field of culture in Chile under the government of Salvador Allende between November 1971 and September 1973. Her argument is structured in an introduction and four chapters in which she makes a wide-ranging and commendable tour of a variety of aspects of both the musical movement of the New Song and this historical period.

Hispanic American Historical Review

Chilean New Song and the Question of Culture in the Allende Government analyzes a very interesting aspect of the revolutionary process experienced in Chile between 1970 and 1973, during the government of Salvador Allende. The relationship between political process, cultural politics, and the Chilean New Song movement is addressed through an analysis of the official programs, the discourses of the cultural actors, the real cultural practices, and the poetic-musical production of the works and songs of the Chilean New Song. The author explores a wide variety of sources, many of which have not previously been used by scholars. Her vision is broad, novel, and critical, making this book an important contribution to historiography.

Alfonso Padilla