Canto por travesura: folklore y picaresca en un disco de Víctor Jara
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Date
2023
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Abstract
El objetivo central de este artículo es aportar a una mejor comprensión del rol de Víctor Jara como intérprete de folclore. Es decir, cómo abordaba procesos de selección, musicalización e interpretación de repertorios folclóricos, asuntos que han sido eclipsados por el interés en su labor como cantautor. Para este fin analizamos Canto por travesura (1973), su elepé dedicado a temas humorísticos y picares-cos recopilados del folclore del centro-sur chileno. En la primera parte consideramos su proceso de recopilación y comparamos las versiones del elepé con fuentes documentales. Luego abordamos el proceso de grabación, su organización, la manera idiosincrática en que Jara y sus músicos interpretan el canto a lo poeta. Concluimos que Canto por travesura fue concebido como un espectáculo folclórico y que Jara no buscó una reproducción fidedigna de la sonoridad rural, sino una evocación de la ruralidad para una audiencia urbana y cosmopolita. En la segunda parte, exploramos el significado del humor sexual presente en las letras de las canciones desde una perspectiva de género. Observamos que la mayoría de las canciones del elepé provienen de repertorios masculinos y expresan ansiedades masculinas. Dos canciones, sin embargo, provienen de repertorios femeninos y tienen una mujer como personaje principal. Nos interesa particularmente la resignificación que se produce cuando canciones de repertorio picaresco femenino son interpretadas por hombres. Nuestro estudio incorpora material original resultante de una entrevista que nos otorgó Pedro Yáñez, destacado folclorista que colaboró con Jara en el elepé.
This article’s main objective is to contribute to a better understanding of Víctor Jara’s role as performer of folklore. This role includes the ways in which he collected, musicalized, and performed folk repertories, matters which have been eclipsed by an interest in his songwriting. To this end, we analyze Canto por travesura (1973), his LP dedi-cated to humorous and bawdy folklore collected from Chile’s south-central region. In the first part, we consider his collecting process and compare the versions on the LP with documentary sources. We explore the recording process, the album’s organization, and the idiosyncratic way Jara and his musicians perform canto a lo poeta. We conclude that Canto por travesura was conceived as a folkloric performance and that Jara did not seek to authoritatively reproduce a rural sound but to evoke rurality for an urban and cosmopolitan audience. In the second part, we explore the meaning of the LP’s sexual humor from a gender perspective. Most of the album’s songs come from male repertories and express male anxieties. Two songs, however, come from female repertories and feature a woman as the main character. We are particularly interested in the resignification that occurs when women’s bawdy repertoire is performed by men. Our study incorporates original material resulting from an interview we conducted with Pedro Yáñez, the renowned folklorist who collaborated with Jara on the LP..
This article’s main objective is to contribute to a better understanding of Víctor Jara’s role as performer of folklore. This role includes the ways in which he collected, musicalized, and performed folk repertories, matters which have been eclipsed by an interest in his songwriting. To this end, we analyze Canto por travesura (1973), his LP dedi-cated to humorous and bawdy folklore collected from Chile’s south-central region. In the first part, we consider his collecting process and compare the versions on the LP with documentary sources. We explore the recording process, the album’s organization, and the idiosyncratic way Jara and his musicians perform canto a lo poeta. We conclude that Canto por travesura was conceived as a folkloric performance and that Jara did not seek to authoritatively reproduce a rural sound but to evoke rurality for an urban and cosmopolitan audience. In the second part, we explore the meaning of the LP’s sexual humor from a gender perspective. Most of the album’s songs come from male repertories and express male anxieties. Two songs, however, come from female repertories and feature a woman as the main character. We are particularly interested in the resignification that occurs when women’s bawdy repertoire is performed by men. Our study incorporates original material resulting from an interview we conducted with Pedro Yáñez, the renowned folklorist who collaborated with Jara on the LP..
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Keywords
Folclore, Performance, Canto a lo poeta, Folklore, Humor