The legacy of the surgeon who taught post-punk and new wave to the Pinochet Boys and Los Prisioneros – 2024-09-08 07:07:19 – 2024-09-08 07:10:24 – 2024-09-08 07:12:14

Dr. Marcos Vergara recently published the book “New Wave: vueltas de la vida en 45 rpm” (Economías de Guerra, 2024), where he recalls the anecdotes he experienced in Concepción and Santiago alongside musicians, photographers and painters who were part of the counterculture that was organized against boredom and lack of options during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Its pages recall the adventures he lived alongside members of bands such as Los Prisioneros, Emociones Clandestinas and Electrodomésticos, whom he guided in the direction of unknown artists in Chile at the time such as The Police, The Stranglers and XTC.

In conversation with Lejos De La Multitude, a platform dedicated to rescuing music, film and literature that has just released its 30th episode, Miguel Conejeros (Pinochet Boys, Parkinson, Fiat 600) highlights the role of his uncle Marcos as a catalyst in different artistic forms in a country that was living under a state of siege.

“I think it is important to value his figure because he not only influenced Los Prisioneros by showing them new music but also an entire generation with his radio program Nueva Dimensión, which he hosted in Concepción with Felipe Raurich, because at that time the only music heard was progressive rock, which was already becoming outdated for all of us.”

Miguel still remembers the epiphany that it meant for him to hear the sounds of The Clash, Gang Of Four and Wire in 1981 on the cassettes that the surgeon sent to the city of La Unión, where he lived with his brother Iván. Already settled in Santiago, these music sessions gave way to social gatherings that the doctor sponsored in an apartment on Manuel Montt Street, where characters from the emerging avant-garde and underground of those years shared.

“These parties were key to generating a new type of sound and aesthetic through the musical influences that the kind doctor Vergara presented to us. The interesting thing is that this book, with a very agile and entertaining pen, conveys the spirit of that time through very funny stories that are captured there.”

The narration also details stories such as the doctor’s improvised participation in the Los Prisioneros video clip “Maldito Sudaca” (1988), recorded on a Sunday morning in the Recoleta neighborhood, and where the doctor plays the owner of a car who berates the artists for having installed a radio in his vehicle.

Asked about the contrast between the massive impact of Los Prisioneros versus the influence of the Pinochet Boys on the local underground, Miguel believes that the San Miguel band demonstrated greater cunning and commercial talent, reinforced by the ingenuity of its vocalist, Jorge Gonzáles, a judgment that Marcos shares.

“It was always possible to detect the genius and resentment that Jorge had inside his soul, a tremendous desire to hit and I think that this post punk or new wave thing was a perfect fit for them, because they found that same energy in the things we listened to. How much did that influence them becoming as popular as they were? I think there was a mix of factors and a virtuous encounter between Jorge’s energy and creativity and Fonseca’s guidance. I think that Fonseca was a good manager who led them down the right path. Although it was hard for him to make up his mind, in the end he got the courage and knew how to do the job.”

You can watch a video conversation with Marcos Vergara and Miguel Conejeros and listen to episode 30 of Lejos De La Multitude on this website.