Hello everyone! ¿Cómo les ha ido?
I have been a little busy with things this semester but here it comes... another post. ¡Ya era hora!
Today's song is one close to my heart, because it talks about the armed conflict in Colombia.
A little bit of history would do us some good to put the video in the right context.
More than 60 years ago and because of the injustice and disparity of the Colombian society, rich people with all the power and many people suffering in poverty, small farmers being exploited by rich land owners, members of the government who belonged to the extreme right threatening and killing some who didn't share their ideas; the "guerrilla" was formed.
It started as a group of armed peasants who wanted to defend their rights against the powerful. Over the years they realized they were not going to change anything without money. Money to survive, but also to buy equipment, weapons, etc. So they enter the world of crime, kidnapping and blackmailing the rich land owners. That was the way they "paid their bills".
Other groups were formed to fight against them and to defend the rights of the land owners, stop the kidnapping, blackmailing, etc. The paramilitary groups were then born. And the many Colombians who didn't belong to any of those groups were caught in the middle. Being accused of collaborating or helping with one of the groups they became target for the other one.
After some years drug trafficking became an important part of their financing. Today, both "guerrillas" and "paramilitares" are drug cartels.
I belong to a generation who has not seeing a different Colombia, one in peace. To that same generation belongs Juan Esteban Aristizabal "Juanes". He is from Medellín, the second larges city in the country and one of the most affected by violence especially in the 80's.
His music besides being a mix of the rhythms he likes and he grew up listening (rock, pop, traditional Colombian music, etc), is also a way to express his feelings about the armed conflict. He has a foundation called "Mi sangre" my blood, which supports and helps people who have been victims of antipersonnel mines, left by the guerrillas to harm the army, mostly in small villages of remote regions of the country.
Juanes is also a supporter of peace movements among the Latin American countries. He often offers free shows and collaborates with some other artists to promote the idea of brotherhood among all human beings.
This song is an example of his social topic related music. "Volverte a ver" is talking about those people who have been kidnapped and are away from their families, or maybe the members of the army who are on duty far away from home. The only thing that they want is to see their families again. I think this is a concept some of our students can relate to, because of their family members serving in the armed forces.
The video has very many interesting images and one of the ones I like the best is when Juanes' face is erased... To me it represents how the people away from their loved ones and in captivity lose their identity and the only thing that keeps them alive is the wish that they could see them again.
The rhythm of the song is basically pop/soft rock with some tropical influence, very characteristic of Juanes' style.
Juanes is now a days one of the most successful Latin American singers in the world. I hope with this song you can find a way to present a sensible and complicated topic to your students, from the point of view of Juanes and many others who cling to the hope for a better future for their country.
You can choose to present the concept of the armed forces members away from home, or the Colombian conflict itself and the kidnapping, according to your student's level. I know you will do a great job.
I also hope this has not being a very boring topic and that you will find some interesting insight and useful information in this post.
Juanes has some other songs that talk about the same topic like *"Fíjate bien", "Podemos hacernos daño", "Sueños", "Mi sangre", "Minas piedra", "Bandera con manos"*. The best of "canción social" of this generation. I would probably dedicate some other posts to his music and his message.
Thank you and ¡Hasta la próxima!
*Disclaimer* I know most of the lyrics of this songs are ok, but check them out first. "Bandera con manos" has some double meaning, =)
