Nuevas Canciónes
January 30, 2008 11:24 AM

I love Nueva Canción. Got resources or recommendations?

So far, I'm just listening the heck out of Illapu and seriously considering buying a panpipe to putter around with. Fuck your flowchart!!

Any books, websites, articles about the movement, in English or Spanish?

Any other bands or albums from the genre you can recommend, or similar Latin folk music I should be aware of? I really like the airy, wild, daceable sound of Illapu, and the easy-to-understand, passionate, Spanish is a plus. Other than that, I'm una Nueva noob.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur to Media & Arts (5 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
"Danceable." Oops!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2008


You'd certainly love Los Folkloristas, from Mexico. A very famous band in the genre from Chile is Inti Illimani. Those two have set out on a almost anthropological endeavor to rescue Latin American music that would otherwise be lost by now.

Also from Mexico there's Oscar Chavez (I would recommend you to look for his "En vivo en Bellas Artes" records first) who is less strict, but releases great records.

Another person who explores old Mexican music and gives it a modern touch is Lila Downs. Here is a live performance by her at a radio show in LA (video and audio).

If you have any other questions, mefimail me.

(and one little thing, not as a complain, but only for you to know, when you pluralize the word canción, you don't need the accent -as in the title. I only mention it because you cared enough to include the accent, so I figured you would like to know)

posted by micayetoca at 12:21 PM on January 30, 2008


And one more thing to help you on the searches. "Nueva Canción" is known in México and Cuba as "Canto Nuevo", and in Cuba also as "Nueva Trova", so those terms might help you find more artists.
posted by micayetoca at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2008


The Nueva Trova that I got into 30 years ago probably doesn't qualify as danceable, but the lyrics were great. I'd recommend the early Silvio Rodriguez--before he added the cheezy electronica, when it was just him and his guitar and his camo wear. Pablo Milanés was a big deal then, too, but he didn't float my boat as much.

A contemporary of Illapu but more of a singer-songwriter: Vîctor Jara.

You might like these modern groups: Ozomatli, Orishas, Manu Chao; to a limited extent Maná and the early Juanes (but not his current incarnation!). They wouldn't count as Nueva Canción but their sound is often folk-influenced and the lyrics are usually intelligent.
posted by PatoPata at 3:48 PM on January 30, 2008


From Chile: Quilapayún.
From Bolivia: Los Kjarkas.
Also from Chile, though more prog-rock: Los Jaivas, especially "Las Alturas de Machu Picchu", which is a Neruda epic poem set to rock music.
posted by signal at 5:17 AM on January 31, 2008


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