Los Jaivas: Toward a Decolonial Attitude in Chilean Psychedelic Rock

Abstract

This article proposes a decolonial reading of the rock music produced by Los Jaivas in Chile during the late sixties and early seventies by putting it in dialogue with Rodolfo Kusch’s work on identity and Walter Mignolo’s notion of decolonial aesthesis. By highlighting Indigenous melodies, rhythms, ideas and experiences in the rock genre, Los Jaivas propose an alternative conception of the Chilean subject as Andean and not exclusively displaced-European, as maintained by Chile’s institutions and mainstream culture. The music produced by Los Jaivas articulates a decolonial attitude and recognises Indigenous values as an integral part of Chilean reality, adding a deeper dimension to the political critique of capitalism that occurred during the Unidad Popular period (1970-1973). Through the enduring music of their first albums and singles, Los Jaivas create an instance of decolonial aesthesis that has profoundly altered Chilean discourses of national identity.