Hardcore punk as an effort to Indigenize the underground scene in La Paz during the neo-liberal era of resistance 1993–2003 | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Metal Music Studies
  4. Volume 8, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 8, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2052-3998
  • E-ISSN: 2052-4005

Abstract

In Bolivia, neo-liberalism did not only have social-economic and political effects, but it also created spaces that allowed for new discourses related to culture and national identity. This research focuses on the changes of the metal underground scene in La Paz that led to the formation of a hardcore punk scene that tried to incorporate Indigenous symbolism in their music and performances as a form of resistance against western-cultural hegemony but also to highlight the positive values of their ancestral cultural heritage. Scholars, journalists and activists have written extensively about the transformations in Bolivia during the age of neo-liberalism but there has not been much research that focused on youth movements specifically those that use music to inspire new forms of social dialogues concerning national identity. This research is self-ethnographic and it includes qualitative in-depth interviews of band members and media figures of that time. The La Paz hardcore punk scene grew as an effort from band members to Indigenize the metal underground scene based on their interpretation of what they believed was Indigenous since none of the band members themselves were considered Indigenous. The meaning of Indigenous symbolism in their music was a result of their daily experiences of the social-political contentious environment during the country’s neo-liberal era. Street protesters used Indigenous symbols to defy the western-led free-market economic policies of the Washington Consensus. Therefore, the need to distinguish themselves from a metal musical genre that was traditionally western gave rise to a hardcore punk scene that focused on Indigenous cultural pride intricately connected to a form of patriotism and national pride. This was fuelled by the emergence of a national collective consciousness to reclaim the Indigenous culture due to the failures of western economic policies and US interventions tied to the ‘War on Drugs’.

© 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/mms_00072_1
2022-06-01
2024-05-02
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ali, Patricio. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 19 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Banchs, Edward. ( 2016;), ‘ Swahili-tongued devils: Kenya’s heavy metal at the crossroads of identity. ’, Metal Music Studies, 2:3, pp. 311–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bauman, Zygmunt. ( 2002), La cultura como praxis, Barcelona:: SAGE Publications;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Beighey, Catherine, and Unnithan, N. Prabha. ( 2006;), ‘ Political rap: The music of oppositional resistance. ’, Sociological Focus, 39:2, pp. 133–42.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Butler, Judith. ( 1990), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Calvo, Manuela Belen. ( 2018;), ‘ Perspectiva indigenista en la música metal de Argentina. ’, Metal Music Studies, 4:1, pp. 147–54.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Canessa, Andrew. ( 2007;), “ Who is Indigenous? Self-identification, indigeneity, and claims to justice in comtemporary Bolivia. ’, Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, 36:3, pp. 195–237.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Danhke, Gordon L.. ( 1989;), ‘ Investigación y comunicación. ’, in C. Fernández-Collado, and G. L. Danhke. (eds), La comunicación humana: Ciencia social, Mexico City:: McGraw-Hill Interamericana;, pp. 385–454.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Delgadillo, Diego. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 19 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Gallegos, Karina. ( 2004;), ‘ Al estilo de vida Metalero: Resistencia cultural urbana en Quito. ’, ICONOS-Flasco-Ecuador, 18, pp. 24–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Gómez Valenzuela, Franz. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 12 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Goodale, Mark. ( 2006;), ‘ Reclaiming modernity: Indigenous cosmopolitanism and the coming of the second revolution in Bolivia. ’, American Ethnologist, 33:4, pp. 634–49.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Grant, Sam. ( 2017;), ‘ Resistants, stimulants and weaponization: Extreme metal music and empowerment in the Iraqi and Syrian civil conflicts. ’, Metal Music Studies, 3:2, pp. 175–200.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Hebdige, Dick. ( 1979), Subculture: The Meaning of Style, New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Lara, Marcelo. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 28 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Llanos, Cesar. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 9 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. MacLachlan, Heather. ( 2016;), ‘ (Mis)representation of Burmese metal music in the western media. ’, Metal Music Studies, 2:3, pp. 395–404.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Mendieta, Edgar. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 3 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. MendoVel, Boris. ( 2015), La Raíz de Todo, La Paz:: Rincón Editores;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Mendoza, Boris. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 20 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Mizutani, Gabriel. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 11 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Montero, Maritza. ( 1984), Ideologia, alienación e identidad nacional, Caracas:: Ediciones de la biblioteca de la Universidad Central de Venezuela;.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Montesinos, Omar. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 17 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Pino, Xavier. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 22 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Rocha, Fabian. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 21 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Rocha, Renzo. ( 2020;), telephone interview with R. Tapia. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 26 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Rose, Tricia. ( 1991;), ‘ “Fear of a Black Planet”: Rap music and Black cultural politics in the 1990s. ’, Journal of Negro Education, 60:3, pp. 276–90.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Rose, Tricia. ( 1994), Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, Hanover, NH:: Wesleyan University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Rose, Tricia. ( 1995;), ‘ Rhythmic repetition, industrial forces, and Black practice. ’, in A. Sexton. (ed.), Rap on Rap: Straight-Up Talk on Hip-Hop Culture, New York:: Delta;, pp. 45–55.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. St-Laurent, Mei-Ra. ( 2019;), ‘ “Ancien folklore quebecois”: An analysis of the phonographic and identity-based narrative of the metal noir quebecois community. ’, Metal Music Studies, 5:3, pp. 377–99.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Steger, Manfred B. ( 2015), Globalisms: The Great Ideological Struggle of the Twenty-First Century, , 3rd ed.., Lanham:: Rowman & Little Publishers;.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Tapia, Luis. ( 2012), El movimiento juvenil underground y la ciudadanía desde el subsuelo político, La Paz:: Autodeterminación;.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Tapia, Reynaldo. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 21 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Varas-Díaz, Nelson,, Mendoza, Sigrid,, Rivera-Segarra, Eliut, and González-Sepúlveda, Osvaldo. ( 2016;), ‘ Methodological strategies and challenges in research with small heavy metal scenes: A reflection on entrance, evolution and permanence. ’, Metal Music Studies, 2:3, pp. 273–90.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Vasquez, Yelmo. ( 2020;), telephone interview with B. Mendoza. , La Paz, Bolivia:, 17 May.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Wildcat, Daniel R.. ( 2001;), ‘ Prelude to a dialogue. ’, in V. Deloria, and D. R. Wildcat. (eds), Power and Place: Indian Education in America, Golden:: Fulcrum Publishing;, p. vii.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Williams, Duncan, and Rocha, Marcio Alves Da. ( 2017;), ‘ Decoding cultural signifiers of Brazilian identity and the African diaspora from the music of Sepultura. ’, Metal Music Studies, 3:1, pp. 145–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Boris ‘AlmaLibre’ Mendoza. – Vocalist of LLaWaR. .
  39. Reynaldo Tapia. – Vocalist of DAC. .
  40. Marcelo ‘Chicheño’ Lara. – Lead guitar player of DAC, LLaWaR and others. .
  41. Diego Delgadillo. – Vocalist of Pantano. .
  42. Gabriel Mizutani. – Vocalist and Bassist of 3.18. .
  43. Renzo Rocha. – Vocalist of 3.18. .
  44. Xavier Pino. – Vocalist of Los Tuberculosos. .
  45. Fabian Rocha. – Drummer of Los Tuberculosos. .
  46. Edgar Mendieta. – Vocalist of Scoria. .
  47. Omar Montesinos. – Bolivian metal historian. .
  48. Franz ‘El Chakal’ Gómez Valenzuela. – Radio host of Ruido Metálico. .
  49. Cesar ‘Darkness’ Llanos. – Radio host of Ruido Metálico. .
  50. Yelmo Vasquez. – Radio host of Resistencia. .
  51. Patricio Ali. – Radio host of Resistencia. .
  52. Tapia, Reynaldo, and Mendoza, Boris. ( 2022;), ‘ Hardcore punk as an effort to Indigenize the underground scene in La Paz during the neo-liberal era of resistance 1993–2003. ’, Metal Music Studies, 8:2, pp. 143–61, https://doi.org/10.1386/mms_00072_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/mms_00072_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Bolivia; Bolivian metal; hardcore punk; identity; Indigenize; La Paz underground; neo-liberalism

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error