14 - Unheard Claims, Well-Known Rhythms: The Musical Guerrilla FARC-EP (1988–2010)

Summary

In September 2012 the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia– Ejercito del Pueblo (FARC-EP; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia– People's Army) released a homemade rap video announcing its readiness to participate in peace talks with the President Juan Manuel Santos. Available on YouTube, the clip shows four young rebels playing guitar and drums and singing rhymes about traveling to Cuba and intervening in the peace negotiations. Also, the guerilla members mock President Santos by echoing popular comments about his physical appearance. The video aroused hostility and suspicion in the prevailing media. Some newspapers and TV commentators questioned the clip's authenticity while others condemned its “lack of sophistication” or “bizarre” character. Absent from the public discussion was the guerillas’ decision to welcome the peace talks with a musical declaration. But this rap video was not the first musical intervention of the FARC-EP in contexts of peace talks. Back in 2000, the guerrilla musical group of Julian Conrado and Los Companeros livened up several encounters during the political negotiations between the guerrillas and the Pastrana government. At that time, international official delegations and local audiences attended guerrilla concerts and learned about Fariano cultural policies. But why have the rebels chosen to intervene in peace talks through musical performances? In this chapter I show that musical practices became compelling political means among the guerillas. I explore music produced by artists belonging to the FARC-EP guerrillas (including Julian Conrado and Los Companeros, Lucas Iguaran, and Christian Perez) and argue that, through rhythms, lyrics, and musical discourses, these Fariano artists constructed combatants as belonging to the Colombian nation, as reflecting regional identities and as sharing a commonality of knowledge with others in Colombian society. Additionally, in their music Farianos reshape the meaning of their collective struggle and disseminate personal stories throughout a geographically and territorially unwieldy organization.

The Fortuitous Configuration of a Research Topic: Sources and Assumptions

Between 1997 and 2006 I worked at the Jesuit organization Center of Research and Popular Education (CINEP; Centro de Investigacion y Educacion Popular), one of the oldest Colombian NGOs. Taking advantage of CINEP involvement with the Catholic Church and its constant presence on the field, my research team traced the history of the Colombian armed actors and their complex relationships with regional societies and the state.