Violeta Parra - Canciones (Casa de las Américas, Cuba, 1971)

The roots of nueva canción trace to the late 1950s and early ’60s, a notably restive era in Latin American history. Many countries were saddled with ineffective or authoritarian governments, and the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished was widening. Moreover, European and North American cultural influence was becoming increasingly palpable, with musical tastes in particular molded to a significant degree by the commercial-music industry of North America. In that milieu two notable singer-songwriters in neighbouring countries embarked on crusades to reclaim what they perceived as the crumbling social and cultural integrity of their homelands: Violeta Parra in Chile and Atahualpa Yupanqui in Argentina.

Much of the work of Parra and Yupanqui involved collecting old songs from the countryside and reworking - or rejuvenating - them to become “new songs” in a more contemporary, broadly accessible format. Parra commonly cast her song in well-established local poetic forms, and, perhaps most significant, she introduced Andean instruments into the accompanying ensemble. Meanwhile, Yupanqui’s semisung lyrics, intoned atop expressive guitar playing, vividly evoked the hardships of life in the Andes. By developing and promoting a body of popular songs that were grounded in local traditions and that addressed the experiences and concerns of ordinary people, both Parra and Yupanqui helped democratize music in their countries; their songs spoke both to and for the populace.

Tracklist:
01. - Gracias a la vida - 4:26"
02. - Qué dirá el Santo Padre - 2:47"
03. - Hace falta un guerrillero - 3:34"
04. - Arauco tiene una pena - 2:48"
05. - A la una - 3:15"
06. - La jardinera - 2:53"
07. - Y arriba quemando el Sol - 2:45"
08. - La carta - 2:48"
09. - Paloma ausente - 3:06"
10. - Según el favor del viento - 2:18"
11. - Maldigo del alto cielo - 3:47"

Violeta Parra - Canciones (Case de las Americas, Cuba, 1971)
(256 kbps, cover art included)