Tag Archives: coup

Goodbye General! A London event commemorates 50 years since the military coup in Chile.

For many, still, the coup in Chile in 1973 is in fresh memory and for others the trauma has lived on in the children and grandchildren of those who suffered.

Naomi Larsson Piñeda, a musician and journalist, told me via Twitter messaging about how Chilean families still have a hard time talking about the events in 1973 and the years that followed.

Read also: “Justice Finally Served For 1973 Murder Of Chilean Musician Victor Jara”

Naomi’s mother moved from Chile in 1980 to the United Kingdom and although having traveled to Chile in her youth, it was not until in her adult life that Naomi started reconnecting with her homeland: “I work as a journalist so have spent a lot of time reporting from Chile and learning about its history – as a child, the dictatorship was something that was never really discussed, like in so many Chilean families.”

Read also: “The Violator Is You: Women In Chile Perform A Protest Chant”

This coming Wednesday, October 18, Naomi has organised a night of music, titled ¡Adios General!, in cooperation with Movimientos, to commemorate the decades that have passed since the coup.

Featured bands are Naomi in Blue, Malena Zavala, and Patiño. ¡Adiós General! will celebrate Nuevo Pop Chileno and the songs of Los Prisioneros, Aparato Raro, Los Pinochet Boys and more – the Chilean rock bands who drove the sounds of a new counterculture.”

“The 18 October is also a particularly important day – it was the start of the social uprising in 2019 where millions of Chileans took to the streets to protest the economic and social hangovers of the dictatorship.”
– Naomi Larsson Piñeda

Profits from the event will go to Ecomemoria, a collective planting a forest in the south of Chile with each tree memorialising a victim of the dictatorship.

When: 18 October 2023
Where: the Jago, Dalston (UK)
Tickets: here

Thai Protest Band Apply For Asylum In France

Since the 2014 military coup took place in Thailand the protest band Faiyen have not been able to perform live. After starting to receive threats they fled into hiding in Laos until finally, a few days ago, they arrived in France where they have sought political asylum.

Thailand upholds what is known as the lese-majeste law which forbids anyone from speaking negatively about, threatening or insulting the Thai royal family. Several activists have gone missing since 2014 and Faiyen did not want to become a part of an ever growing list of disappearances.

Being able to now perform in France the band is already using their voice and talent to spread the word about their oppressive government. A few days ago they organised a protest concert outside the Thai embassy in Paris along with other activists and performed some of their songs.

You can find Faiyen’s music on Bandcamp and support the band.



Article cover photo from Faiyen’s Facebook page.