One of the most beautiful parts of learning another language is discovering that there is a whole other world out there filled with books, poetry and music that you didn’t know existed and all of a sudden you’ve been handed the code to open its gates. My motivation to learn Spanish came one night sitting on a starlit beach in Costa Rica with my Argentinian friend, Ami. As she and I sat there, a young man came with his guitar and began to serenade us. The song was Loca, by the band Chico Trujillo, and I was instantly enamored by the melody and the rhythm. I knew then that I not only had to find the lyrics to this song but also understand them. Flash forward two years later to Santiago de Chile, this time seated on the patio of my cozy hostel enjoying the summer night air and drinking some wine, when a different young man with his guitar again began to play Loca for me. This man was my soon-to-be friend and hitchhiking companion, Ricardo.
What started as a motivation to learn another language quickly transformed into a passion in its own right. To me, Chilean music is not like any other music in Latin America, there is something in almost every band and genre – from folk and jazz to indie and metal – that invokes an obscure sense of nostalgia. Perhaps this internal sentiment in Chilean music come from the country’s attachment to its pre-Spanish heritage and from its harrowing dictatorship past*. Victor Jara, who’s musical fame was probably the first to transcend Chilean borders, is a name synonymous with civil martyrdom. With the torture and controversial death of Victor came a new generation of fearless musicians who wanted to be heard by anyone that would listen. The 80’s produced much in the way of protest folk and the band every Chilean grew up listing to: Los Prisionarios. In the 1990’s there was an eruption of bands in all possible styles but at the forefront of this new generation was the band Los Tres. A mix of rock, pop and cueca*, Los Tres became a national cannon hurtling the cultural spirit of Chilean music into an international scene. With the 2000’s came the advent of the internet and downloadable music. As with the rest of the world, this plunged record sales in Chile to a minimum and ousted the monopoly large labels held over smaller bands. The adjustment pioneered a way for independent labels and recaptured the essence of past generations. One band that is currently making waves in Santiago and all over Chile is Perfectos Extraños. I’m lucky enough to know the bassist and since he owed me a favour after tricking me into being hitchhiking bait a few years ago, he granted me an interview recently.
Besides being the videographer, online media manager and frequent jokester, Ricardo, is also Perfectos Extraños bassist. He has been independently making music and writing for many years but finally found a project that he believes in as much as they believe in him. He told me it’s nice to finally be involved with a band that is as dedicated to their passion for music as he is.
“To me, music is an important thing in life, if not the most important thing. I’m a very anxious guy and I need to have my mind occupied, so music helps me focus, relax, and even isolate myself creatively. Music has been my partner in life; it kills my demons. Music is forever, we are not”.
Karen – who Ricardo characterized as the “smart and grumpy leader/vocalist” of the band – has a sugary sweet voice that any Canadian would find as temping as warm maple syrup. Nico is the wild and talented founder of the band who thrives off playing his guitar loud. Franco is a second guitarist who’s teddybear demeanour should’t fool you; he plays the guitar like Don Draper plays everyone, and is the implementer of many of the bands tinny 
and melodic effects. Last is Pato, the drummer, hailing from Concepción, which most Chileans acknowledge as “The Cradle of Rock” due to the fact that many of the country’s important musicians came from there, is a proof of that spirit.
“It’s difficult to classify our band in one specific genre of music”, said Ricardo. “We all appreciate different sounds and styles, so every song has a bit of everyone who makes it. We are a great example of how music in Chile has evolved: we have elements from the past like 80’s rock, and more modern inspirations like shoe gaze and dream pop.”
I admitted to Ricardo that due to my appeal for the classics, upon my first listen to their new album Imaginario, I wasn’t entirely convinced I liked it. However, as it sometimes is with modern artistic compositions, one needs to drop traditionalism and embrace the nuances and eccentricity that make contemporary talent so extraordinary.
“20 years ago we were still living the consequences from the dictatorship times, we have really good bands from those times, but now it’s different” Ricardo explained. “Right now Chile is crowded with so many cool bands; each with an interesting idea and sound. In the past, if you wanted to see a band you just bought a ticket, went to the show and watched–that’s all. Nowadays, almost all the bands here are friends, and we occasionally collaborate or do intimate gigs in houses and for small crowds, so in the end you get to meet everyone. You see the band and then drink a beer, talk, share life. That’s awesome!”.
I then asked Ricardo how he defines passion, biasedly expecting some rehearsed and stereotypical Latin-male definition on passion, Ricardo humbled me when he said: “I don’t know–maybe you can’t singularly define passion when you have so many”.
A coincidence that is WAY too miraculous to be only chance is that as I was typing the previous paragraph in Manic Coffee on College, a familiar song came on the play list. La Playa by Perfectos 
Extraños! I was absolutely dumbfounded so I asked the barista if she knew who made the play list. She informed me that she made the playlist based off some “musical gems” she had found on a recent trip to South America. So it seems the current Chilean music scene is already making its presence know here in Canada. And not a moment to soon. Having experienced the music scene in Santiago first hand while visiting, I can attest to the closeness of the community. There is a distinct and hip aura draping over the indie music scene there, yet without the fog of arrogance that usually permeates such culture. This lack of musical egotism in Chile leaves room for creative openness and communal progress. I encourage you to have a listen for yourself. Who knows, maybe out of musical figures such as Tiro de Gracia, Fiskales ad hok, Lucybell, Cristian Cuturrufo, Fother Muckers, Francisca Valenzuel and the critically acclaimed and outspoken present figurehead of Chilean music, Ana Tijoux. There will be a song that sparks your motive to learn Spanish, or at the very least, grant you the privilege to acquaint yourself with a prefect stranger.
*(I’m not going to get into politics here, I’m here to talk about music, but if you don’t know much about South American political history during the 70’s, I highly recommend you enlighten yourself, for if you pull away even a few layers, you will find it’s not only repulsively tragic but also informatively captivating)
* Cueca is a traditional music and dance from Chile
Un millón de gracias a Ricardo y Javier por toda la ayuda en este tema.
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