The Anarchist Milongas: a journey through eighty years of history

Abstract

This paper traces the history of the anarchist milongas from their emergence at the end of the 19th century through the first years of the 1970s, homing in on the song lyrics as well as the sociopolitical and economic context in which they were written. The analysis of these songs provides insight into how the discourse of libertarian singers evolved over nearly eighty years. As part of this exploration, the story of anarchist milongas is divided into three stages: during the first, at the turn of the 20th century, song messages were educational, doctrinal, and internationalist, justifying the anarchist violence and solidarity among the dispossessed; during the second, from the 1920s until the end of the 1940s, discourse takes on the pacifism most associated with Tolstoi´s ideas, and the doctrinal message becomes less clear; in the third, between the 1950s and the end of the 1960s, in a climate overshadowed by the Cold War and the Cuban Revolution, there is a tension between anarchist ideology and patriotic discourse.

As part of this exploration, the story of anarchist milongas are divided into three stages.

1.- during the first, at the turn of the 20th century, song messages were educational, doctrinal, and internationalist, justifying the anarchist violence and solidarity among the dispossessed.

2.-during the second, from the 1920s until the end of the 1940s, discourse takes on the pacifism most associated with Christian anarchism.

3.- the third, during the final phase from the 1950s until the end of the 1960s, in a climate overshadowed by the Cold War and the Cuban Revolution, there is a tension between anarchist ideology and patriotic discourse.