A mother’s heart is definitely never hers alone. She shares it with every child who emerges from her body into the light of a waiting world. The bond between mother and child is fierce and everlasting. It is a source of comfort and strength for those fortunate enough to bask in its warm glow. Even if the child should predecease their mother, the love enveloping their memory extends far beyond the grave. A mother’s love is simply one of life’s purest treasures.
The strength of a mother’s love is something that can even withstand the cycles of history that envelop our world. It is a true constant in life. Today’s story is about moments in history when the ferocity of a mother’s love rose about the tides of history and politics. It is a story that is playing out again in real time as you read these words. I will tell this story through the lyrics and music of an Argentinian band named Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and an Irish band that you may have heard of before called U2. The members of both bands have been moved by the story I am about to share. While the two songs are very different from a stylistic perspective, they both deal with the raw emotion that comes when families are torn apart because of the politics of the moment. Both songs also deal with culture, the power of the Arts and, of course, the power of a mother’s love for her child. While there are many instances of politics and family life colliding all over the world, for the purposes of today’s post, I am going to begin in the 1960s in South America. Let us begin.
History tends to come at us in waves or cycles. In the 1960s, many countries in the world were experiencing a period of time when individual citizens were made to feel as if their opinions mattered. “People Power” was a real thing for a while. Many readers will be familiar with the Summer of Love years that closed out the 1960s in America. At the forefront of that moment in time were many artists, poets and musicians. Folk singers, in particular, played a prominent role in helping to define the mood of the times. While the names of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, just to name a few, were among those leading the move toward more liberal times in America, around the world other folk singers were having the same impact in their own countries. Our story today will focus on the South American countries of Argentina and Chile. You don’t have to be a student of the history of those two countries to appreciate this story, how it unfolds and the impact it has had going forward. In South America, the 1960s was also a time where ordinary citizens were feeling empowered. Poets and writers like Pablo Neruda and Gabriel Garcia Marquez stirred the souls of readers everywhere in South America. A new musical movement arose at the same time called Nueva cancion, which translates into something like new song. The Nueva cancion movement was somewhat similar to that promoted by American folk singers. It combined catchy musical tunes with political messages that were often critical of those in power. Nueva cancion was not a particular song or anthem but rather, a new way of using music for personal political expression. Each South American country had their own version of Nueva cancion with their own music stars leading the way. In Chile, this musical movement was called Nueva cancion chilena. One of the stars of this movement in Chile was a man named Victor Jara.
Victor Jara grew up in a musical family. After the divorce of his parents, Jara decided to devote his life to the priesthood. However, because political change was blowing in the wind, established organizations like traditional governments, the Catholic Church, etc., were falling under increasing scrutiny by young people such as Victor Jara. In time, Jara left the seminary. After completing his obligatory stint in the Chilean Armed Forces, Victor Jara went into teaching. While studying to become a professor, Jara was encouraged to try out for his school’s theatre group. Jara proved to be a natural entertainer and earned a scholarship to continue his studies in acting. At the same time, Jara was falling under the influence of musicians and poets who were helping to launch the Nueva cancion chilena movement. He began writing his own poetry and songs. He even helped turn some of Neruda’s poetry into original songs. Just as Jara was entering his twenties, he found himself to be intersecting a political moment in time. That political moment was the rise to power of a man named Salvador Allende. Allende won the election to become president of Chile in 1970. Victor Jara wrote a song that became Allende’s celebratory anthem. What made the political rise of Salvador Allende even more remarkable was the fact that he was a Marxist and an ardent Communist. Never before had a member of any Communist party anywhere in the southern hemisphere made it all the way to the seat of power. Chile and several other South American countries, including Argentina, rode the political waves far to the left of the spectrum. As the 1970s began, those were heady days for people who championed the lives of ordinary citizens and the individual liberties that came with it.
If you know anything about the politics of the world at that time, you will remember that worldviews were relatively simple back then. The Cold War was in full effect. That meant that most western countries promoted the systems of democracy and capitalism while giving the stink eye to many eastern countries, such as Russia, who were viewed as godless communists. As a result of how western countries viewed communism, keeping communist movements from encroaching on the western world became a preoccupation, especially of the United States government. As a result of the anti-communist zeal with which they infused their foreign policy, the 1970s and 80s were known as a time when the U.S. government actively funded opposition factions in South American countries where communism was being viewed favourably or which had already taken hold. One of the countries in which the United States actively intervened was Chile. After only a few years of actively governing, Salvador Allende was overthrown as president in a military coup sponsored by America. The seat of power in Chile was handed over to a General named Augusto Pinochet. General Pinochet was given guarantees that America would support his presidency in return to guarantees on his end that he would launch a brutal crackdown against communists in his country. Thus, a deal was struck and the personal liberties that the Chilean people had been enjoying were swiftly and completely eradicated. One of the first steps taken by the Pinochet government was to crack down on the Nueva cancion chilena movement. Members of the communist party were arrested, as were members of the Arts community. Among those first detained was Victor Jara. Along with several thousand detainees, Jara was taken to a local sports stadium called Estadio Chile. Guards quickly recognized Jara based on the high public profile he had attained because of his music. Jara was pulled from the crowd of prisoners. He was tortured and interrogated for several days before being shot to death. His body was hung in front of the stadium as a warning to anyone else who was thinking of using music to criticize the government. Eventually, his body was taken down and dumped on the side of the road as if he was nothing more than an old shoe. But, unbeknownst to the government, Jara had the last laugh. Before being taken away for interrogation and torture, he had quickly scribbled down a short poem entitled “Estadio Chile”. He had given the poem to a fellow prisoner who, in turn, hid the poem in his shoe. That prisoner survived his incarceration and delivered Jara’s poem to the world from beyond the grave. *(You can read Victor Jara’s final poem here). Jara’s wife, Joan, fled the country after his body was discovered but has continued to promote his work, as well as, the cause of Human Rights. She has helped to maintain a website in his honour and to run a foundation that bears his name. Both will be linked below.
The manner in which Victor Jara and his compatriots were captured has been termed as forced disappearances. This is a technical term used to describe officially sanctioned, systemic elimination of political opponents by a government in charge. These forced disappearances often happen quickly and at random locations and times. The abductors are usually masked. Those being abducted are not allowed access to lawyers. Their families are not notified as to where they have been taken to. Many of those abducted are killed and their bodies buried in mass graves. The reasoning behind this methodology is to allow the government to claim plausible deniability as to their involvement in someone’s disappearance. But, as with many things involving those in charge of authoritarian states, the motivation behind such forced disappearances is very clear. The government wants the public to know, in no uncertain terms, that if you fail to completely obey then you or someone you love may disappear and never return as well. The practice of forced disappearances became common in many South American countries. For a while, such a strategy was effective in keeping the larger swaths of society in line. However, there are two things that such governments failed to take into account and those are the enduring power of the Arts in times of darkness and the infinite strength of a mother’s love.
The actions of South American dictators could not silence those who believed in the Nueva cancion musical movement. There is much power in anthems. These anthems provide hope for those who are oppressed. These songs shine a light forward. One of South America’s most popular bands of the 1980s and beyond is Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. They are an Argentinian band that plays a combination of punk, ska and latin beats. The torch held aloft by the folk singers of the 1960s was passed around the world to the punk rockers of the 1970s and onward. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs have made a career out of creating catchy, popular songs that contain biting political commentary. In many ways, they (and several other South American bands like them) are carrying on the tradition of the Nueva cancion musical movement as a means of political self-expression. The band’s most popular and well known song is called “Matador”. In Spanish, a matador is a killer. This is why the person in the bullfighting ring is called a matador. In the case of this song, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs are telling the story of a poet on the run from government forces. The song is told from the poet’s point of view. In the song, the poet claims he is being persecuted because of his words and how they inspire others to stand up against the government. He is called a killer or a matador because his words act like bullets. Even though Los Fabulosos Cadillacs are singing about Argentinian forced disappearances, they namedrop Chile’s Victor Jara toward the end of the song. “Matador” goes to prove the power of putting a face to a cause. One of the rationales behind the practice of forced disappearances is to eliminate opponents in a way that makes it seem as if they never existed. By giving a face and a name and personal story to the victims of these atrocities, it makes the thousands of nameless victims seem real. Invoking Victor Jara’s name does that for everyone living in South America and around the world.
And speaking of around the world, as the 1980s unfolded many people in South America who were fighting against the many U.S. sponsored dictatorships on the continent felt as though they required help from abroad. Thus, many North American and European musicians and writers were invited to tour South America to see what was going on for themselves. The thought was that these people would use their creative powers of persuasion to help rally public support on the side of the victims which, in turn, would help to apply public pressure on western governments to use their political and economic influence to stop these cruel forced disappearance practices. One of those who toured the region was Canadian singer Bruce Cockburn. His hit songs “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “If I Had a Rocket Launcher” were written based on his experiences in South America. *(You can read a post about Bruce Cockburn’s journey here). Many other musicians and writers went down to document the suffering but, for the sake of this post, I will focus on one. His name was Bono. Bono is the lead singer of the Irish band U2. In the mid-1980s, U2 was still predominantly an Irish band who toured in Ireland and the UK. However, as the 1980s progressed, the members of the band wanted to broaden their horizons. They began by touring the United States. In addition, Bono and his wife Ali Hewson, toured Africa (where Bono was inspired to write “Where the Streets Have No Name”…which you can read about here). The pair were also invited to tour South America. It was while in South America that Bono was made aware of the history of forced disappearances. What caught his attention most about this story was that the mothers of those who had “disappeared” had been protesting in the town square in Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires every day. At these protests, these mothers would hold up placards with photos of their missing child along with their child’s name. It was their way of keeping the memory of their child alive. These mothers soon became known as The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo or The Mothers of the Disappeared. Initially, there were only a dozen or so mothers brave enough to air their grievances in such a public way. But over time, the courage of those initial few inspired others to come forward, too. Soon, there were hundreds of mothers carrying hundreds of signs bearing evidence that their children once lived and were real people who were much loved. Bono was very touched by the example they were setting for the world. The moral high ground was certainly theirs and theirs alone in this matter. He was inspired to write a song simply called “The Mothers of the Disappeared”. It is the song that closes the band’s breakthrough album called The Joshua Tree. At various times over the years when U2 have been touring through South America, he has invited some of those original mothers to join the band on stage. Once there, these mothers get to show their sign and say their loved one’s name aloud for all to hear. It is always a very powerful moment that shows, once again, the power of the Arts to transcend darkness, as well as, the enduring strength of a mother’s love.
“Midnight, our sons and daughters
Were cut down and taken from us
Hear their heartbeats
We hear their heartbeats
In the wind we hear their laughter
In the rain we see their tears
Hear their heartbeats
We hear their heartbeats
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Night hangs like a prisoner
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeats
We hear their heartbeats
In the trees our sons stand naked
Through the walls our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall.”
“Mothers of the Disappeared” by U2
Over the years, those responsible for the forced disappearances in Chile and Argentina have slowly been brought to justice. A museum dedicated to Human Rights has been established in Santiago, Chile, that is helping to bring some of the stories of those impacted by the Pinochet government to light. It is called the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. The words of the Victor Jara poem “Estadio Chile” adorn the entrance.
But as I said near the beginning of this post, history comes at us all in waves and cycles. When the coup that toppled the Allende government was happening in real life, I was just a child. Chile and Argentina seemed very far away. Things like forced disappearances happened in some other countries, never near where I lived in Canada. Now, it is difficult to pick up a newspaper, turn on social media or listen to a newscast without hearing of people being snatched off of the sidewalk or at school or in front of their homes broad daylight by masked men who take them away to places unknown. The terrible crimes committed by these poor people seem to be either being an immigrant or else, having offered an opinion that directly or indirectly criticizes government policies. History is repeating in a most unoriginal way. God bless all of those who have been forcibly “disappeared” from the streets of America. Learn their names if you can. These people have value simply because they existed and were loved by those who miss them. Say their names and never stop holding the U.S. government accountable for their actions. Hear their heartbeats. Hear their heartbeats.
The link to the video for the song “Mothers of the Disappeared” by U2 featuring an appearance by the original Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina can be found here. ***The lyric version of this song is here.
The link to the official website for U2 can be found here.
The link to the video for the Spanish song “Matador” by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs can be found here.
The link to the official website for Los Fabulosos Cadillacs can be found here.
The link to the official website for the Victor Jara Foundation that is run by his wife, Joan, can be found here.
The link to the trailer for a 2019 documentary about Victor Jara and the massacre at the Estadio Chile can be found here.
The link to the official website for the Human Rights watchdog organization Amnesty International can be found here.
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