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In 1986, the Chilean band released their second album Pateando Piedras (EMI), and it was the Pinochet dictatorship times. The name of the album means 'kicking stones', in a clear rejection of Pinochet dictatorship, but more importantly, each song talks about interesting issues. This is the case of the song 'Por qué no se van?' and 'Independencia Cultural', in which the band asks why the economic, political and intellectual power in Chile are always watching out the European culture instead of the domestic culture. In this way, Los Prisioneros creatively problematized the cultural subordination suffered in Chile by Europe and USA since Spanish colonization.
This is not just a critique against those who ruled the country, but against those artists who followed and accepted uncritically a foreign cultural imposition. This is not more than what Edward Said defined as Culture and Imperialism (1993):
Por qué no se van?
If you dream of New York and Europe
You complain about our people and their clothes
You live loving the art-cinema of Normandi
If you are an artist and Indians do not understand
If your art here is not sold
If you want to be second-hand Western
Why do not you go?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
If you travel every year to Italy
If culture is so rich in germany
Why next year not you stay there?
If you do not have the means here you claim
If your genius and talent here does not give you fame
If your last name is neither Gonzales nor Tapia
Why do not you go?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
Why do not you go?
They do not leave the country?
Independencia Cultural
The time has come to stand aside
playing other games we will never win
You and I have good taste, nothing can scare us
the outside aside, let us occupy our country!
influences, suggestions
European take away your decadence
warning, we will declare
cultural independence
cultural independence
In this distant place people are poor, people shake hands
there is no pride of race nor colonies or tradition,
always hiding the accent, we have not been applauded at all
at school, we are taught that culture is anything unusual
except what you do
Do not disguise oneself, do not feel bad for that
you are precious because you're different
we have to declare it loudly
cultural independence
cultural independence
I do not want more Bach, puagh!
because I feel differently
If culture is European culture is so expensive because I want to get along with people
I do not want to see your hair painted green
If fashion is Europe, if fashion is so expensive I would get along with people
cultural independence
cultural independence