"¡Gracias a la vida!" by Mercedes Sosa

La Nueva Canción...

¡Hola!

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

This time I want to tell you about "La nueva canción".

 

 First... A little history!

At the end of the '60's and the beginning of the '70's in Latin America, many  political changes were taking place.

Several countries had suffered or were suffering dictatorships. Military regimes had been ruling these countries and were suppressing individual freedoms and rights. 

That was the case in Argentina where a new musical movement was created which reflected the feelings of the people. El manifiesto de Mendoza en 1963 para el "Nuevo Cancionero Latinoamericano" started "La nueva canción". A famous Chilean singer, Mercedes Sosa, was part of this movement.

It was initially a musical movement interested in portraying the traditional rhythms and melodies of their folkloric treasures in contrast to the more commercial styles. It expressed a lot of nationalism--feeling proud of one's own musical and literary expressions instead of adopting those coming from the outside (mainly Europe and the US).

Quickly it started expressing social issues of the time as well. It gave people a way of expressing themselves through poetry and music, when expressing themselves directly was not an option.

Very difficult times for the common people existed  in several Latin American countries because of the oppressive  military regimes. Anybody who dared to speak out against the government was accused of conspiring against it and was subject to government terrorism "Terrorismo de estado". Human rights violations were rampant. Many people were being threatened, kidnapped, tortured, incarcerated and/or killed while many simply "went missing." Many families were affected and many people are still unaccounted for to this day in spite of extensive efforts of their families and human right organizations to determine their fate.

As the more brutal regimes fell from power, new democratic governments have replaced them. It has been an imperfect process in many places but certainly an on-going one. The scars of those years though, are still real for many. One of the victims of the dictatorship in Chile was Ex-president Michelle Bachelet. Her father was assassinated  by the Pinochet regime while she and her mother were tortured and exiled. They lived in France where she became a physician, later returning to Chile to become the first woman president.

"La nueva canción" gave birth to "La canción social" or "La música protesta". It became very popular in Latin America. It is still today a way of addressing issues of injustice, oppression, inequality, and the rejection of commercial interests in music, and as well as in society in general.

This song was written by the Chilean poet Violeta Parra, a musician and writer who played a major part in the same "Nueva canción" movement, this time in Chile. When sung by Mercedes Sosa, it became a hymn of the times, and one of the most well-known songs in Latin American music. It has been sung by many artists all around the world, including the American Joan Baez, and more recently  the Canadian Michael Bublé in his efforts to support "La Teletón" which raised funds for the people affected by the 2010 Earthquake in Chile.

"Gracias a la vida" is a testament to those difficult times in the history of these countries, but it is also an ever-present "Thanksgiving" song. It talks about being thankful for things that most people take for granted, but that during hard times are most appreciated.

Here the lyrics and the video of one of Mercedes' shows on TV.

http://goo.gl/mR6RQ

 

http://goo.gl/Q7xXl

¡FELIZ DÍA DE ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS! y hasta la próxima.