Unmasking the Rite: Rock Nacional (and) Latin American Modernity
Rock nacional, a variety of music intimately related to the political
imagery of a nation, has evolved in the course of the last decades from
being a mere anomaly, to becoming a fixture of the Latin American cultural
scene. This essay deals with the consolidation of its initial offspring,
Argentine rock, as a movement of rebellious social nature; as such, it
serves as a primary example of the reification of the discourse of subcultural
rebellion. Although it may be aptly called the forerunner of the Latin
American rock movement, since it managed to consolidate itself as a protagonist
of the music scene well in advance of other nationalities, Argentina's
rock nacional has validated its presence by means of social dynamics
which adopt the concert and the underground scene as alternatives for political
representation in times of government repression.
The starting point for my argument is the analysis of the trajectory of
Argentina's rock nacional as an antiauthoritarian phenomenon. Unlike
previous readings, which see it as a movement of political resistance,
my reading proposes rock nacional as a rite, as a cultural practice
which pretends to infringe the status quo but which in turn validates and
controls it. Therefore, it is through the study of the movement's circumstances
that I intend to identify, in a concrete fashion, those aspects which support
the ritualization of the cultural practice.
My argument is based on the work of cultural anthropologist Néstor
García Canclini in Hybrid Cultures (1995), who, embracing
Bourdieuan notions, adopts the idea of the ritual and employs it to examine
the role of the avant-garde. According to Bourdieu, the ritual wishes,
aside from promoting the following of a proper behavior, to incorporate
certain transgressions by limiting them. The rite seeks to give a direction
to the world; hence, its great contribution, once the established order
has been validated, is that of controlling any risk of change. According
to Canclini, the rite is born from a failed attempt, due to the failure
of the gesture of artistic rupture of the avant-garde; having failed to
consolidate itself as act, the gesture engenders the rite. Canclini also
suggests another possibility, an alternative understanding, where, by means
of the rite, the forbidden order- a norm yet unaccepted by society--is
validated. To him, the rite is, above all, a denied transgression, which
may be classified in terms of ingress and egress. In other words, it deals
as much with who may enter, as with how and who may exit. Whereas the rite
of ingress defines how anyone may come to occupy a role--a civil condition,
a social class, an economic standing--the rite of egress, with its exacerbated
discontinuity, its reiterated pretense of disruption which is, in itself,
continuous, has as its object to limit--to render useless--any proposal
of change.
To my knowledge, the most interesting aspect of rock nacional is
its capability for reinvention, constantly adapting itself to the changing
conditions of Argentine reality. To preserve its effect, the movement develops
peculiar dynamics, based on practices which appear to exert, despite bearing
the support of the traditional structures of power, an uncertain degree
of independence with respect to the dictates of the commercial market.
Following this order, its protagonists customarily renounce easy accomplishment,
abandoning their bands as soon as they achieve success and pretending to
flaunt a veiled criticism of the establishment, in a manner such that their
following may easily identify with their message. The movement, of ample
musical trajectory, survives thanks to the continuous creation of spaces
which, in a hypothetical fashion, allow a communication beyond the state's
intervention. This repeated negotiation of the space of resistance confers
rock, notwithstanding its professed apoliticism, a considerable presence
in the political scene.
Availing myself of the delineation of a series of traits, my object is
to question the understanding of rock nacional as a phenomenon of
opportunistic or accidental nature and to ascertain that its basis, aside
from bearing commercial affinity, is that of a grass-roots movement which
pretends to disdain economic success. The phenomenon sells, but commercial
success never appears to figure among its priorities. Sales are, if they
may be understood in such a fashion, a by-product of its condition of masses.
As a social and cultural practice, rock nacional depends on three
basic circumstances, characterized by the instauration of experiences of
spatial nature. Initially, there is the gestation of public performance
as a primary link of communication, accompanied by an efficient capability
of distinction--in other words, the ability to conceive and consolidate
repeatedly an opposing front. Next, there is the transition to the underground
scene, accompanied by a classic dynamics of rupture--i. e., the unforeseen
collapse of the most popular bands. Finally, as a result of commercial
assimilation, there is the return to musical extravagance as a symptom
of oppositional survival.
According to Alfredo Beltrán Fuentes, rock nacional is born
in 1967 (La ideología antiautoritaria 46). Starting on this
date, the music is popularized through concerts, familiarizing the public
with the musical repertoire prior to any recording. The rise of the concert
as a massive spectacle, more than a fortuitous event, is a necessity. The
music, which just begins to be heard in the streets, is played in cafes,
parks, and small theaters. The music-loving public becomes divided into
mersas, those belonging to the working or lower middle class, and
caqueros, the descendants of the well-to-do families of Barrio Norte;
among these two groups, the former identified themselves with rock sung
in Spanish, hence turning live performances into authentic channels of
communication with the audience. In other words, the bourgeoisie--the segment
with the greatest buying power -consumed another type of music: the one
produced by the recording houses, of a commercial kind. Meanwhile, just
one recording label took notice of the music of autochthonous quality,
supporting progressive instrumentation, the sponsor of rock in Spanish.
From that instant on, the movement's ascent to stardom is marked by its
ability to situate itself steadily in the role of cultural occurrence of
transgressive spirit, framing others as hypocrites. At that point, the
artistic proposals fluctuate between the imitations of American and British
rock, with lyrics in English, alien and shamelessly commercial, and the
Spanish version, with customary pacifism, repeated disinterest in politics,
and the advocation for a more authentic, less estranged way of life. In
this way, rock in Spanish is, since its inception, linked to an uncommercial,
utopian proposition.
By favoring the concert as a massive communicative experience, rock manages
to privatize a sphere of public domain; adopting it as its preferred space,
it manages to achieve legitimacy. During an entire decade, the live concert
serves as the primary link between the musicians and the public; the statistics
confirm this, since they delineate a clear progress in terms of spectators.
In the spring of 1969, the Pinap Festival of Beat & Pop Music is celebrated,
giving way to a continuous string of performances. In 1971, Pelo,
the pioneer magazine dedicated exclusively to the coverage of rock, organizes
B. A. Rock I, with an audience of thirty thousand; the following versions
of the event take place in 1971, 1972, and 1982. In November 1971, B. A.
Rock II has an audience of nearly fifty thousand spectators. The mandatory
sites of celebration comprise the entire extent of the capital district:
the municipal race track, the Luna Park, the Centenario park, the fountains
at Ezeiza, Obras Sanitarias, the Vélez Sarsfield arena, and the
now gone Río de la Plata municipal amphitheater.
After the faint demise of the English-speaking tendency, the strategy of
distinction is once again embraced to differentiate the acoustic trend,
which boasting a greater sensibility, argues for the superiority of their
lyrics and the purity of their sound, from the electric one, which contends
its technical superiority as a result of the incorporation of synthesizers
and other technological advances. Years later, with the advent of disco,
a genre that clashes openly with the national style--given, up to that
point, to the stridence of symphonic rock--the tactic is repeated in order
to uphold new musical preferences.
Starting in 1972, rock nacional is once again broadcast through
the airwaves, accompanied by an increase in the sociopolitical content
of the lyrics and the swift appearance of key personalities for the consolidation
of the movement. The previous phase, although critical of the system, seldom
alluded directly to the harsh conditions of Argentine reality. Still, till
that very year, police action, which repeatedly harassed the audience in
concerts, becomes a chief target. It is unfitting that at this point, the
movement, claiming to be antiauthoritarian, openly boasted of its apoliticism.
That such contradiction remains unquestioned clearly indicates the musicians'
care at the time of manufacturing a repute within the artistic scene; their
ideological incongruity is never contested. Violence, up to this moment
absent from presentations, begins to surface in concerts. Fights among
the audience increase, and billboards and seats are destroyed; vandalism
becomes rampant. The movement, with its popularity in ascent, attempts
to integrate the most repressed sectors of society. Since social inequality
is evident, the public is skeptical and rejects the mythical notion of
a world of love and peace proposed by the artists, expressing its frustration
with barbarism. Amidst the regnant social friction, some of the disadvantages
and limitations of the concerts as vehicles for the masses become palpable.
In time, the need for a new space grows obvious; a site where, despite
the omnipresence of the government's repressive apparatus, a certain degree
of representative reliability is possible.
From 1972 to 1975, the chain of concerts swells substantially. In 1972,
Aníbal Unset films the third B.A. Rock festival, producing the first
motion picture of Argentine rock: Rock hasta que se ponga el sol.
In this way, rock reaches the screens, platforms of access to the bourgeoisie.
The climax is Sui Generis's farewell recital, on September 1975, before
a public of thirty six thousand. The event is covered by the press and
filmed for a second motion picture, Adiós Sui Géneris.
Ironically, despite their criticism of the media and communication technology,
the duo disregards how its great success relies, to a considerable degree,
on such structures of power.
After the 1976 coup, the prevailing atmosphere in live preformances suffers
great deterioration. Although it does not exhibit a posture as committed
as that of other musicians, a great deal of the material produced is censored,
hence validating its protagonism and inviting the public to relate the
movement with a message of resistance. The situation is appropriate; having
disdained open confrontation, the musicians manage to avoid the state's
persecution, and retain the air of an antiauthoritarian demeanor. Ideological
ambiguity, a constant trait of the movement, is beneficial, for it pretends
to challenge the system without making concessions. In 1976 and 1977 the
number of concerts grows rapidly; Luna Park is filled up to twice a month.
This rhythm, hard to maintain with such a limited following, exhausts the
audience; the concluding performances are barely profitable.
Towards the end of the seventies, the live performance, although it does
not retain relevance, still serves as a chief mechanism for communication.
Serú Girán, the band nicknamed the Argentine Beatles, celebrate
an impressive appearance before an audience of sixty thousand at La Rural.
To the chant of "Se va a acabar/ Se va a acabar/ La dictadura militar,"
the crowds serve as unwary accomplices. With the arrival of new musical
types, of a more belligerent disposition, the decline of the spectacle
becomes alarming. On July 17, 1981, during a presentation by Los Violadores--the
first Argentine punks--the police intrude, interrupt the concert, and arrest
people; other groups-- such as Stuka--are accused of making music against
the motherland.
With the arrival of the "Dirty War," repression is manifest.
The possibility of massive rituals is ruled out and it becomes necessary
to generate an exclusiveness where, despite not attracting a great mass,
the privatization of public space is rendered possible. The sensible alternative
is the underground scene, that flourishes at an exorbitant rate, and serves
as a sanctuary for the Buenos Aires bohemia. These places, which play a
crucial role, are seen as trustworthy alternatives of communication; their
acceptance signals the beginning of change. Although concerts continue--at
a lesser rate--supported by entrepreneurs like Daniel Grinbank, an underground
bar does not require substantial investment, therefore facilitating the
incorporation of new bands to the movement.
At this point, one of the key features of the movement's upbeat dynamics
is patent. Despite sales, the desire to no transar--to disregard
the values of a consumerist society, to not give in--evidences a trait
that always distinguishes Argentine rock: the continuous breakup of groups
at the climax of their popularity. In 1972, forecasting this practice,
the three most important groups of the movement--Los Gatos, Almendra, and
Manal--split suddenly. This habit, of an untimely naïve nature, fosters
the promotion of a rebellious image, leading the fans to believe. Charly
García, who does not appear as a solo artist until the early eighties,
and Luis Alberto Spinetta are its main exponents. In the case of García,
he goes through three groups--all successful ones--Sui Géneris,
La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and Serú Girán,
prior to recording independently. In each case, he decides to terminate
the experience as the group goes through its best moment, consequently
favoring sporadic reëncounters. In the case of Spinetta, a living
myth of Argentine rock, who starts his career with Almendra, one of the
first bands, experiences follow with Pescado Rabioso, Invisible, Banda
Spinetta, and Spinetta Jade. According to Canclini, such a discontinuous
nature, proper of the rite of egress, maximizes the aesthetic value through
ceaseless renovation and characterizes the movement beyond its turning
point, the Falklands/Malvinas affair, persisting onto the present decade
while accentuating and deliberately marking its discourse of resistance.
The eighties mark the beginning of a shift towards a more relaxed position.
Such a change is the result, in part, of the growing erosion of civil liberties
within Argentine society. Through the decade, rock validates itself definitively
as a movement of political resistance. At the same time, it develops alliances
with other media and musicians, in order to fortify its standing before
society. Towards the end, once the weariness of the concert as a formula
for reaching out to the public is evident, it chooses to hide in the underground,
in a more intimate and manageable nature.
With the shift, serious renewal takes place. The open performances continue,
surely, but they exhibit a more grandiose style, very professional, in
the spirit of costly super productions; among many others, the Encuentro
Nacional de Música Contemporánea and Primarock at Eseiza
take place. After the war, the market integrates the bourgeoisie, an old
admirer of English music, and the resistance to concerts increases considerably.
In truth, the public performance becomes massive, anonymous, and impersonal,
and rapidly loses priority. The bars and cafes, on the other hand, spurred
by their transgressive façade, become the new site for mediation,
where a more relaxed communion is established.
The latest phase of rock nacional, the current one, is marked by
economic success and commercial assimilation. With democracy, the assumption
of an antiauthoritarian posture becomes less plausible, given the fact
that the movement belongs to the officially sponsored culture. Strategies
oscillate between marginality and sheer extravagance; in this period, there
is a bit of everything. Despite whatever perspective is adopted, the movement's
capacity to create discursive and narrative spaces is startling. Given
the popularity resultant from the prohibition of English music during the
Falkland/Malvinas conflict, traces of consumerism become apparent. Once
direct competition has disappeared, the phenomenon reveals itself less
utopian and more commercial.
The arrival of democracy takes strength from the movement and forces it
to conform. Gradually, new channels for interpellating the public are visible
and the singularity of rock as the voice of the youth is finished. Once
the national ogre appears weakened, rock nacional crosses borders
and enhances its horizons, frequenting locations where its argentinidad
is less effective. In the present decade, in order to survive, to preserve
its financial and cultural viability, the themes become more generic, attenuating
their localism. Given the extension of the market, a context which surpasses
the Argentine nation becomes mandatory. The music is composed, not only
with the locals in mind, but also taking into consideration the rest of
the subcontinent. The market is redrawn, identifying the main urban areas
as targets and exploring a wider thematic array. México City, Santiago,
Bogotá, Lima, and Caracas begin to take part in the Argentine musical
project. In the short term, this change dilutes energy; in the long one,
it provides a wider, more stable coverage.
In 1989, in a maneuver that manages to situate them as champions of democracy,
the Mexican tours of Soda Stéreo and Charly García collaborate
with Aztec rock, which, having insisted in English as a antiauthoritarian
resource against the excesses of the ruling party, has become beleaguered.
Mexican New Wave, an extremely vibrant portion of contemporary Latin American
rock, benefits enormously from the southern invasion, in a fashion akin
to that of British invasions in the U.S. (Morales 13). Suddenly, English
disappears and bands known as Dangerous Rhythms and Three Souls in my Mind
adopt Spanish names. With the acceptance of rock in Spanish, sponsored
by Argentines and Spaniards, new bands such as Botellita de Jerez, La Maldita
Vecindad, La Lupita, La Castañeda, and Café Tacuba become
fixtures of the music scene. Once it becomes popular, the movement loses
privilege, inspiring similar experiences in other countries.
At present time, rock nacional has lost the transcendence it once
sustained as an experience of social interpellation and as a phenomenon
contributing to the formation of a national identity. Once it is incorporated
to official culture, its influence decreases substantially. Although it
becomes clear that it was not the result of a fortuitous practice and that
it grew thanks to the support of favorable social dynamics, forged upon
public performances and closed scenarios, the future of a movement that
pretended to disdain financial success remains unclear. García,
one of its more solid exponents and intuitive guides, has returned to a
very abstract and uncommercial format, extremely hard to digest. His strategy
seems to be that of embracing eccentricity in order to reach the top of
the charts.
Once it is widespread, the movement lacks a clear destination. The absence
of a relation similar to that of the concerts during the years of the dictatorship
and the underground stage during the early days of democracy, subtracts
effectiveness to its presence. For the present generation, breakups and
reëncounters lack any sense of appeal. Failing to consolidate an oppositional
role, rock nacional appears diminished. New technology, satellite
communication, the transnationalization of the music market, and the great
consortiums of show biz seem to merge and confabulate, rendering difficult
any improvisation of an efficient discursive space. Only when new channels
of participation become clear, will it be possible to judge clearly the
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