Rolando Alarcón
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Rolando Alarcón Soto (August 5, 1929 – February 4, 1973) was a Chilean singer-songwriter and teacher, who was one of the main figures of the movement
Nueva canción chilena Nueva is the Spanish feminine form of the word for "new" and may refer to: * Isla Nueva, an uninhabited island in Chile * The Nueva School, a school in Hillsborough, California, USA * Nueva (Llanes), a parish in Llanes, Asturias, Spain * Nueva, a ...
. He was the artistic director of Cuncumén, one of the most important Chilean folk groups in the 20th century. During the 1970s, Rolando was a political activist for the Popular Unity of the socialist president
Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
.


Biography


Early life

Rolando Alarcón Soto born on August 5, 1929, son of a primary school teacher and a miner, he lived most of his childhood in Sewell and adolescence in Chillan, where he studied guitar and piano. In the 1950s, Alarcón moved to
Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...
, where he trained as a teacher, teaching in public schools. In 1955, as a result of the summer season schools taught by
Margot Loyola Margot Loyola Palacios (September 15, 1918 – August 3, 2015) was a Chilean folklorist, musician, dancer, and teacher. She is considered one of the most influential musicians of Chile, pioneering folkloric research and transforming traditional mu ...
at the
University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
, the Cuncumén group was formed, in which Alarcon took over as artistic director during seven years. They toured Europe, recorded six LPs and was consolidated as one of the main folk conglomerates in Chile.


Career

In 1960 when Alarcón was still part of group Cuncumén, his first album titled ''Traditional Chilean Songs'', was released in United States on the
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
label. The album consists mainly of Chileans traditional songs from the 19th century. In 1988 the Alerce label reissued the album under translated title ''Canciones tradicionales''. Rolando with Silvia Urbina joined at the ''La imagen de Chile'' tour held in Peru, Panama and United States. In 1962, after
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tour, Silvia and Rolando left the Cuncumén group and started a duo that resulted in ''Chile nuevo vol. 1'', a 1964 album consisting of six songs written by Clemente Izurieta, Richard Rojas and himself. During 1963, he composed some solo songs like "Doña Javiera Carrera", a song from that album, which won a composition competition for schools. "¿A dónde vas, soldado?" was included in the 1966 album, ''Rolando Alarcón,'' that generated a lot of controversy for its antimilitarist content. Others were of social commitment as "Yo defiendo a mi tierra" (I defend my land); and others more linked to the Chilean tradition, such as "Mocito que vas remando" (Little boy you're going rowing). Later, he joined the cast of '' La pérgola de las flores'' for a tour in Mexico, in which he composed "Si somos americanos" (If we are Americans), a song of clear continental feeling which like others by Alarcón such as "Yo defiendo a mi tierra" and "Mocito que vas remando" were included in the 1965 album ''Rolando Alarcón y sus canciones'', released on
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
label. "Si somos americanos" was released as a single and reached number 8 on the Chilean charts. Since 1965, he was one of the permanent artists of the Peña de los Parra, along with other outstanding Chilean singer-songwriters such as
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or
Patricio Manns Iván Patricio Eugenio Manns de Folliot, better known as Patricio Manns (3 August 1937 – 25 September 2021) was a Chilean singer-songwriter, composer, author, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and writer. Manns has been a prominent represen ...
. In 1967, he represented the Chilean singers in the First Protest Song Festival held in Cuba. In 1966, he participated in the Festival de Viña, achieving third place with the song "Niña, sube a la lancha" performed by Pedro Messone. In 2000, it was chosen among the ten best songs in the history of the festival. By 1967, Rolando decided to incorporate the
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
rhythms of Los Tickets for ''El nuevo Rolando Alarcón''. In 1968, he released ''Canciones de la guerra civil española'' on his recently created label, Tiempo, an album composed primarily of pro- republican Spanish songs, the only original track is "No pasaran". Carlos Valladares and Enrique San Martín from Los Emigrantes participated in the musical accompaniment. In 1969, he got an honorable mention at the First Festival of the
Nueva Canción Chilena Nueva is the Spanish feminine form of the word for "new" and may refer to: * Isla Nueva, an uninhabited island in Chile * The Nueva School, a school in Hillsborough, California, USA * Nueva (Llanes), a parish in Llanes, Asturias, Spain * Nueva, a ...
with the song "Canción de Juan el pobre" (included in the next album ''El Hombre''). In 1970, he won on the
Viña del Mar International Song Festival The Viña del Mar International Song Festival () is an annual international music festival held every third week of February in Viña del Mar, Chile. Started in 1960 it is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America, and one of the long ...
with the song "El Hombre" (from the namesake album), performed by Los Emigrantes. In 1971, ''Canta a los poetas soviéticos'' was released on the DICAP label, where he performs the work of the poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko and the singer-songwriter
Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; ; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musician, novelist, and singer-songwriter of Georgian-Armenian ancestry. He was one of the founders o ...
. In 1972, he released his last studio album titled ''El alma de mi pueblo'', that featured the duo adherent to the then Popular Unity Los Emigrantes. By this date, Alarcón was a determined activist in the campaign that would bring the socialist president
Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
and the Popular Unity to power in Chile. As an enthusiast of the cause, he participated intensely until in 1973, in the middle of a tour of Chile Ríe y Canta, his heart broke when he tried to push a bus on the Matadero-Palma route. An old ulcer caused internal bleeding, and he died on February 4 at the Salvador Hospital,
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
due to cardiac arrest.


Posthumous recognitions

After his death, the Lonqui Trio composed as homage "Canción para Rolando". In 2009, the teacher Carlos Valladares and the journalist Manuel Vilches published the book ''Rolando Alarcón: La canción en la noche'' (Rolando Alarcón, the song in the night), through
Editora Nacional Quimantú Editora Nacional Quimantú was a Chilean publishing house created in 1971 by Salvador Allende's Unidad Popular government. It was founded under the premise of offering various literary works and a view of Chilean culture not covered by the "offi ...
, a biography about his life and work. In this book, some problems details that Alarcón faced due to his homosexuality were revealed, the
Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile (, ) is a communist party in Chile. It was founded in 1912 as the Socialist Workers' Party () and adopted its current name in 1922. The party established a youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile (, JJ.CC), in 1932. ...
came to punish him for these reasons. It was reissued in 2015. In 2010, Rolando was one of the "eight Bicentennial authors" of the
Olmué Festival The Olmué Festival () is a music festival that has been held annually during the 3rd week of February in Olmué, Central Chile. The first edition dates back to 1970 being televised for the first time in 1984. Relative to the Viña del Mar Internat ...
being represented by Las Cuatro Brujas. On February 4, 2013, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the departure of the folklorist, a concert was held at the Mesón Nerudiano restaurant, Santiago, where musicians Eduardo Peralta, Rafael Manríquez, , Marcos Acevedo, and Max Berrú participated. In that same year, the release of a tribute album entitled ''Tenemos las mismas manos'', alluding to one of the verses of the song "Si somos americanos", with the participation of artists from the Nueva canción chilena and
Neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...
, would be announced. A marathon recital in where 25 artists would performed compositions by Alarcón at Arrau home was held on August 5, 2019. In 2021, an anthology of unreleased recordings or out-of-print albums called ''Grabaciones perdidas'' was published exclusively through various streaming platforms such as
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,
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and
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.


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Traditional Chilean Songs'' (
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
) (1960; reissued in 1988 by ''Alerce'' label) * ''Chile nuevo vol. 1'' (1964; with Silvia Urbina) * ''Rolando Alarcón y sus canciones'' (
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
) (1965) * ''La Peña De Los Parra'' (1965; with
Patricio Manns Iván Patricio Eugenio Manns de Folliot, better known as Patricio Manns (3 August 1937 – 25 September 2021) was a Chilean singer-songwriter, composer, author, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and writer. Manns has been a prominent represen ...
,
Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...
& Ángel Parra) * ''Rolando Alarcón'' (
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
) (1966) * ''El Nuevo Rolando Alarcón'' ( EMI Odeón Chilena) (1967) * ''Canciones de la Guerra Civil Española'' (Astral) (1968) * ''Voz para el camino'' (1968; with various artists) * ''El Mundo Folklórico de Rolando Alarcón'' (Astral) (1969) * ''A la Resistencia Española / A la Revolución Mexicana'' (1969; with Inti-Illimani) * ''Por Cuba Y Vietnam'' (1969) * ''El Hombre'' (1970) * ''Chile ríe y canta'' (1970; with various artists) * ''Canta a los Poetas Soviéticos'' (DICAP) (1971) * ''Canciones Desde Una Prisión'' (1971) * ''El alma de mi pueblo'' (1972)


Compilation albums

* ''Todo Rolando Alarcón'' (1998) * ''Rolando Alarcón (2009) * ''Grabaciones Perdidas'' (2021)


References


External links


RolandoAlarcón.cl

Rolando Alarcón
at Cancioneros.com
Discografía de Rolando Alarcón (Rolando Alarcón Discography)
at Perrerac.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Alarcon, Rolando 1929 births 1973 deaths Nueva canción musicians Chilean folk singers 20th-century Chilean male singers Chilean educators Chilean LGBTQ singers Chilean LGBTQ songwriters Chilean gay musicians Gay singers Gay songwriters 20th-century Chilean LGBTQ people LGBTQ people in Latin music 20th-century Chilean male artists Chilean communists