Que sea el azul y blanco nuestro color
Y que no vuelva a correr la sangre de mis hermanos
(Let blue and white be our color
And let not the blood of my brothers run again).
These were just a few lines in Luis Enrique’s summer 2018 single, Mordaza, that addresses the ongoing socio-political unrest in Nicaragua that began in April 2018. Even though the song has only been out for approximately six months, it has already been labeled an “empowering anthem for Nicaraguans living in the country and in the exterior.”
For these past six months, Nicaragua has experienced a series of tumultuous demonstrations against current President Daniel Ortega and his actions of dismantling the opposition through the use of oppressive human rights violations. As of August 2018, the Organization of American States put the death toll at around 317 in just three months of protest. With domestic and international pressure rising, the importance and severity of this event is undeniable. So the question is: why is Luis Enrique’s song so interesting? While answers vary, one of the most interesting ones is its representation of Nicaragua’s affinity for revolutionary music.
Revolutionary music. What is it? Why is it important? What does it have to do with Nicaragua? Revolutionary music, at its core, is political music that advocates for or praises revolutions. An important subset of this type of music are protest songs, which are basically any songs associated with a movement for social change. For instance, Luis Enrique’s Mordaza is most likely classified as a protest song because it has such socially-conscious theme that is meant to bring awareness about unrest in Nicaragua.
However, Luis Enrique’s song isn’t the first one of this type in Nicaragua. The country has a rich history with revolutionary and protest music that dates most prominently back to the Nicaraguan Revolution of 1970-90. During this era, Nicaragua saw the rise of a revolutionary campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to violently oust the Somoza Dictatorship, the FSLN’s attempt to govern the country from 1979 to 1999 and the Contra War of 1981-90. With 20 years of on-and-off conflict plaguing the country, the social repercussions for such a tumultuous era are a given, but one of the more interesting features of this era is the importance music played in the FSLN’s campaign.
During the revolution, the Sandinista campaign was up against difficult odds facing the seemingly invincible and oppressive dictatorship of the Somoza family. After an era of violent conflict that included the Nicaraguan Civil War, the Somoza dynasty consolidated their power in 1936 and was defined by inequality, political corruption and significant U.S. support in a world immersed in the Cold War. After nearly 40 years of dictatorship, the Sandinistas needed to find a way to mobilize people against an oppressive government and one of the most interesting ways was through music.
During the 1978-79 uprising, one of the most prominent bands of the time, Grupo Pancasan, rose to prominence as a representation of FSLN ideals. They distributed their first LP in 1978 during the height of the revolutionary war and released their second LP right after the FSLN’s victory in 1979. The first LP consisted of mostly songs that were meant to motivate the average Nicaraguan in the fight. One of the songs, La Hora Cero, is meant to idolize Augusto Cesar Sandino, the namesake of the FSLN, by describing him as “una estrella/ es la luz de Sandino en la montaña/ en la montaña negra,” and to motivate the people around a martyr.
Even more interesting in their second LP, then-Sandinista leader Carlos Nunez Tellez wrote a prelude to the album and described revolutionary music as “nourishment, light and stimulus,” “a stone with which to strike the enemy,” and a “means used by [the] people to speak of its poverty.” These songs were meant to appeal to el pueblo and actively promote one of Sandinismo’s most fundamental ideologies, this being an emphasis that the revolution would begin in rural regions with the oppressed peasantry. In the end, there are many scholars who believe that the FSLN eventually succeeded due to the final levee en masse of the Nicaraguan people that helped them win the revolution. With the additional success of other musical acts like the Meija Godoy Brothers’ Guitarra Armada, it became undeniable that the Nicaraguan people had created a movement of musical revolution.
With all of this historical information in mind, it seems only necessary to look at the role of music in the current Nicaraguan Protests and how they unfortunately draw many parallels to the tumultuous time of the late 1970s. As many have noticed, the similarities between the revolution and the current protests exist in people opposing an authoritative figure and students leading many of the protests. The two events are largely intertwined as can be seen by anniversary celebrations of the Sandinista Revolution becoming a tool for the current government. Interestingly enough, the heavily criticized President Ortega was once a leader of the FSLN during the revolution. While many things could be said about the parallels, for the purpose of this article, we will focus on music and how Nicaragua has recently experienced a resurgence of socially-conscious music on both sides.
On one hand, the government has strategically reckoned back to their glory days by playing old party hymns from the 1960s and 1970s Sandinista guerrilla era at pro-Ortega rallies. This music appeals mostly to the old Sandinistas in the crowd who sing reverently to the music that defined their struggle. For many of them, the memory of the revolution is still powerful which highlights their continued support for Ortega, who some believe led them out of that era. On a similar note, the government also understands that there are new generations of Nicaraguans and therefore played “10 Spanish-language versions of the old Ben E. King record ‘Stand By Me’” in hopes of drawing people’s loyalty to them. Though not a Nicaraguan song, the fact that it was used in a political context is beyond interesting. But, nonetheless, this is only one side of the picture.
On the other hand, protesters of Nicaragua have similarly utilized the power of music to express their dissent from the government. More specifically, the rise in artists addressing the protests and songs produced have become that much more direct. Like the student population plays a significant force in leading the protests, the musicians of Nicaragua have their own community that has united in a time of chaos and created music that attempts to express the complicated reactions to the government’s actions.
However, this unity isn’t so simple since the community has been receiving pressure from the government. Musician Guillermo Nororo, Grammy nominee in 2010, stated in an interview that “the state never liked [musicians] and has always only hired musicians who are loyal to the party line” and consequently has led to the reduction of funding and permits to play in concerts. Norori even adds that because many artists wrote protest songs, they “ended up on blacklists, were arrested or had to leave the country.” Nonetheless, this has not stopped the community, as songs are constantly in development.
One of the most notable artists in the country is Gaby Baca, one of Nicaragua’s most visible lesbians, who has constantly written political music like the song Todas Juntas, Todas Libres. Alejandro Meija, one of Nicaragua’s rock kings, sings with his band Carga Cerrada about a variety of topics like his own Tourette’s syndrome but also poverty, drug abuse and other social ills in the country. Interestingly enough, Meija is an heir to the Meija Godoy family, a powerful music group during the revolution as seen with their song Guitarra Armada.
Another musician, Mario Ruiz, even stated that “contemporary Nicaraguan music has its roots in the revolution.” Ruiz is now one of the many artists who are reacting to the protests and atrocities, shown by his song Que Vas Hacer which focuses on the importance of the average person speaking up in order to prevent the continuation of oppression. All of these artists, and many more, “have left the bars and concerts to go out into the streets and bring to the barricades a strong message: “Ni un verso atrás.’” This message has swept the movement that defines Nicaragua’s socially and politically-conscious music.
While unrest continues in the country, Nicaraguan musicians have taken it upon themselves to express their discontent with the government, much like the revolution of the late 20th century. The music reckons to images of el pueblo and promotes the resilience of the people much like before. Their voices will remain important for Nicaraguans until unrest ends and they become a memory of the hard times. In the meantime, tune in to the many amazing artists like the first female rap duo, Majo y Mafe, or the rock experimental band, Nemi Pipali!
Written by Jorge Penado
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