Between the years 1976-1983, Argentina was under the control of a military dictatorship known as the Junta Militar. During these years, the government aimed to suppress all sources of opposition to the regime, with many people being silenced, kidnapped and even murdered. Anyone who expressed any views not supported by the government was at risk; predominantly socialists and communists, and anyone who may have been connected to them. More than just an attack on people though, the Junta Militar carried out attacks on the very culture of Argentina.
The arts were one of the first areas to be targeted by the regime. Thousands of books were banned by the government, including works by Karl Marx, Gabriel García Márquez and Juan Domingo Perón, along with many films and popular magazines. Given the naturally rebellious nature of music, it was only a matter of time before the musicians of Argentina were attacked too. It wasn’t only songs with political references that were censored, many songs were censored simply for being considered ‘inappropriate’ by the regime.
Plan Cóndor and censorship across Latin America
During the years 1976-1983, Argentina wasn’t the only country of Latin America to be living under a military dictatorship, in fact, all of the countries bordering Argentina were living similar realities. Between Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, an agreement was signed to mark what would be known as Plan Cóndor. Brazil, Ecuador and Perú would also sign later on.
Plan Cóndor was a campaign of repression, censorship and terrorism, mainly with the intention of putting a stop to the spread of communism across South America, during the Cold-War era. The campaign was supported by the USA and involved governments torturing, assassinating and disappearing individuals for sympathising with left-wing ideologies. To begin with, Chile was the epicentre of the movement and in 1973, famous musician Víctor Jara was tortured and assassinated along with other teachers, students and workers from the Universidad Técnica del Estado (today called Universidad de Santiago de Chile), where he was a professor.
One of the main places where acts were carried out under Plan Cóndor was the clandestine detention centre in Buenos Aires, known as Automotores Orletti. It’s said that over 200 people were tortured and assassinated there, and in all of Latin America up to 60,000 people were killed in the name of Plan Cóndor.
Censorship took many forms during Argentina’s years of dictatorship, with one of the most prominent being the control which the government had on the media. When the dictatorship began, many media outlets were brought under control of the state, and many journalists and editors were replaced with other individuals who were loyal to the new government. News stories were censored and modified to play in the government’s favour. One of the most clear examples of this was during the Falkland’s War in 1982, where the Argentine government communicated to the public that the war was being won, in an attempt to generate popularity among the Argentine people. The reality, however, was very different, with Argentina suffering huge losses and their soldiers suffering through lack of proper equipment, training, food and other supplies.
Songs that were censored during the dictatorship
During the dictatorship, many musicians were forced to go into hiding, or leave Argentina altogether. It wasn’t until 2009 that the Argentine government released an official list of all the songs which had been censored between 1976-1983. The so-called ‘black list’ contained over 200 songs which had been banned from being played on the radio. Any lyrics which were considered a threat towards the Junta Militar were at risk of being banned.
1. Cómo La Cigarra - Mercedes Sosa
Originally written by María Elena Walsh, famous Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa recorded her own version of the song, with plans to release it as part of an album in 1978. She was unable to do so, as a result of being censored by the government.
The song talks about being erased and disappeared, and although it was originally censored in 1978, Sosa eventually decided to include the song in her live 1982 album, Mercedes Sosa en Argentina. The song became an anthem for the rebirth of democracy in Argentina, which would come in 1983, and for all those people who had suffered under the regime of the dictatorship.
2. Viernes, 3AM - Serú Girán
Serú Girán was one of the most influential and well-known bands of Argentina, formed in 1978 by Charly García, Pedro Aznar and David Lebón. You can find more about them in The 5 Most Important Rock Bands of Argentina.
Viernes, 3AM, written by Charly García, was published as part of Serú Girán’s 1979 album, La Grasa de las Capitales. The song talks about suicide, and as a result it was censored by the government.
Although the government censored this song, Serú Girán had actually been daring enough to hide political messages in their songs, during a time in which doing so could have been a deadly decision. Canción de Alicia en el País was also released in the 1979 album, and Alicia was used as a metaphor to represent the Argentine people. One lyric in the song says “se acabó este juego que te hacía feliz”, meaning “this game that made you happy has ended”. Here, Charly García was likely referring to the disappearance of democracy in Argentina. The song also talks about people not having power, and lawyers and witnesses being useless. Serú Girán became a voice of the people during the dictatorship, and put their lives at risk in doing so.
3. Me Gusta Ese Tajo - Pescado Rabioso
Written by Luís Alberto Spinetta in 1973, Me Gusta Ese Tajo was censored by the government for containing sexual connotations. Not only were songs censored for containing political messages, but also if they were deemed “inappropriate” by the government or Catholic Church.
4. La Guerrillera - Horacio Guarany
Horacio Guarany, famous Argentine folklore artist and self-declared Communist Party member, was an obvious candidate for the government’s black list.
La Guerrillera was released in Guarany’s 1977 album “Luche Luche” and talks about freedom and ‘being prisoner’. The artist had already left Argentina earlier on in 1974, returning to the country four years later. In 1979, a bomb was placed in his house, leading him to move his shows out of Buenos Aires.
5. Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two - Pink Floyd
Censorship of music wasn’t limited to Argentine musicians, music from other countries was also censored in Argentina during the Junta Militar’s years.
Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two, was censored for its rebellious nature, with lyrics such as, “We don’t need no thought control”; for the Junta Militar, such ideas were considered dangerous. It’s also likely that Pink Floyd were targeted in particular because they are a British band. During the Falkland’s War, it was banned for radios and television channels to play English music.
The Return of Democracy
In 1983, the dictatorship of Argentina came to an end when Raúl Alfonsín was democratically elected as president. In the coming years, the dictators and previous political leaders of Argentina would be put on trial and many were sentenced to life in prison.
During the years of military dictatorship, music had become the voice of the people on many occasions. Although a large amount of songs were censored, many seemingly passed over the heads of those in charge. The songs which were censored in those years, have now gone on to become anthems for the Argentine people.
In the early 1980s, before the end of the dictatorship, several artists that had been exiled had begun to return to the spotlight. Among those were Mercedes Sosa and Litto Nebbia, who (with others), began to rebuild the rock culture of Argentina. Like with Canción de Alicia en el País by Serú Girán, many artists began hiding metaphors in their songs, making reference to the Junta Militar.
A particularly influential song, which was released in the dictatorship’s dying months, is Los Dinosaurios by Charly García. The song was released as part of Charly’s 1983 album “Clics Modernos”, in which the majority of the songs talk about the dictatorship and state of Argentina. Some other notable songs are: “Nos Siguen Pegando Abajo” and “Demoliendo Hoteles”. Although Charly García technically released Clics Modernos when the dictatorship had ended, it was still a very dangerous time with lots of uncertainty still present. Nowadays, Charly is seen as a national treasure of Argentina.
In this song, “los dinosaurios” refer to the government and the people who carried out its acts. The first verses read:
“Friends from the neighbourhood can disappear
The people on the radio can disappear
The people in the newspapers can disappear
The person you love can disappear”
Los Dinosaurios became one of the most important songs in the years following the dictatorship. Whilst the song talks about the disappearances and constant fear that was present in Argentina in the years 1976-1983, it also carries a message of hope with Charly García singing at the end:
“Los dinosaurios van a desaparecer”, translating to “The dinosaurs are going to disappear”.
And they did.
Estoy aprendiendo español y me interesa mucho la historia de argentina. Alguna recomendacion de serie, pelicula o documental para que pueda entender mejor?
Hola Mary! Excelente! Hay muchas series y películas argentinas que te puedo recomendar. Para aprender más sobre la dictadura, hay una película que salió hace poco que se llama “Argentina, 1985”. Cuenta cómo los dictadores fueron llevados a juicio tras el fin de la dictadura. Después, una clásica con la que estaría bueno arrancar sería “Esperando la Carroza”, que muestra bastante bien cómo es la cultura tradicional de Argentina. Espero que te gusten!