The significance of "Nueva canción" as a political and artistic movement

This paper delves into the "Nueva Canción" (New Song) movement, a powerful lefist social and musical genre that left a profound impact during the 1970s and 1980s in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. Characterized by its folk-inspired music and lyrics that critiqued society from a lefist perspective, "Nueva Canción" played a pivotal role in challenging oppressive regimes such as Franco's Spain, Pinochet's Chile, Salazar's Portugal and Videla's Argentina. This study explores the transformative potential of art in shaping societies and examines how "Nueva Canción" contributed to specific social changes and the development of ideological narratives. It particularly emphasizes the role of "Nueva Canción" in Chile, Spain (Catalonia), Argentina, Nicaragua and Cuba, where artists played essential roles within their communities and the global rebel artist movement. The movement created a unique identity, positioning itself in opposition to elite art, rooted in difering tastes driven by repulsion and intolerance. Its collective goals aligned with the lefist principles, enjoying social legitimacy from supporters and opponents alike. Leveraging the resources of lefist organizations and, in some cases, state support, "Nueva Canción" demonstrated substantial mobilizing capacity, legitimizing its role in the art world. Ultimately, the success of "Nueva Canción" can be attributed to its powerful ideas, recognized for their alignment with the values of the ideology they represented.