The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day 2

On the second day of Gheorghemas
Big Gheorghe gave to me
Two Chilean bangers (literally)
And a British lass slingin' hot meat

                       

I want to beat the drum (and a casserole pan) to raise awareness of a profoundly powerful (and cute - sorry I'm a guy after all) Chilean hip-hop performer. The woman is Ana Tijoux. She was born in France to Chilean parents exiled under the Pinochet dictatorship. She returned in the 80's and has been huge in her native Chile for much of this century, and she kicks ass. So it's worth shining a spotlight on a couple of her tunes.

The first song I want to highlight is called 1977 (year she was born). The song was introduced to me (and most of you) via Breaking Bad. The song was the score to a fun Aaron Paul/Jonathan Banks montage. The montage showing the song is below. The tune and video compliment each other well. The official video, which has the full version is here. The song is catchy as hell.



The second song is much newer. It's called Cacerolazo, which all you Spanish scholars know as the word for a casserole pot. The song came out a couple months ago and has been the soundtrack of the growing social unrest from Chile's working class population, which has grown tired of rising costs for basic public services. I'll spare the historical deep-dive, but there are millions of folks protesting in Chile about the impact that higher-cost basic services are having on their life. Working class men, women and children have been out in the streets banging pots and pans during their protests. The citizens have actually been doing much more than just banging pots, as the video below shows.

In making the track, Ana Tijoux recorded the pot-banging noises, as well as police siren noises, and used them both. Pretty simple and powerful way to convey the angst and fury among a population facing growing income inequality. Chuck D would be proud.



Here is a rough translation of the lyrics to this song:

Burn it, wake up
Resign, Piñera [Chile’s president]
To the Alameda [a main street in Santiago]
Ours is La Moneda [the presidential palace bombed in 1973]
Wooden spoons facing your bullets
And the curfew?  Carcelorazo!
It is not thirty pesos [the metro fare increase], it is thirty years
The constitution, and the Perdonazo [a taxation change that benefited the richest Chileans]
With fist and spoon facing the system
And all of the State, cacerolazo!
Listen, neighbor, increase the fuel,
And the barricades?  Give it gas!
With lids, with pans, facing the clowns
The revolt has arrived, and the cacerolazo!