Musica De Protesta En Espana

Contemporary Protest Music in Spain

In a dark neighborhood in Madrid, Spain, Diego Rodrigues and his friends have been playing some of the most impacting songs in Spain: Distorted guitars, incisive rock lyrics and loud saxophones and trumpets. After five years in economic crisis, the protest music continues to rise.

The public consists in labor-class people in Vallecas, wearing black outfits, jumping up down and down and side to side bumping against one another while the music plays “Family and Royalty”, his song against the each day more unpopular Spanish Royalty. “An illegal system forced by the children of fascism. From sun to sun the King Borbon is stealing from me.”, sings Diego before blowing his trumpet, a caribbean influenced punk ska with a catchy rhythm.

It’s a very direct type of music that touches social problems in Spain, as described by Diego who is currently an unemployed 32 year old teacher. Ska music wasn’t popular in Spain up until 10 years ago, it seems like with time people, little by little, has appreciated the spirit of ska music and what it implies, a social need for a change.

In their songs they focus on their own experiences being unemployed, or not getting paid and having to pay for their mortgages. Like many alternative Spanish music, the songs from “Oferta Especial.” (special offer), they tell stories about the massive protests that have taken place in this last couple of years. Just like the protestors, the musicians complain about the social injustice, economic struggles and the scandals of corruption involving even their Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy .

On the other side of Spain, in Andalucia there is a popular musician Mala Rodriguez, she is a mainstream rap singer that according to her the only way to communicate her opinion is through rap, to show her indignation against the complacent cultural attitudes towards the present economic crisis in her country. Through her lyrics, she exposes the ingenuity and selfishness of the public and media. She is well known for her not so subtle lyrics, “The president, asshole, why did we vote for him?” is part of one of her greatest hits, and also for her traditional gypsy style from Andalucia which is one of the most economic affected regions in Spain. According to her perspective, the rock music is created by people that were excluded and harmed by the society created from Capitalism. She is a self proclaimed “child of the crisis” since she was born into a society struggling economically.

The simplicity and adaptability of protest music has enabled the spread of its lyrics and rhythms, we just need to go Youtube and see how many “views” a song has to realize how music does move masses and its minimum rejection from public in general. Given the present political and economic climate in Spain, I believe its time to sing more and more protest songs and use them as revolutionary

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