Los Yetis and the Visual Construction of Colombian Rock through Album Covers in the 1960s

Abstract

This article analyzes the covers of the three LPs released by the Colombian band Los Yetis between 1966 and 1967, examining their role in the visual construction of Colombian rock during the 1960s. From an interdisciplinary perspective combining visual culture studies, paratextuality, and musical iconography, the album covers are approached as graphic devices linked both to the commercialization of the phonogram and to the symbolic production of youth identities, as well as to the visual and symbolic construction of Colombian rock. The methodology combines three levels of analysis: formal, paratextual, and iconological. The results show that Los Yetis’ covers reveal a negotiation between international rock design conventions and local conditions of record production. More than simple packaging, these images actively participated in the cultural legitimization of rock in Colombia and in the shaping of imaginaries of modernity, youth, and generational belonging.