Sounds of a Generation1

Voices of Mexico 106 Robert Galbraith/Reuters Robert Sign, Julia E. Palacios Franco* Sounds of a Generation1 andwiched between the utopian 1967 and the amaz- On June 24, on the Our World program, people around ing 1969, 1968 is one of the most significant and the globe were able to watch The Beatles sing “All You Need Srebellious years of the second half of the twentieth Is Love” on the first satellite television broadcast ever.2 century. And while the common message was love and the dream In the middle of the ongoing Vietnam War, a focus for of a world at peace, running through it were also deep people around the globe, and increased anger at and reflection and the seeds of insurrection and restlessness. questioning of foreign U.S. policies, in 1967 “flower pow- Canadian poet Leonard Cohen moved hearts and souls er” was blooming and the hippie children were living in with his first album. Songs freedom and searching for peace and love everywhere. like “Suzanne” became sym- San Francisco’s Summer of Love and the Monterey Pop bolic anthems of a deep per- Festival in August of that year exploded with extraordi- sonal search for meaning nary music, arts, and psychedelic fantasies floating in [“Suzanne,” Leonard Cohen]. the air [“San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your In Southern California, Hair),” Scott McKenzie]. songs dealt with protest. The Beatle’s June 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Buffalo Springfield, a Cana- Club Band was an ode to psychedelia and a musical mas- dian-American band with terpiece. Nothing like it had been heard before [“Lucy in virtuous sounds, sang about the Sky with Diamonds,” The Beatles]. the riots, civil rights, and protest [“For What It´s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield], while * Academic and researcher at the Ibero-American University The Doors with their trance-induced songs and existen- Communications Department; [email protected]. tialist attitude were yelling, “We want the world, and we 32 Voices of Mexico 106.indb 32 11/28/18 1:11 PM Context want it now!” [“The End,” The ments and the radio waves. In Mexico, we wavered between Doors]. being modern, being worldly, international, and keeping The 1968 rebellions were our traditions and conservative values. about to explode. Pra gue, Pa r- The student movement was mostly left-leaning, more is, Montevideo, Mexico: riots, related to folk and protest songs. Inspiration came from dem onstrations, violent gov- Pete Seeger, Joan Baez [“We Shall Overcome,” Joan Baez], ernment repression; the Bob Dylan [“The Times They Are A-Changin’,” Bob Dylan], questioning of authority and and Peter, Paul, and Mary [“Blowin´ in the Wind,” Peter, the system in general was Paul and Mary]. Our revolutionary corridos or Latin Amer- inevitable. In the United States, the ican “protest” songs were typically sung in brief support assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert events and flash student rallies by singers Kennedy added to social concerns. In August 1968, the like Óscar Chávez [“Carabina 30/30,” Ós- riots at the Chicago National Democratic Convention car Chá vez] [“Hasta siempre” (about openly questioned the system and its institutions, while Comandante Che Gueva ra), Óscar the black power salute with the gloved fists of John Car- Chá vez], and Margarita Bauche, cel- los and Tommie Smith at Mexico´s Olympic Games were ebrated as the “Mexican Joan Baez.” the most effective gesture to show the world the increas ed Conservative youngsters were restlessness and non-conformity of one of the African dancing to sterile mains tream songs American movements that permeated the decade. like “El juego de Simón,” a cover ver- There is a tendency, a myth, an idealization of 1968 sion by Roberto Jordán of the original “Si- as the year of the revolution, counterculture, protest, the mon Says” by the 1910 Fruitgum Company [“El turning point that marked some of the most important juego de Simón,” Roberto Jordán], or “Yummy Yummy!” changes in the second half of the twentieth century. Most- by the Ohio Express [“Yummy, Yummy!” Ohio Express], ly, this is due to the protagonist role of youth, restless or the traditional Russian song with adapted lyrics in and thoughtful youngsters who openly raised their in- English, “Those Were the Days,” recorded at the brand quisitive, raging voices. new Apple Records, produced by Paul McCartney [“Those Yet, those were not “all” the young people and “all” the Were the Days,” Mary Hopkin], and still dancing cheek to voices. 1968, like now, fluctuated between conservatism cheek with the gracious romanticism of Paul Muriat’s and rebellion, a completely different, dual approach to orchestra [“Love Is Blue,” Paul Muriat]. society, culture, and music. 1968 cannot and should not In August 1968, a major musical event took place in be read as a single homogeneous year. the heart of Mexico City. Thousands of youngsters gath- In Mexico City, the second half of 1968 was a mixture ered at the downtown Alameda Park, and Spanish singer of festivity and joy with the upcoming Olympic Games Raphael gave a free concert at the peak of one of his and the protests and outrage of the student movement: multiple moments of popularity. He was proclaimed the fear and celebration, praise for modernity and anger at Number One Artist of the Year 1968 by Notitas mu sicales authorities. A similar spirit was felt in many other parts (Little Musical Notes) magazine, the leading teen music of the world. Divergence of general meaningful interests publication of the era [“Mi gran and specific musical tastes permeated the student move- no che,” Raphael]. Genres coexisted on several mainly music radio sta- There is a tendency to idealize 1968 tions specialized either in as the year of the revolution, romantic Mexican tunes like due to the protagonist role of youth boleros, ranchero or tropical and thoughtful youngsters who openly raised music,3 or pop songs sung their inquisitive, raging voices. in Spanish.4 Plus, several radio stations played only 33 Voices of Mexico 106.indb 33 11/28/18 1:11 PM Voices of Mexico 106 minds. The film’s theme song was very popular in 1968 Peace and Love movements [“Valley of the Dolls,” Dionne Warwick]. and attitudes were also directed at racial By 1968, the civil rights movement and so-called and gender integration, planting the seeds “black power” were at their peak. Music, in which African- of what would later be gender American singers and composers have played a key role equal opportunities. in music history,6 also expressed the pride of being black. Hugely popular singers like Aretha Franklin and James music in English, mostly the hits of the moment.5 Be- Brown sang about this pride, becoming the voices of their sides the popular songs with simple lyrics and nonsense race and generation [“Say It Loud. I’m Black and I’m rhymes, but a contagious beat for dancing, there was Proud,” James Brown]. an eruption of poetry, complex words with deep, hidden Peace and Love movements and attitudes were also meanings. All this was wrapped in innovative music in- directed at racial and gender integration, planting the spired by oriental sounds and recording studio explora- seeds of what would later be gender equal opportunities. tion, plus the so-called psychedelic sound influenced by At that time rock and pop music in general were both the increased consumption of natural and synthetic predominantly masculine art forms, but the female pres- substances used in name of the so sought-after “mind ence started taking on a new role beyond the candid expansion.” teenage singer or the romantic sweet female voice.7 Tw o Many song lyrics dealt with important female front-women had prominent roles in the drug culture, such as the psychedelic era: Grace Slick, the voice of San Fran- “White Room” by the British cisco’s iconic band Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin, band Cream, one of the most the voice of another Bay Area band, Big Brother and the powerful trios in rock histo ry Holding Company. Joplin’s interpretative power had been [“White Room,” Cream]. “discovered” in 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival during There was also the Eastern the Summer of Love, and their 1968 Cheap Thrills album, influence like in the “Hur dy with its cover design by underground artist Robert Crumb, Gurdy Man,” by Scots sing- set them up as one of the most impressive, influential er-songwriter Donovan. The bands of the psychedelic scene [“Piece of My Heart (You troubadour-like Hurdy Gurdy Know You’ve Got It If It Makes You Feel Good…),” Big song was inspired during the Beatles’ famous 1968 trip Brother and the Holding Company]. to the Rishikesh Ashram in India to practice transcen- Of the various bands that blossomed in the Bay Area, dental meditation. Donovan was part of the group. This Sly and the Family Stone were a very interesting exam- was a main event that consolidated the bridge between ple of their times. A seven- East and West, musically and spiritually. member band with a powerful Critical social issues were talked about openly. The sound, it was the first popular film The Graduate, featuring Dustin Hoffman, portrayed racially integrated rock group. a young graduate having a love affair with an older wom- Plus, having males and fe- an. “Mrs. Robinson,” sung by the marvelous duet Simon males in their line-up was and Garfunkel, described a long-gone United States and also something unusual for became one of the 1968 “anthems.” a rock band [“Dance to the Another critical film of the time, Valley of the Dolls, Music,” Sly and the Fam ily portrayed female consumption of “dolls” or prescription Stone].

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