Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America

Nelson Varas-Díaz

Description

The long-lasting effects of colonialism are still present throughout Latin America. Racism, political persecution, ethnic extermination and extreme capitalism are some salient examples. This new book explores how heavy metal music in the region has been used to critically challenge the historical legacy of colonialism and its present-day manifestations.

Through extensive ethnographic research in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, Varas-Díaz documents how metal music listeners and musicians engage in ‘extreme decolonial dialogues’ as a strategy to challenge past and ongoing forms of oppression. This allows readers to see metal music in a different light and as a call for justice in Latin America.

Heavy metal related scholarship has made strides in the past decade. Many books have aimed to explain its origins, uses and the social meanings ascribed to the music in a variety of contexts. For the most part, these have neglected to address the region of Latin America as an area of study.

It represents a historical and sociological journey in Latin American heavy metal music through rich ethnographic engagements with performers, fans and scholars of music. Its central premise is the dialogic relationship amongst deep histories of coloniality, systematic oppression, entrenched inequalities and the expressive forms generated by ‘decolonial metal music’. The book also provides an exemplary and potentially iconic model of ethnomusicology and the anthropology of music.  

Most previous work on metal music in Latin America has relied on theoretical frameworks developed in the Global North, and is therefore limited in understanding the region through its particular history and experiences. There is no scholarship of heavy metal scholarship in the Latin American region that achieves the depth or breadth of analysis represented by this book. It provides a roadmap and a model for this emerging mode of musical analysis, by demonstrating how decolonial metal scholarship can be achieved. 

Academic readership for the book will come from multiple disciplines including cultural studies, musicology, ethnomusicology, sociology, anthropology, cultural geography, history and Latin American studies. It will be of interest to music studies programmes, as well as for methods courses on structurally informed social research. The book will also be of interest to those outside academic settings – accessibly written, with its concise reviews of historical and political-economic contexts, and its vivid storytelling, it will be of interest to consumers of the metal musical genre.

Preface

 

Chapter 1

Metal music’s decolonial role in Latin America

 

Chapter 2

Colonialism is still here / Metal is still here – Puerto Rico

 

Chapter 3

The experience and sound of ethnic extermination – Peru

 

Chapter 4

Dictatorship/resistance/inspiration – Chile

 

Chapter 5

Social movements and hybrid sounds – Mexico

 

Chapter 6

Decolonizing space and culture amidst revolutionary entanglements – Cuba

 

Chapter 7

Navigating racism, classism, and complex airwaves – Dominican Republic

 

Chapter 8

Restoring memory and surviving violence – Colombia

 

Chapter 9

Education for the very few – Guatemala

 

Chapter 10

An elusive word? Aguante as a decolonial reflection – Argentina

Sujets

• Musique
• Culture musicale
• Argentine
• Chili
• Guatemala
• Peru
• Music
• Colombia
• Cuba
• Mexico
• SS Central America
• Chile
• Central America
• Latin America
• South America
• Multiple signal classification
• Argentina
• América del Sur
• HISTORY
• Genres
• Styles
• Heavy Metal

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 27 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789383959
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America
Advances in Metal Music and Culture
Series editors: Keith Kahn-Harris and Rosemary Lucy Hill
Advances in Metal Music and Culture publishes monographs, edited collections and short books on metal and its associated sub-genres.
Metal music studies is a fast-expanding interdisciplinary field that spans across subject area fields in the social sciences, performing arts and humanities. Intellect’s Advances in Metal Music and Culture book series builds on and continues the series Emerald Studies in Metal Music and Culture, with the same series editors. It continues to provide a home for the growing number of scholars – from a wide variety of backgrounds – who wish to critically reflect on metal music around the world as a cultural product.
Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America
Nelson Varas-Díaz
First published in the UK in 2021 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2021 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2021 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, orotherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy editor: Newgen KnowledgeWorks
Cover designer: Aleksandra Szumlas
Cover photo: Kadriel Betsen and Daniel López, Cuneiform Creative Agency.
Production manager: Laura Christopher
Typesetter: Newgen KnowledgeWorks
Hardback ISBN 978-1-78938-393-5
      ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-394-2
      ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-395-9
Series: Advances in Metal Music and Culture
ISSN 2752-4426 / Online ISSN 2752-4434
Printed and bound by CPI
To find out about all our publications, please visit our website.
There you can subscribe to our e-newsletter, browse or download our current catalogue, and buy any titles that are in print.
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This is a peer-reviewed publication.
She danced in the university courtyard as if no one was watching.
The faculty called her crazy. She kept on dancing.
This book is for her.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
1. Metal Music’s Decolonial Role in Latin America
2. Colonialism Is Still Here/Metal Is Still Here – Puerto Rico
3. The Experience and Sound of Ethnic Extermination – Perú
4. Dictatorship/Resistance/Inspiration – Chile
5. Social Movements and Hybrid Sounds – México
6. Decolonizing Space and Culture Amid Revolutionary Entanglements – Cuba
7. Navigating Racism, Classism, and Complex Airwaves – Dominican Republic
8. Restoring Memory/Surviving Violence – Colombia
9. Education for the Chosen Few – Guatemala
10. An Elusive Word: Aguante as a Decolonial Reflection – Argentina
Index
Illustrations
Figures
1.1 Original artwork for the album Imminent Disaster (2015) by the Puerto Rican band Calamity. Artwork by Kadriel Betsen.
1.2 Revised artwork for the album Imminent Disaster (2017) by the Puerto Rican band Calamity. Image provided by Berny Santos.
1.3 Mexican band Cemican at the French festival Hellfest. Photo provided by Raul Lucido.
2.1 Puya’s rhythm section during a concert in Puerto Rico. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
2.2 Puya’s guitarist Ramón Ortiz playing the cuatro atop his electric guitar. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
2.3 Poster for the Cuban festival entitled Patria Grande in 2014. Image provided by Eduardo Paniagua.
2.4 Bomba and plena artists opening a Puya concert in Puerto Rico. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
3.1 Artwork for the album Testimonios (1999) by the Peruvian band Kranium. Image provided by Eloy Arturo.
4.1 Artwork for the album Torture (1989) by the Chilean band Warpath. Image provided by Marco Cusato.
4.2 Artwork from the video for the song “Morir Aquí” by the Chilean band Crisálida. Image provided by Cynthia Santibañez.
5.1 Subcomandante Marcos , Zapatista leader (1996). Image by José Villa used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
5.2 Artwork for the album Llora Chiapas (1998) by the Mexican band Leprosy. Image provided by Alberto Pimentel.
5.3 Luis Oropeza and César Gallegos from the Mexican band Acrania. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
6.1 María Gattorno during one of our interviews at her home in Cuba. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
6.2 Home of the Maxim Theater and the Cuban Rock Agency, Havana, Cuba. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
6.3 María Gattorno working with her crew during a concert at the Maxim Theater, Havana, Cuba. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
6.4 Member of the Cuban band Tendencia playing the batá . Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
7.1 Maik Abbadon playing at the Metal House, Dominican Republic. Image provided by Maik Abbadon.
7.2 News article on the perils of metal music written by Huchi Lora and published in El Nacional . Image provided by Edwin Demorizi.
7.3 More positive news article on the Avanzada Metallica published in Listín Diario . Image provided by Edwin Demorizi.
8.1 Guitarist for the band Tears of Misery (Oscar Bayona) wearing a red piece of cloth below his left knee. Image provided by Sebastián Rodríguez.
8.2 René Nariño with the FARC in the Colombian countryside. Image provided by René Nariño.
8.3 René Nariño in a Colombian prison wearing a metal shirt. Image provided by René Nariño.
8.4 Flyer for a metal concert in Colombia held in 2011 where donations for the imprisoned FARC member René Nariño were collected. Image provided by René Nariño.
9.1 Sophíe Lorraine Villegas Zea, members of the Internal Circle, explaining the parts of the guitar. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
9.2 Members of the Internal Circle handing out school materials. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
9.3 Gerardo Pérez Acual, leader of the Internal Circle, interacting with children in a Guatemalan school. Photo provided by Nelson Varas-Díaz.
10.1 Artwork for the album Fronteras y Horizontes (2012) by the Argentinian band Arraigo. Image provided by Leonardo Pazos.
10.2 Arraigo t-shirts with faces of Argentinian figures. Image provided by Leonardo Pazos.
10.3 Artwork for the album Nosotrosacayahora (2017) by the Argentinian band Arraigo. Image provided by Leonardo Pazos.
Table
1.1 Metal covers of regional Latin American songs.
Boxes
2.1 “Pa’ti, Pa’mi,” Union , composed by Puya (Puerto Rico) – 2001.
2.2 “El Día que Murieron los Dioses,” El Día que Murieron los Dioses , composed by Dantesco (Puerto Rico) – 2021.
3.1 “Tempestad,” Eclipse , composed by Flor de Loto (Perú) – 2018.
4.1 “Pissing into the Mass Grave,” Pissing into the Mass Grave , composed by Massacre (Chile) – 1986.
4.2 “Morir Aquí,” Tierra Ancestral , composed by Crisálida (Chile) – 2015.
5.1 “Llora Chiapas,” Llora Chiapas , composed by Leprosy (México) – 1998.
10.1 “Vidala para que Sigas,” Fronteras y Horizontes , composed by Arraigo (Argentina) – 2012.
Preface
As a child growing up in Puerto Rico, I was keenly aware of coloniality, even though I could not name it as such at the time. As many family members explained, without the Americanos (referring to the United States), we would be lost. “If the Americanos leave, they will take the paved roads with them,” I remember someone saying in one of the many conversations that still resonate with me today. If we were nothing without them, then what exactly were we as a people? Although the answer to this question was never outright discussed, and might seem elusive even today, one thing was clear then: we were not Latin Americans. We were not a third world country enmeshed in dictatorships and coups . We were not that poor, or at least so they said. We were citizens of the United States! We were different. We were anything but Latin Americans; that much was clear. This is how one grows up in an ongoing colonial setting: learning to negate what and who you are. Music would be my only connection to the region. In this sense, music has been a revolutionary revelation in my life.
During my early childhood and adolescence, my mother would play albums by Tony Croatto, an Italian-born singer who self-identified as a Puerto Rican, and who sometimes sung about Latin American figures. Further explorations led me to the salsa of Panamanian Rubén Blades, whose rhythms and song lyrics were clearly Latin American and, more importantly at the time, political. Dominican merengue and bachata singer Juan Luis Guerra would speak to me about the Caribbean region’s poverty. The same happened with Silvio Rodríguez, the Cuban songwriter whose lyrics were marked by the 1959 revolution. Just as these musicians made their way into my everyday life, rock and metal music equally consumed me. Although to some these musical genres seemed contradictory, and metal was deeply embedded in the moral anxieties of the time, they coexisted in my life in a majestically seamless manner. It was not long before tapes from bands like Rata Blanca (Argentina) and Sepultura (Brazil) made their way to the Island and served as another window into the Latin American experience. This music, all of it, spoke to me. They made me feel like I was part of a larger story, a wider geography, and a deeper historical experience. These musicians connected me to a region from which coloniality had separated me. They spoke to me as a Latin American.
Later in my life I would be given the chance to integrate this experience into my academic career. Thus, for the past decade I have explored through documentary films and academic publications the ways in which metal music has manifested in Latin America and, consequently, how it has found a place in a cultural and sociopolitical scenario that is distant from its places of origin, specifically the United Kingdom and the United States. My documentary films in