1. Nuevo Cancionero

2.  Similar to Chilean “Nueva Cancion”, Nuevo Cancionero emerged in the early sixties and would dominate Argentine popular music through the seventies.  The movement was an attempt at renewing Argentine popular music with a philosophy of artistic integration and inclusivity.  Tango had dominated Argentine popular music since the 1930’s but had long become commercialized.  The country was also experiencing a “Folklore boom”, as more people from the countryside began emigrating to Buenos Aires in the 1940s. Folklore set itself in opposition to Tango as a “nativist” artform but stagnated because of resistance to change. “Folklore de la tarjeta postal”  The movement was influenced by the ethnographic works of Atahualpa Yupanqui (Hector Roberto Chavero Aramburu) who, like Violeta Parra travelled the various regions of Argentina collecting music.

3.  In 1963 in Mendoza, a group of musicians and artists composed of Mercedes Sosa, Armando Tejada Gomez, Oscar Matus and Tito Francia got together and publically declared the “manifesto” of the Nuevo Cancionero movement.  The manifesto praises popular music as evidence of the people’s creative spirit and seeks a unified “Argentine identity”, transcending the divisions between indigenous forms and European imports (folklore vs. tango)  At the same time, the movement would attempt to assimilate all modern forms of musical expression and expand popular music, defending freedom of expression and creation.

4.  la integración de la música popular en la diversidad de las expresiones regionales del país...  La participación de la música típica popular y popular nativa en las demás artes populares...  Rechaza a todo regionalismo cerrado...  Se propone depurar de convencionalismos y tabúes tradicionalistas a ultranza, el patrimonio musical...  Desechará... toda producción burda y subalterna que, con finalidad mercantil, intente encarecer tanto la inteligencia como la moral de nuestro pueblo...  Buscará la comunicación, el diálogo y el intercambio con todos los artistas y movimientos similares del resto de América --Manifiesto del Nuevo Cancionero 1963.

5.  One of the most important folklorists in Argentine History  Born in Pergamino, Buenos Aires in 1908. Family later moved to Tucuman in the Argentine pampa.  Developed an interest in indigenous cultures. At 13 changed his name as an homage to two Quechua rulers.  Began receiving musical instruction from a nearby priest who taught him his first “vidalias”.  Later travelling with his family, encountered other regional musical forms. Began learning them and collecting them in earnest.

6.  Joined the Communist party in 1931, and was frequently imprisoned under Peron.  In 1950 Yupanqui travelled to France invited to peform by Edith Piaf and Paul Eluard. Garnered international recognition.  His music is generally considered a precursor to Nuevo Cancionero and is named in their manifesto as a primary influence, nevertheless Yupanqui continued to write and record music until his death in 1989.

7.  Founder and the most internationally recognized member of the Nuevo Cancionero movement.  Born in Tucuman in 1935. Was first discovered upon winning a radio contest at 15 and was asked to return. Continuously suffered from stage fright.  In 1957 moved to Mendoza and married fellow folk-singer Oscar Matus. The two had one son and established a literary/musical society with Armando Tejada Gomez.  In 1965 after her marriage failed, she moved to Buenos Aires and made her debut in the Cosquin folk festival, which launched her to stardom. Recorded her first album in 1962 and her second in 1965.

8.  In 1969, Sosa visited Chile and discovered the music of Violeta Parra and Victor Jara, she would later cover their songs on subsequent albums and would vocally support the canditature of Salvador Allende.  Long affiliated with left wing Peronism and Communism, in 1979 fled to exile in Paris and Madrid following the detainment of herself and her audience at a concert in La Plata in 1978. The military held them in the same auditorium the whole night, forcing them to admit they had sung “prohibited songs”.

9.  Sosa returned to Argentina multiple times, in the face of the dictatorship.  In 1982 she performed 13 sold out concerts at the Teatro Opera in Buenos Aires and integrated musicians and songs from multiple genres including Rock Nacional. (Performing several songs by Charly Garcia The concerts became a site of protest.  According to Mariano Blejman: “Mercedes Sosa entendió que el rock argentino era parte del Nuevo Cancionero; y en años siguientes cantó también junto a Fito Páez Pero, curiosamente, el rock no fue mucho más allá de Mercedes Sosa. La amplia camada del Nuevo Cancionero no percudió la retórica del rock. “

10.  Poet, lyricist and radio personality, born in Mendoza in 1929.  Family of indigenous “huarpe” origin worked as poor rural farmhands. Second youngest of 24.  Raised by his aunt who taught him to read. First read “Martin Fierro” at age 15.  Became acquainted with Oscar Matus after getting a job as a radio announcer at Radio de Cuyo. The two would later become friends and collaborators.  Wrote the poem “Hay un niño en la calle” in 1958 as a “grito” following the ousting of Peron. Began writing politicized poetry and became affiliated with the Communist Party

11.  Formed in 1969 in La Plata by childhood friends Alejandro Jáuregui y Eduardo Molina. Other members included Miguel Ángel Coloma and brother/sister Sara y Guillermo Masi. Group originally called “Quinteto Vocal Tiempo” in reference to the predominance of voice in their sound.  Group became associated with the Nuevo Cancionero Movement in the late sixties. Performed at the Festival de Cosquin in 1969.  Group was influential in spreading “cancionero” folklore to Central America.  Went into exile in 1976 but continued touring and recording abroad. Still performing today (They visited Vancouver in 2009 and recorded ther Live in Canada album there.).

12.  Questions for discussion  What is your opinion of folk music? What are some of the folk artists you are familiar with or enjoy?  How would you describe the relationship between music and literature in the Nuevo Cancionero movment? What does this tell you about the relationship between high and popular culture in Argentina in general?  How would you describe the Cancioneros attitude towards folk music? What problems did they perceive in the “folklore boom” of the 1950s?  In turn, how would you characterize the cancioneros attitude towards Rock and Roll, which started to become popular in Argentina in the 1970s.  To what do you attribute Mercedes Sosa’s staying power as a musical force?  Finally how would you describe the relationship between the cancioneros and Peronism.