Rock Nacional and Dictatorship in Argentina

Author(s): Pablo Vila and Paul Cammack

Source: Popular Music, Vol. 6, No. 2, Latin America (May, 1987), pp. 129-148
Published by: Cambridge University Press
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Rock nacional and dictatorshipin
Argentina
PABLO VILA

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

Creatingspaces formorecomradelyrelationships, forconsciousnessless directedby the

market, or fordifferent
forless alienatedculturalmanifestations, basicvaluesand beliefs,
thesemovements represent doseofan extraneous
a constant element within thesocialbodyof
peripheralcapitalism.Naturally,any result we mightexpect fromthis micro-level
willonlyappearin thelongterm.Butduringthislongprocessitwillhave
'counter-culture'
demonstrated something muchmoreindisputible thanthemultipleabrupt
and irreversible
transformationsat thepinnacleofpower,precisely becauseit willhave putdownrootsin
andinthecorresponding
dailypractice uponwhichallsocialstructures
essentialorientations
arefounded. (Evers1985,p. 34)
Our hypothesis, which we shall develop in these pages, is that rocknacional
representsan oppositional culturalexpressionof a specificsocial actor,youth. Its
are thatit createsits own values, which clash withthose of the
basic characteristics
regime; it functions as an ideology of everyday life; it generates forms of
participationwhich are alternativein character;it is jealous of its autonomywith
129

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130 Pablo Vila

respectto otheractorsand projects,above all ofall politicalparties;and it shapes its

own identityin opposition to the authoritarianand anti-democratic powers which
defineitas one oftheirenemies. For all thesereasons, itindisputablycomes intothe
categoryof counter-culture.
But to say thatit is a counter-culture is to say, in termsof modern theoriesof
action, thatitis a new socialmovement. In fact,followingMelucci,we can say thatnew
social movementsare characterisedby makingthe sphereofculturetheirprivileged
space of action (whereas traditionalsocial movementsgave battle in the field of
relationsof production):
Themostremarkable aspectofcontemporary is thattheyovercomethedistinction
conflicts
betweenpublicand private.Conflict and socialstrugglesinvadeterrains
hithertoconsidered
suchas sexualrelations,
as private, inter-personalrelations,
profound arethebasis
necessities
uponwhichnewcollective arefounded..... Thiscentering
identities uponan identitywhich
is notprincipallyproductive orpolitical,
butfoundeduponmoreprofound propertieswhich
feelthreatened,tendstoaccentuate thecharacteristics
offragmentation
andmarginalityofthe
new movements. Revolttakeson existentialcontents,theonlyones whichappearto the
actorstobe irreducibleandnotmanipulable bythesystem. (Melucci1976,p. 57)
The searchfora new typeofinter-personalrelations;thedefenceofbeing'different',
youthidentity;thecreationofautonomous spaces, proposals fortheliberationofthe
body; the assumption by protest of existentialcontents; the ambiguous and
conflictiverelationship with politics and the assumption of directly cultural
characterare all characteristics presentin the rocknacionalmovement,which could
thereforebe consideredas a particulartypeofnew social movement.We say thatitis
a particulartypeofsocial movementbecause italso takeson a special functionin that
it develops in a context of dictatorshipand plays a role in the emergence of
democracy: '. .. the search for democracy takes on, in general, the formof a
counter-culture; thatis, itfillsitselfwitha set ofsignswhichare opposed to thesigns
which markthe establishedregime.There thus takes place a culturalconfrontation
between signs with differentand mutuallyexclusive meanings .. .' (Mires 1984,
p. 57).
It should be pointed out here that referencesto rocknacionalas a new social
movement should be taken with the caution that all such approaches to this
particulartypeofsocial actorrequire,especiallyas regardstheconsistencyand scope
ofitsproject.Thus ifin the centralnucleus ofthe movement(musicians,journalists
on alternativemagazines, membersofcommunities,youngpeople who takeon rock
as theirculture,etc.), such counter-culturalcontentsare found clearlydelineated,
the same thingdoes not always occur on the adolescent peripherywhich goes to
concerts,where the same contentsappear moreblurred,bearingwitnessto theload
of ambiguitywhich resultsfromtheirbeing subject to otherinfluencesand social
impressions(parents, school, the mass media, etc.).

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.

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 Rocknacionalanddictatorship
inArgentina 131

Once thisdecision was taken,'Music Listeners'Groups' ('grupos de recepci6n

musical') were set up. These are groups offriendswho habituallygo togetherto rock
concerts,and who were invitedto one or two meetingsforthepurpose oflisteningto
music and talkingabout rocknacional.The guidingidea behind thismethodologyis
thatthegestationand fashioningofmeaningsand lived experiencesin thepast have
a non-verbalorigin,distinctfromthatofthequestion,because in phenomena so tied
to the emotive as those which concern us here, an emotional triggersuch as the
music which those interviewedmost enjoyed at a given time seems more fruitful
than a verbal stimulus,more symbolic-rational in nature.
Thereforeat the start of each meeting they listened to those songs by the
differentgroups which had been mostrequestedby the audience (themselvesin the
past) in each period analysed. This provoked a veritableflood of memoriesand
of
structuring lived experiences which, in many cases, led to the meetingsbeing
continued on another day at the request of those interviewed. Twenty-eight
meetingsof this type took place, with an average lengthof threehours.
Another importantsource of data were rock magazines, and above all their
letterssections,which in some cases took up fouror fivepages (some magazines
received more than 300 lettersa month). Complete collections(over seven or eight
years) were consulted of the most important,and one or two years of less relevant
sources, as well as newspaper articlesand non-rockmagazines.
Interviewswere also carried out with key informants:specialist journalists
(Miguel Grinberg,JorgePistocchi,Claudio Kleiman);musictherapistsworkingwith
young drug addicts (Mauricio Ruiz); psychologists(Ruben Rojas) and, of course,
musicians.
Three semi-structuredinterviews were carried out at mass concerts in
December 1984, with the intentionof capturingthe opinion of the actors in situ.
We also had access to the statisticalinformationwhich formedthe basis of the
Pitmany Gerbermonograph (Pitmany Gerberetal. 1983). This was based upon a
surveycarriedout among 400 adolescentsqueueing forconcerts,ofwhicha selection
of a hundred cases was processed, and two group meetings,one withadolescents
who described themselves as rock fans and another with a controlgroup who
described themselvesas 'not just rock fans'.
Withthisbatteryofmethodologicaltools,we hoped to reduce as faras possible
the particularbiases which tend to be introduced into research conducted in
accordance with one single technique.
Use is made in thiswork of participantaccounts (whetherthose originatingin
letterspages, or fromthe music listeners'groups, interviews,etc.) onlyin orderto
illustratean argumentwhose empiricalbasis is composed of the combinationof
techniquesutilised,and neverofthe participantaccountitself.In any case, themost
importantfunctionof the participantaccounts transcribedis to 'make flesh' in a
concrete,lived experience,a particularconstantobservableby theothertechniques.
For example, to transformthe cold statisticaldatum that54 per cent of the sample
were interestedin the themesofthe songs fortheirsocio-politicalcontent,and that
63 per centwent to concertsforthe contentofthelyrics,intothetestimonyofJorge,
aged twenty-two,a cadet:
I believethatmanythingsyoudidn'thaveclear,orthatappearedtobe thecase,orthatyoufelt
ina vaguekindofway,becamefirmer andclearerthroughthethemesofthesongs... . I think
thatin manycases themusiciansfunctioned as leadersofopinion.

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132 Pablo Vila

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

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 133

thecultureoffearmade theyouthmovementitsprivilegedprotagonist,to theextent

thatitwas upon theyoung thatthebulk oftherepressionwas visited(67 per centof
the 'disappeared' were young people between the ages of eighteen and thirty).
Basingitselfon theimage of'suspect youth',therepressionwas directedspecifically
to this age group: one was guiltyunless one could prove the contrary.While the
student movement and the political youth movements slowly disappeared as
frameworksof referenceand support for collective identities,the rocknacional
movementestablished itselfas the sphere withinwhich a 'we' was constructed.
Thus going to concertsand listeningto records among groups of friendsbecame
privilegedactivities,as throughthembroad sectorsoftheyoungsoughtto preserve
theiridentity,in a contextin which the young feltthreatenedby the militaryby
virtueof theiryouth:
To go toa concertwas likea need.Wedidn'tmissa singleone.Therewas a tremendous need
tobe together.You feltsurethatbeingtogether wasgoingtohappentoyou,butifyou
nothing
wentoutontothestreetsomething wouldhappentoyouforsure.Therewas a greatneedto
participatein something, and to be safeat thesametime.I thinkitwas a stateofcollective
energy, do yousee?Whichiswhatwe werelacking. (Ricardo,31,bankemployee)
Thus theperiod 1976-77was markedbya tremendousboom in rocknacionalconcerts.
It was common in this period forLuna Park (the biggest covered stadium in the
country,in Buenos Aires,witha capacityof 15,000)to be filledonce or even twicea
month,along withinnumerabletheatreand cafeconcerts.Nevertheless,itwas nota
periodin whichtherewas a noticeableincreasein thesale ofrecordsofthisgenre,as
what was takingplace was a social necessityratherthan an aestheticmatter.Ifwe
agreewithLechnerthat'Consideringthisconstitutionofthe"we" as what is specific
to thepolitical,a folkperformance,a strikeor a mass can also be transformed intoa
political act. Independent of its content, any type of ritual supposes the
consciousness of a collectivepower' (Lechner 1982,p. 47), in our case the mass rock
nacionalconcertsof 1976-7providea clearexample ofpoliticisationin a period ofthe
closureofthetraditionalspaces forpoliticalactivity.In such concertsthemovement
celebrateditselfand confirmedthe presence of the collectiveactorwhose identity
had been questioned:
Itwas as ifLunaParkmeanta placetomeet,rather thana weaknessforgoingtoseeonegroup
oranother.'We areus, we arehere',thetwelveorfourteen thousandpeoplewhofilledthe
placewiththeirpresenceseemedto be saying.
(Expreso August1976,concert
Imaginario, report)
The appellation'we' necessarilysignalsalso a 'they'.Who has tonoticethat'we shall
not go un-noticedany more'? They do. The 'they' of CharlyGarcia's 'theywant to
disheartenus, theywant to killus' or 'theyhave offendedus so often'.From'them'
comes the famous speech by Admiral Massera (a memberof the militaryjunta),
deliveredin the Universidaddel Salvador, where he bracketsrockwithsubversion,
and which hangs, framed,in the editorialofficeof ExpresoImaginario:
Theyoungbecomeindifferent to ourworldand begintobuilda privateuniverse. .. while
theymakea strongcasteofthemselves, theyconvertthemselvesintoa secretsocietybefore
everyone'seyes,celebrate theirrituals:clothes,music.Withcomplete indifference.
Andthey
alwaysseek horizontal identifications,spurningeveryverticalrelationship.Latersomeof
themwillexchangetheirneutrality, theirspinelesspacifism,forthethrill
ofa terrorist
faith,a
predictabledestinationofan assaulton thesenseswithno prioritinerary, whichbeginswith
so arbitrarily
sacrilegious a conceptionoflove,whichforthemthusceases to be a private
ceremony, leads on to promiscuity,carrieson to addictiontohallucinogenic drugsand...

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134 PabloVila

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)

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 in Argentina
Rock nacional and dictatorship 135

TheExpreso comestorepresent thetrunk, withinnumerable whichin turnshelter

branches,
allthoseofus whobelievewe loverealfeelings. (Juan,
August1977)
As a refugeforsociabilityand a continentofsolidarity,dialogue betweenreadersis a
constantfeature:
to findsomeonewho thinksthesamewayyoudo. Andit'sbeautiful
... it'sbeautiful that
through thismagazinewe cancommunicate witheachother. (Mariana, July1977)
. .. goodforSandra!... youcan'tstandall thecrapthatsurrounds you,and suddenly,you
open a magazineand you findsomething as beautifulas Sandra'sletter.Then ... you
discover, youremember, youknowthattherearepeoplewhoarelookingforsomething else,
another morenatural,
life,moreauthentic, without lies,withoutposes. (Jorge, July1977).
Notefromtheeditors:Thefloodofletters congratulating Sandraon herletter is staggering.
In this manner ExpresoImaginariobreaks, just as the concertsdo on anotherlevel,
with the monopoly of discourse which the regime attempts to establish, and
inauguratesa currentof communicationwhich strengthensa collectiveactor in a
period characterisedby repeated attemptsto secure its disintegration:
The Expresowas likea drug,we rushedto buyit in thekiosks.And ifit didn'tcomeout
(becausethebloodythingwasalwayslate)we suffered,we cried,we wentroundtotheoffices
to ask whatwas happening,whatthehellwas happening!, sinceitwas something liketwo
weekssincetheExpresocameout! (Carlos,30,employee)
Its functionbecame more importantstillin the followingperiod,when the military
regimemanaged tobreaktheconcertcircuit,and theExpresobecame thelastredoubt
forthe survivalof the movement.

2.2 Regimeconsolidation and thecrisisofrock(1978-79)

It's verysad, to letpass by
on one side,thishistory
('ThisHistory'Le6nGieco,1976)
If,accordingto thelogicofthedictatorship,therockmovementand subversionwere
linked, it was necessary to disruptthe circuitof concerts,given that this was the
privilegedsphere ofthe constitutionofthe 'we' ofthemovement.Furthermore, the
concertswere used by the musicians to play songs banned by the authorities.
Actionagainstthecircuitofconcertstookdifferent forms,and was carriedout in
a numberofstages. In thefirstplace a campaignwas mountedagainsttheholdingof
meetingsin smaller venues by throwingtear-gasbombs or stink-bombsinto the
theatres.Later,police repressionwas stepped up in thebig meetingsat Luna Park.
Hundreds of people were literally'rounded up' and detained for police checks
before and aftereach event. And in the end the owners of concerthalls were
'advised' not to let them forrock concerts.
The offensivereached such an extentthattowardsthe end of 1977,facedwith
the impossibilityofputtingon concerts,a greatnumberofthe groupsbrokeup and
the leading musicians were forcedto go abroad in orderto continueworking.The
winningofa certaindegree of consentby the militarygovernment(the WorldCup,
the height of the importboom, etc.) furthercontributedto the inabilityof the
nationalrockmovementto resistthisonslaught,and as a resultits members'went
private',as thegreatmajorityofactorsagainstwhom themilitarymachinehad gone
into action had already done.
Rocknacionalalso had to compete against another phenomenon which was

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136 PabloVila

challengingiton itsprivilegedground.The end of1977saw theoutbreakofSaturday

NightFever;disco music, as performedby the Bee Gees and Donna Summer,took
over the musical scene. The discotheque replaced the concert.The dance replaced
the song. English replaced Spanish. Lack of communicationreplaced communica-
tion.Participantsin the movementwere seized by the feelingthatrocknacionalwas
dying:
Whatis happeningtoourmusic?Has thepowerof1976beenparalysed? ... I believeinthis
movement. Andifoncewe wereso manythatwe weredelighted, we mustbe moreorlessthe
sametohelptogetitoutofthis. .. chaos. (Silvia,Letters
Page,February 1978)
Notefromtheeditors:All themusicians(and we ourselves)arepassingthrough a strange
periodofconfusion.
In the search forexplanationsforwhat was happening, some contributionsto the
LettersPage referto a change in publicbehaviour. It would appear thatthe climate
which engulfedthe majorityof the population as a consequence of the WorldCup
also affectedthe rock fans. High spirits (of an aggressive nature), chauvinism

. . .
..i- . -

:i
,),
j,i

Le6nGieco

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 137

(previouslyunknown in the sphere of youth music) and in some cases outright

violencebegan to make themselvesfeltat rockconcerts,and replaced the climateof
solidarity/togethernesswhich had always characterisedthem in the past. Indivi-
dualism replaced solidarity,privateconsumptionreplaced sociability.Around the
period 1978-79the model ofsocietyproposed by the military(people who converge
as individuals in the market,stripped of their historicalconnotationslinked to
collectiveactors)seemed to be imposingitselfupon thatothermodel which guided
therockutopias, and which,to some extent,was 'rehearsed'in theconcerts(people
relatingto each otherin solidarityon thebasis ofgivinglove, and feelingtheywere
participantsin a single movement).
Nevertheless,ifthiswas happening in the public sphere, rocknacionalwas still
managingto preserveat thisstage two entitieswhich keptit going as a movement.
One was ExpresoImaginario,the otherwas the small group of friends:
Formorethana yearI havebeenreceiving a shareofLIFE,whenExpreso reachesmystation.
(Freddy,Letters,
November 1977)
. . I thinkwe all forma littleunder-worldwherewe all livedseparatelyuntilyouarrived,
Expreso, andbegantobringus all together. IfI'mnotalone(orjustoneofa few)I canfightto
turnmydreamintoreality. (Guillermo,Letters,
April1978)
... themagazinestoresup themonthly expectationsofmanypeoplewhoaspireto change
theestablished orderofthings, without
yetknowing it. (Ernesto,Letters,
April1979)
These comments(and numerous othersalong the same lines) lie thicklyupon the
LettersPages of the Expresoin those years. In a period marked by the loss of
manifestationsof the movementin the public sphere, the magazine functionedas
the preserverof its content,throughits notes and commentaries,and above all
throughthe functionofexchangeand communication(thatknowledgethat'thereis
someone else') which its LettersPage fulfilled.
The other sphere in which identitywas preserved was the group of friends:
meetings of friends not only sustained an identitywhich found few external
referentsto aid its re-creation,but also played the crucial role of socialisingnew
generations into the contents of the movement. Only when one realises the
importanceofthisexchange oflived experiencesbetween different generationsis it
possible to understandthe phenomenon thatoccurredwhen rocknacionalreturned
to the public stage: fourteenand fifteenyear-oldschorussingsongs made popular a
decade before,many of them banned and withdrawnfromthe recordshops.
On the basis, therefore,ofthe contentspreservedby the Expreso,the profound
communicationrepresentedby itsLettersPage, and the smallgroups offriends,the
rocknacionalmovement'hibernated'awaitinga new spring.This was to come at the
hands oftheverymusiciansresponsibleforthebirthofrockin Argentina.Itwas as if
a returnto originswas necessaryto enable the marchto begin again, to recreatethe
'magic' of the gatheringwhich the years of the militaryregime's greatestsuccess
seemed to have obliterated.

2.3. Theloss ofmilitary and therenaissance

legitimacy ofrock(1980-81)
We are in no man'sland,
Butitis mine.
The innocentare theguilty,
Sayshis highness,theKing
ofSpades.
('Alice'sSong in theCountry',
CharlyGarcia,1980)

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138 Pablo Vila

The panorama began to show signs of change in mid-1979,and the re-discoveryof

the spiritof formerdays was celebratedwith jubilation:
Whathappenedon May29-30cannotbe reducedtoa simplemusicalconcert. Itwentbeyond
thoseboundsto turnitselfintoa partyin whichmusicwas theelementwhichboundus
together. .. a climateofsharedhappiness,a communicationwhichhappenedbetweenallof
us markedthebeginning ofa newmoveforward inthesphereofrock.A spaceforus, forall.
Forallofus whokeptsinging: 0-000-0! (RalphRothschild,
Mordisco,
July1979)
A returnto the source in orderto emergefromthe period of darkness:thiswas the
slogan put forwardby the most representativeexponents of the movement; the
recuperationof the essence, the historicbannerswhich 'had wavered a little'in the
period in which the militaryregime seemed to have succeeded in its project of
redefiningthe social actors; a demonstrationthatrockhad not disappeared; and a
continuationalong theroad whichwould lead to itsbeingthepointofreferencefora
broad sector of youth:
... tothosewhostilllivebytheirowninstincts we say:Weneeda regionofpoetryandmusic
whichdisrupts, whichconfuses,whichilluminates.To carry onbeinghere,and singfora lost
generation.ALMENDRAwas bornand disseminated itsartin terrain
as muddyas thatof
today. That of now. A terraindrawn by the socio-economic-emotional realityof the
Argentine.. . . Thepresentstateis depressing.Buttogo underis nottodisappear.... We
shouldtoday,morethantenyearson fromthoseevents,go overall thathas happened;
salvagetheessenceand continuethevoyage:thatofouridentity.
(Almendra, Mordisco,
September 1979)
All thisis reflectedin the proclamationmade by the mythicgroup Almendraon the
occasion of its return.The idea appears once again of a freespace, a space of one's
own: that 'region of poetryand music'. To that sphere would belong the task of
'disrupting'the route that the system(in this case the militaryregime)wished to
impose upon the young, while at the same time'illuminating'its own. Because the
generationto whichithas to singhas been a 'lost' generation,Almendracan perform
this task because 'it was born in terrainas muddy as that of today', in which
authoritariansoldiers also governed, and in which the 'socio-economic-emotional'
realitywas also depressing.
Almendra's concertswere a great success, attracting
... morethanthirty thousandpeople,andmanymorewhocouldnotgetin.Wedidnotgoto
artist.We wentto see ourselves;marginalised
see a foreign bythemedia,confusedbyother
generations.Thus it was thatthe applause too was directed
inwards,towardsourselves.
AlongsideAlmendrawe could say: herewe are. Thatwe have ourculture,our space ...
everyonewantingto know thatwe were together,present,feelingourselvespart of
something. (RalphRothschild,
Mordisco,
January1980)
It was happiness at the meeting itself.It was the possibilityof 'continuingthe
voyage: that of our identity',as Almendra had sensed so acutely. Almendra was
only the excuse to say: 'here we are . . . we are part of something.. .', forin the
liturgiesof the collectivityone celebratesoneself,and 'althoughtheyappear as the
exaltationof a leader, thisonly symbolisesthe confidenceofthe collectivity in itself
to know how to establish itselfin the world' (Lechner 1982, p. 47).
FromthetimeoftheperformancesofDecember 1979(35,000people), therewas
a floodof young people to the concerts,reachingits peak in December 1980,when
the group Seni Girin (led by Charly Garcia) brought60,000 people to Palermo.
What was the response of the military regime? Repression. The first
performancesofthe new cycleofconcertswere repressed,because towardsthe end

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 139

of 1979 the militarywere still convinced of the viabilityof their socio-economic

project,and acted accordingly.As the lustrethey had enjoyed at the time of the
World Cup had faded, they now appealed directlyto repression. The football
supporterswho years ago had helped them to emptyrock of its contenthad now
disappeared. Part of the public was indisputablythe same, but it had changed its
attitude,it feltitselfonce again formingpart of somethingwhich it considered its
own. Anothersectorwas made up ofnew adherentsto themovement,who were, in
the firstplace, adolescents. But forthe firsttime universitystudentscame to rock
nacionalin massive numbers,and the 'historicrockfan' raised his eyebrowsat this
uninvitedguest at the party.
Thereis evidence fortheemergenceofa sphereofdissidencewhichwas valued
as such by the mostlucid elementsin the movement.This was reflectedin the mass
natureof the phenomenon, in the clearlyquestioningcontentof some of the most
popular songs, such as 'Alicia's Song in theCountry'('Canci6n de Aliciaen el pais'),
'Collective Unconscious' ('Inconsciente colectivo') ('Yesterday I dreamed of the
hungry,the mad/Thosewho went, those who are in prison/TodayI awoke singing
this song/Whichwas already writtensome time ago/Itis necessaryto sing again,
once more'), or 'JoseMercado', and above all in theappearance ofchantsagainstthe
government(beginning with the footballchant, 'If you're not jumping you're a
soldier' ('El que no salta es un militar'),whichprovokedthe curiousspectacleofthe
whole stadiumjumping in unison upon theirseats). This sphere of dissidence was
also detected by the militaryregime, who stepped up the level of repression in
response to the growingsize of this oppositional challenge.
From 1981 onwards, however, police action was not the only point of contact
betweenthestateand rocknacional,as thenew militaryadministration, in accordance
with its general policy, adopted a strategyof dialogue with the movement. The
politicalorientationofGeneralViola implieda shiftin thecentreofgravityofpolitical
power from within the militarycorporation onto the terrainof linkages with
different actorsin civilsociety.A futureMinisterforYouth formedpartoftheproject
espoused by thenew President,and he had identifiedthe rockmovementas a valid
interlocutor,able to participatein the politicalopening in its own area: thatof the
young.
Butunlikethepoliticalparties,who '. .. contributedto maintainingtherelative
stabilityoftheViola governmentthrougha policyofmoderationand containmentof
anti-militaryhostility . . . [to avoid] the production of offensive criticisms,
denunciations,and frontalattackson the militarygovernment.. .' (Fontana 1984,
p. 23), the human rightsmovement,the neighbourhoodmovementand also rock
nacionalnot only kept up theirassault on the dictatorship,they redoubled their
efforts. Thus on the one hand themarchesprotestingoverthe'disappeared' swelled
in size, while on theothertheoppositionalcontentamongconcertaudiences became
more marked: the chant 'El que no salta es un militar'was slowly replaced in the
preferencesof the young by 'Se va a acabar, se va acabar, la dictaduramilitar'('It's
going to end, it's going to end, the militarydictatorship').
This was the panorama presentedby rocknacionalon the eve of the War of the
South Atlantic:concertsof a size never seen before, songs with an increasingly
markedoppositional content(demanded by the public themselves)and a strongly
anti-military climateamong the audience. The most representativeelementin the
movementwere perfectlywell aware ofthe groundtheywere treadingand the role
theyhad to play:
Garcia: Thepeopleareexpecting a kindofmessage,theyneedstrength, and inthe
vitality,

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140 Pablo Vila

lyricswe denouncethings,and do all we canso thatpeoplego hometurnedupside

down,and we don'tneed a messagewhichsays:'you mustdo this!'
Expreso:So thereisn'ta clearmessage?
Garcia: No, whatis happeningis themessage.
withCharlyGarcia,Expreso
(Interview December1981)
Imaginario,
What was happening trulywas the message. Because
someactivitiesacquired(duringthedictatorship) andcultural
a political valuenotso muchfor
whattheywereorwhattheyweresaying,but,fundamentally, as a consequenceofthevery
actoftheirtakingplace,whichcametobe partofthelanguage.Thecase ofwhatwas called
'nationalrock'is typicalinthissense:itdoes notrefertoa homogenousstyleofmusicortoa
commonartistic level,buttotheunityofthephenomenon ofyouthculture whichitembraces.
(Landi1983,p. 82)
The mass gatheringsof the social movementalso representedends in themselves,
and at times the music was only an excuse. A concertin which the songs are
applauded more as soon as theirfirstnotes are recognised than when theyfinish
somethingotherthanan aestheticfunction.
shows clearlythatthe musicis fulfilling
Beforethe Malvinas War, rocknacionalwas alreadyplayingto the fullitspartas
leader and co-ordinatorofan oppositionalmovementembracingbroad sectorsofthe
young.

2.4. The War oftheSouthAtlanticand theaccessofrockto themedia(1982-83)

Friendson theblockmaydisappear
Singerson theradiomaydisappear
Peoplein thepapersmaydisappear
The ones you love maydisappear
('The Dinosaurs',CharlyGarcia,1982)
The period between December 1981 and the Malvinas War saw the returnof the
military'hard-liners'. Galtieri's governmentpresented itselfas a returnto 'the
sources ofthemilitaryprocess', througha returnto militaryauthoritarianism on the
one hand (rememberthePresident'sfamousphrase: 'theballotboxes are underclose
guard') and a re-launchingofthemonetaristeconomicline associated withMartinez
de Hoz on the other.
Civil societydid not accept, in general,the closure of the politicalspace which
Viola had opened up, and both political parties and unions increased their
oppositionactivity,leading up to therallyorganisedfor30 Marchbythe CGT-Brasil.
In thiscontext,the Malvinas War appears as an attemptby Galtieri,by means of a
militaryactionwhichstrucka chorddeep in theheartsofall Argentinians,to resolve
'domestic political conflictsand re-establishthe basis for the legitimationof an
authoritarianpoliticalproject' (Fontana 1984, pp 30-31).
In response to an invitationfromthe militaryauthoritiesto put on a rockmusic
concerton accountofthewar, themovementmounteda 'FestivalofLatinAmerican
Solidarity'on 16May. Itwas guided bya double purpose: to reflecta desireforpeace,
and to make some kindofcontribution to theneeds oftheyoungmen holed up in the
south, friends,brothers,comrades ofthe 60,000young men and women who came
to the Obras Sanitarias stadium to contributehandkerchiefs,cigarettes,sweaters
and otherwarm clothing:
I wenttotheMalvinasconcert . .. butI onlywenttotakea sweaterforthekidswhowerecold.
(Oscar,24,daylabourer)

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 141

It's as ifGod had said: 'Here,kids,you'vegotto tellhimthatthewar'sno good.' And I

remember thatalthoughwe had todisguisethefact,allofus whoweretherewentforpeace.
(Roberto) etal 1983,p. 6)
(PitmanyGerber
Fromthe epic reconstructionof 'the only ones opposed to the war' to the simple 'I
wentto takea sweater',byway ofthepossibleutilisationon thepartofthemilitary of
theintentionsoftheyoung people present,thewhole rangeofresponses picked up
withregardto the Festival of Solidaritystressthe commitmentof those presentto
peace:
I hopeitwillbe a homagetopeaceandnottowar,as itmightappearfromsomepointsofview.
We,as freemusiciansinourcountry, aretotally
convincedthatthewaroffensivemustend.
(LuisAlberto leaderofAlmendra,
Spinetta, PanCaliente,
June1982)
And theway in whichthefestivaldeveloped finallyreinforcedthemessage ofpeace.
Aftera somewhat confusingstart,it was Le6n Gieco's performancewhich tuned in
withthefeelingsofthemajorityofthe60,000crowd. Fromthatpointon therewas no
moreconfusion.Everyoneknew why the person at theirside had come, because, as
Gieco sang:
'I onlyaskGod S61olepidoa Dios
nottomakemeindifferent towar que la guerranomesea indifferente
thattramples
Itisa greatmonster Es unmonstruo grandeypisafuerte
On thepoorinnocenceofthepeople' todala inocenciade la gente.

Everyoneremembered,too, thatthe peace movementin Argentinais interwoven

withtherockmovement,and Porchetto's'A LittlePeace' ('Algo de paz') became the
otherbig success of the night.
For rocknacionalthe seizure of the Malvinas and the consequentdecision ofthe
authoritiesnot to transmitany more music in English meant the chance to secure
massive coverage in the audo-visual media which until then had denied it space.
This coverage made it possible forthe music's proposals to be heard by a greater
numberofpeople and led to an accelerationin thealreadymarkedmass natureofthe
phenomenon. In thiscontextrocknacional,nothaving supportedthegovernmentin
its militaryadventure (as the politicalpartieshad done) and representingthe real
losers in the war - the hundreds of young men killed or multilated- assumed a
position of outrightcriticismof the government.The contentof lyricsbecame
increasinglyoppositional and the chantsfromthe audience became more pointed,
with some concertsechoing to the chant: 'Firingsquads, firingsquads, forall the
soldiers who betrayed the nation' ('Pared6n, pared6n, a todos los milicos que
vendieron la naci6n').
Thus, forexample, Fito PIiez describesin 'DifficultTimes' ('Tiempos dificiles')
all thehorrorofthefigureofthe'disappeared':
Thegravediggers havedonetheirjobbadly Los sepultererostrabajaronmal
Thedescrators forgotthatburiedflesh Losprofanadores se olvidaron
quela carne
Does notproduce,butthereareliving se entierra
branches ynoproduce,perohayramificaciones que
Andworse,theyarealert. esti~n
vivas
Mothers whocryovergreyearth yes peor,estinalertas
Sonswhotrainso as nottodie ... Madresque lellorana unatierra gris
I drinktothat,I singtothat hijosque se entrenan paranomorir ...
Thecemeteries ofthistownwillbelitup Brindoporeso,cantoporeso
Withhellstorevengethesoulsinquestion Los cementariosde estaciudadse iluminarin
Andscrapsofspringwillappear... de infiernosparavengarlasalmasen
cuesti6n
y Ilegarintrocitosde primavera

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142 Pablo Vila

~::;:
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-

:izi
U-:~:l"

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:., ~fol
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SJ
*D; "rS-

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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)

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 143

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

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144 Pablo Vila

establishedin the face of a social systemcharacterisedas hypocritical,repressive,

violent,materialistic,individualistic,routine,alienated, superficialand authorita-
rian.

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

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 145

(allegedlyor really)earningwhichis accused ofprovokingthesplit.And themoney

comes, forthe most part,fromthe hand of a producer. Cause and agent are thus
identified.In thisway the artist'srepresentativeis identifiedas thefifthcolumnistof
the establishmentwithinthe world of rock. It is he who makes money out of the
music, the ideals and the poetryof the music. The utopia of the memberswould
seem to be to achieve the abolitionof intermediationsbetween the music and the
public,withthe idea thatthe music and the public make up the movement.All the
otherthingsare invasions, and the invasions are the system.
Beyond the existence of certain data which make it possible to glimpse
'commercial'behaviour on the part of some musicians, one would have to ask
whethersome oftheaccusationsoftransaare notlinkedto issues whichhave moreto
do withthe young people who make themthan with the musiciansagainst whom
theyare directed.It mightbe suggestedthatsome ofthoserecriminations have their
originsin themythicreconstruction whicheach memberand subgroupoftheworld
of rockmakes of what was his momentof entryand initiationinto the movement.
Curiously,practicallyall our intervieweeson the one hand, and themajorityof
readers of rock magazines writingto the LettersPages on the other,identifythe
momentofthegreatestauthenticity ofthemovement(leavingaside its'untouchable
origins')as the time at which they themselves were socialised intothe rockculture.
Thereis a 'before'and an 'after',a 'paradise lost' in which,apparently,all past time
was better.This intersectionbetween thecycleofone's personal lifeand thehistory
of the movement seems to mark a key point, becoming a landmark which is
converted(perhaps unconsciously)into a divisorbetween a mythical'before'and
'after'.These generallycoincidewithadolescence and entryintothe world ofrock.
Perhaps the perceptionof how long the movementretainedits 'idealism' is
linked to the moment at which they themselves,because of the time they had
reached in theirown lives, came to an equally idealisticconceptionof the world,
governedby absolute values, purityofprinciples,etc., and itis possible thatin part
theyprojecttheirsubsequent disillusionmentback onto the movementas a whole.
The themeis pertinent,given thatthe rockmusicianshave given eloquent signs of
wishing to 'escape' fromthe system,and avoid being drawn into the bourgeoisie:
NowthatI'mpartofthesystem... well,it'snotverynice.Youhavetowatchoutallthetime
thatthesystemdoesn'tdevouryou,anditwearsyoudown... ifI shouldhappentoseethatI
can'tkeep myhead together, I'll retreat
and playin smallerplaces,withoutsponsors.
6March,1983)
(CharlyGarcia,Clarin,
It is a constantfeatureof rocknacionalthatgroups breakup at the momentof their
greatestsuccess, the cases of those who brokeup once theyhad startedto decline
being exceptional.The leading musicianshave always attachedgreaterimportance
to theircreativedevelopmentthanto the dictatesofeconomic success. Paradoxical-
ly, actions of this kind lead them to formnew groups which themselvesbecome
successful(sooner or later), as in general the change in theirstyleof composition
correspondsto the detectionof new needs which are emergingamong theirpublic.
This phenomenon is a constantto and frobetween the public and the music which
makes fortheirgrowthtogether.

3.2. Youthcultureand 'Us'

Rocknacionaldefines itselfas a movement. Its membersare bound togetherby a
sharedculture,an ideologyoflife,whichhas theparticularcharacteristic
ofbringing

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146 Pablo Vila

intoplay the personalityas a whole, in its rational,social and affectiveaspects. It is

an oppositionalculturewhich not only embracesthe political,economic and social
orders,but also calls into question a formof conceivingof the world:
Rockis our culture.The cultureofa generation whichrejectstheinheritance ofprevious
generations,an inheritance ofcrisis,blood,oneoftheworstintheworld.Itisartfortodayand
impliesa wholeideologicaland philosophical posture.
(AndresCalamaro,keyboard playerwithLosAbuelosde la Nada,LaRaz6n,16December
1984)
It'sa movement that goesbeyond music.It'sa a
philosophy,way oflife.For in
me, personal
matters, itwas also a religion.Rockis yourhomeand youfeelit... itis givingyouidentity,
speakingtoyou. (Ruben)(PitmanyGerber etal. 1983,p. 5)
Rockis whatyou werefeelingand whatyou werelivingeveryday:yourproblems,your
wishes,yourdesires.You don'tcarryitinlonghairorfadedjeans,youcarryitinyourheart.
(Federico)(Humor, 1984)
Rock as a formof life,as a daily concern,as ideology,as the sphere of the self,as a
valid interlocutor, as a practiceof freedom:these and othersimilardescriptionsare
conspiciuous in the discourse of the members of the movement, revealing the
re-socialisingfunctionwhich itplays in contemporaryArgentina,characterisedas it
is by the impositionof a cultureof silence and self-censorshipin the familysphere.
Young people were looking elsewhere for the truthful
information thatwas being
kept from them, as neither the manipulated information which theyreceivedfrom
themass media, nor thatwhich theyreceivedfromtheirteachersand lecturers,nor
the dialogue they conducted with their parents (who generally appealed to
self-censorshipto avoid repressionfallingon the family)made any referenceto the
realcountrytheyoung experienceseveryday. To say that'rockspoke toyou', or that
rock was 'what you feltand lived every day', is to say that the communicative
practiceswithwhich many young people maintainedtheirrelationshipwithreality
were structuredaround the rocknacionalmovement,not round the caretacountryof
theirparents:
Itwas rockwhichmade me see thethingsthatwereall right,thatyouthinkareall right.I
believethatmanythingsyoudidn'thaveclear,orthatappearedtobe thecase,orthatyoufelt
in a vague kind of way, became firmer or clearerthroughthe themesof the songs or
statements. I thinkthatin manycases themusiciansfunctioned as leadersofopinion.
22,cadet)
(Jorge,

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

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 Rock nacional and dictatorship
in Argentina 147

leader. In thisway theresultingphenomenonis shared,giventhatitdoes notbelong

exclusivelyto themusician,as he onlytransmitsback,in an artisticproduct,whathis
people firstgave to him:
. . thepeoplearethemainprotagonist inwhatwe aredoing.Thepublichas toprovokethe
phenomenonof Luis, and Luis has to provokethephenomenonof his public... it's a
questionofmakingthemfeelthattheyaregetting something impressive,andthattheyarethe
oneswhoinvented it. (LuisAlberto
Spinetti,Expreso August1980)
Imaginario,
I believethatintheconcerts
therearetwoartists:
thepublicand theartist. percenteach.
Fifty
22,cadet)
(Jorge,
The close relationshipbetween artist and public is the nodal point of all the
phenomenon known as rocknacionaland the concertis thephysicalspherein which
itis moulded. In addition,thischaracteristic ofthemovementbringswithittheidea
of equality, absence of division: the musician is the representativeof the lived
experiencesofhis followers,and in orderto continuein thatpositionhe mustshare
these withthem.Ifhe is convertedintoa 'superstar'he will notbe able to do so, he
will cease to representhis people and lose popularity,as a resultofwhichthecircuit
around the idea of equality will be completed. The dangers of 'stardom' are
perceived by the most lucid elements, and pointed out by the young fans in the
majorityof participantaccounts:
S. . themusician soldme theidea thathe was thesameas me,and nowI see thatitisn'tso,
and I have everyrightto tellhimthathe's a cretin,and to giveme backwhatis mine.
(Pablo,22,student)(PitmanyGerberetal 1983,p. 6)
Thereforekeeping the circuitwhich feeds rockwell oiled is not simplya matterof
preserving the concert as a meeting place, but primarilyof keeping open
communicationbetween the musician and the public - thatrecyclingof messages
and lived experienceswhich makes one bothequal and an idol and at the same time
transforms a leader into the most 'equal' of the equal. The concert,as the principal
participatory form,thustakes shape as the sphereofreunionoftheyoungwiththeir
own lived experiences. In it ideology is renewed, the proposals of the leaders are
ratifiedor rejected,and outsiders are given a display of the numericalsize of the
movement.It is lived as a ritualof re-creation,regenerationand re-affirmation of
'us', of the collectiveidentity.The slogans, the '0-000-0!' of Woodstock, the
requests forthe most significantsongs, the outburstof joy at the recognitionof
favouritesongs when the musicians play the opening chords are, more than the
applause at the end, the signs ofthe approval and affectionofthe public. Applause
at theend is theresultofan aestheticappreciationofthe consumed artisticproduct,
and forthe movementthe aestheticis only one more component,not the principal
reason forthe meeting.In sum, rocknacionalis a movementwhich createsleaders
ratherthan idols, which demands the re-affirmation of the commitmentof the
musicianto the realityof his public at everymeeting,as it were in a daily plebiscite
which is the nodal point of its survivalas an oppositional youth movement.

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

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148 PabloVila

actoras a means of counteractingan individualisticmodel of life,counterposinga

supportivecommunityof actions and intereststo the primacyof the market.The
highly oppositional content of the songs, the franklycritical attitude of the
audiences, and the gatheringtogetherin public places to express opposition to the
militaryregimewere some of the characteristics of thisyouthmovement,which,in
the contextof the crisisof legitimacyprovoked in Argentinaby the emergenceof
successive dictatorialgovernments,has made itselfone of the alternativesto the
crisis, creatingpopular and communal channels of participationeach time that
traditionalchannels have been closed down.
It is a movement which has leaders but no idols, which celebrates itselfin
massive concerts,and which transforms some songs intogenuinehymns:'Girlwith
Paper Eyes' ('Muchacha ojos de papel'), 'Cold TomatoJuice'('Jugode tomatefrfo'),
'The Raft' ('La balsa'), 'The Bear' ('El oso'), 'The March of Rage' ('La marcha de la
bronca'), 'Song for My Death' ('Canci6n para mi muerte'),'I Only Ask God ('S61o le
in
pido Dios'), 'Alicia's Song the Country'('Canci6n de Alicia en el pais'), or 'The
a
CantervilleGhost' ('El fantasmade Canterville');duringthe dictatorship,in 1983,
the latterwas played in the funeralcortege which followed the remains of the
conscriptPalacios, assassinated in Campo de Mayo afterhavingbeen torturedfora
minorinfraction.
It is a movementwhich wins the backing of adolescents who write on their
rucksacks,as did Roberto (15):
My armis peace, mypartyis rock,and myeternalend is love.
Withoutany doubt it has been, forbroad sectorsof youth, a refuge,a sphere of
resistanceand a channelforparticipationin thecontextofa closed and authoritarian
societyin crisis.
(translatedby Paul Cammack)

Acknowledgement:Withoutthe enthusiasticparticipationof the young rock fans

this work would have been unthinkable.To all of them,many thanks. Particular
thanksto Laura Vila, ElizabethJelin,Ram6n Pelinski,Fernando Calderon and Jan
Fairleyfortheirsupport and help.

References
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(Buenos Aires)
Humor.1984. 'Mesa redonda sobre rock nacional', March
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Lechner, N. 1982. 'Especificandola politica', Criticay Utopia,8
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