a Visit to the Liverpool Music Archive

BY MAYU TANIGUCHI

FEBRUARY 2023

As students, we are often encouraged to challenge conventional ways of thinking, to bring renewed ideas and fresh perspectives; to “think outside the box.” Well, for this project, not entirely; it places greater emphasis on learning from the past (what is already inside the box) to think about the future.

Thinking Inside the Box: 1973 is a student-led, co-curricular project that engages with a variety of historical materials from Latin America, particularly from the mid-to-late 20th century, ranging from protest music to political pamphlets and solidarity posters.  It is currently running between the Universities of Leeds, London (King’s College and Queen Mary) and Liverpool. With the support and expertise of Dr. Anna Grimaldi and Dr. Simon Rofe, undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Leeds have been exploring archives across the UK and digitally, building up knowledge about Cold War Latin America and drawing from their experience to shape a series of events, including a multimedia exhibition, a poster-printing workshop, and film screenings from April this year.

My name is Mayu, and I am writing this article to share my experience as one of the content creators for Thinking Inside the Box: 1973. I am currently in the third year of my undergraduate degree in International Relations and Spanish, specialising in human security. I got to know about the project through a friend of mine from Peru, who is now one of the team members running our Instagram (see more here: @thinkinginsidethebox.leeds). I decided to join the project because I am interested in Cold War history but have little understanding of how it played out in Latin America. The Cold War is often discussed at the macro-level, generalised as a tension between Capitalism and Communism, namely the US and the Soviet Union; a lot less is known about how “the people” (el pueblo, in Spanish) lived through and survived the period. I have also been curious to learn more about the deeply rooted and complex relationship between the United States and Latin America since watching Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, a show that touches on the present day United States’ intervention in Latin American politics.

While every member of the team has their own background and reasons for getting involved in the project, we are now working together to expand our knowledge and draw inspiration from a series of archive visits to launch an enriching, exciting series of events. So far, we have planned two in-person archive visits: The Popular Music Archive at the University of Liverpool and the Latin American Political Pamphlets Collection at the University of London’s Senate House Library. We have also carried out a workshop to explore the digitised collection of Tallersol, a cultural centre in Santiago, Chile, founded in 1977.

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Our first destination this year was The Popular Music Archive at the University of Liverpool. We were welcomed by Dr Richard Smith, who guided us to a room full of vinyls, CDs, cassettes, books of song lyrics and poetry, and posters. The materials formed part of a collection relating to hope and struggle in Latin America, with a particular focus on movements for democracy and freedom in Chile. All of us were amazed by the variety of colourful, striking visuals – certain artworks reminded me of cubism with their vivid primary colours and range of motifs. Some contained the iconic clenched fist, raised in the air, while others depicted birds, their large wings spread wide as if trying to break free from their cage, the canvas, and fly towards freedom. It was my first time doing archival research and even though I felt like I was jumping in the deep end without enough prior knowledge, the experience was exhilarating. By looking through and combining the images, lyrics, and sounds, I was able, step by step, to build my own multi-dimensional picture of the events and people I was trying to understand. It was a different way of learning - unlike reading a textbook that packs everything neatly, I was exploring and discovering the hidden contents of the archive. The further I looked the more it felt like peeling back the layers of a big onion that could go on forever – I could see how even a single event of the past could take years to understand this way.

One of the most significant things I learned that day was the about the life story of Victor Jara, a Chilean folk singer who was killed during the Chilean military coup of 1973. As well as a famous singer and songwriter, he was an engaging political activist whose music encouraged and generated civic solidarity to confront the repressive military regime curtailing the democracy and freedom of the people of Chile. According to a biography I found at the archive, Victor Jara said:

“My songs, they are what I feel, they are about my life. But I am a peasant and so they are about millions of people, about suffering, but also sometimes victory.”

Music and songs were a fundamental way to show resistance when the regime banned freedom of expression and censored political literature. More importantly, it contributed to creating a sense of emotional connection and community among people, especially victims of the regime. Although Victor Jara was brutally murdered by the military government during the first few days of the regime, they could not silence his voice because his songs represented the shared experience of all those suffering from poverty, oppression, and fear, not only in Chile, but across the world. To this day, Victor Jara’s music is played and sung by the hundreds and thousands of people from all over the world who are repressed by authoritarian regimes.

Our experiences so far have inspired us to explore the overarching theme of “Hope, Struggle and Solidarity.” The Cold War period in Latin America was violent, heartbreaking, and bleak; it was a period of many struggles… against dictatorship, against authoritarianism, against political imprisonment and torture, and against poverty and inequality. But these were also struggles of hope for a better future. The artworks, songs, and stories we will explore as part of Thinking Inside the Box 1973 are uplifting and full of passion for life, they shine a light through the darkness and encourage optimism when the struggle against oppression seems hopeless, they generate solidarity based on shared hopes that democracy and freedom are soon to come. By opening these boxes of archives we intend to reawaken these struggles of hope and stand in solidarity with them; learning from the past to struggle for a better future.