The band started when Jorge González and Miguel Tapia decided to start their own band while being high school students. They were inexperienced but enthusiastic, after many practices and writing songs, they asked Claudio Narea if he would like to join them, and impressed by the music they were making, he accepted. Towards the early 80's they went through some name changes and before settling on "Los Prisioneros" they had the name "Los Vinchukas" as their original name. In 1983, they had played a number of local shows and that's when they met Carlos Fonseca, their future manager. Through him, they managed to score a record deal with Fusión Producciones.
In 1984, the band's debut album was released, with the hit song "La Voz De Los '80" (which was never a single). They reached acclaim in the radio and by the next year they would be touring. In 1986, their long awaited second album "Pateando Piedras" went double Platinum album in Chile. By that time, the group was invited to perform at Argentina's Chateau Rock Festival and later to a similar event in Montevideo, Uruguay. They continued touring and they became more successful mainstream wise.
The band disbanded in 1992, then as a quartet with additional members Cecilia Aguayo (keyboards) and Robert Rodríguez (guitar), since Claudio Narea had left the band earlier in 1990.
The original lineup of the band decided to get back together in 2001, offering two massive concerts in the National Stadium of Santiago, and then releasing "Los Prisioneros", their first original studio album in 13 years. However, internal problems between González and Narea led again to the departure of the guitarist in 2001. Los Prisioneros continued working as a duet with guest members like Álvaro Henríquez whom with they released a cover album. In 2004 two additional musicians joined the band: Sergio "Coty" Badilla and Gonzalo Yáñez, releasing their sixth album Manzana the same year. A little while after the release of the album band members decided to establish themselves in Mexico, attempting to get more international exposure. Yáñez decided not to leave Chile and left the band. After touring through several locations in North and South America, they finally disbanded in 2006.
El Muro
Los Prisioneros Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se acuerdan de las palabras, de la democracia y la libertad
Ahora quien va a contar? Quien dira la verdad?
Cuantos humanos mueren por tratar de ir a trabajar
Ahi tienen su mano de obra, libre de impuestos
Ahi tienen su Sueño.....
Pinten el muro, Salten el muro
Besen el muro, coma en el muro
Corten el muro, ah ah ah, por la mitad!
Se acuerdan de cuando cayo, el viejo muro de berlin
Se acuerdan de las palabras, de la democracia y la libertad
Ahora quien va a contar? Quien dira la verdad?
Cuantos humanos mueren por tratar de ir a trabajar
Ahi tienen su mano de obra, libre de impuestos
Ahi tienen su Sueño.....Americano!!
(Coro)
Justo, Justo por la mitad...
Luego aca viene un punteo que aun no lo saco.
Luego viene una parte lenta del coro, y despues
lo dejan con el ritmo original y luego terminan.
(Coro)(x3)
Pinten el muro, Salten el muro
Besen el muro, coma en el muro
Corten el muro, ah ah ah, por la mitad!
The song "El Muro" by Los Prisioneros reflects on the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the hopes and promises of democracy and freedom that came with it. It questions who will tell the truth now that the wall has come down, and how many people still suffer and die trying to make a living. The lyrics criticize the exploitation of cheap labor and the American Dream, which is portrayed as an illusion in which people are trapped. The call to paint, jump, kiss, eat, and cut the wall in half is a call to action against oppression and inequality, and a demand for a better future.
The song was released in 1990, only one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and has become an anthem of resistance in Latin America. It is considered one of the most politically charged and socially relevant songs of its time. The band, Los Prisioneros, was known for their provocative and critical lyrics, and their fusion of rock, new wave, and Latin American rhythms. The band formed in Chile during the dictatorship of Pinochet, and their music was censored and banned for many years.
Line by Line Meaning
Se acuerdan de cuando cayo, el viejo muro de berlin
Do you remember when the old Berlin Wall fell?
Se acuerdan de las palabras, de la democracia y la libertad
Do you remember the words of democracy and freedom?
Ahora quien va a contar? Quien dira la verdad?
Now who will tell the truth?
Cuantos humanos mueren por tratar de ir a trabajar
How many humans die trying to go to work?
Ahi tienen su mano de obra, libre de impuestos
There you have your tax-free workforce
Ahi tienen su Sueño.....Americano!!
There you have your American Dream!
Pinten el muro, Salten el muro
Paint the wall, jump over the wall
Besen el muro, coma en el muro
Sweep the wall, eat off the wall
Corten el muro, ah ah ah, por la mitad!
Cut the wall in half, ah ah ah!
Contributed by Alex V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Francisco Díaz Reyes
Canción con una temática más que vigente, no me imagino lo brutales que deben ser esas cifras a la fecha.
Cristian Soto
Recuerdo que esta fue la primera canción que escuché del álbum Manzana, este video lo vi en el Canal 2 en ese tiempo que transmitia videos musicales, y no podia creer que Los Prisioneros tenían una nueva canción y tremendo tema! Mi favorito del álbum. Saludos!
Rodrigo Vergara
Musicalmente es un buen tema, pero es triste pensar que esta canción siga más vigente que nunca (al igual que muchas del repertorio de Los Prisioneros)... esa visión que tiene Jorge sobre temas de contingencia que muchos no lograban entender (o no querían ver) en ese minuto es algo único...
Cristhian Padilla
Musicalmente esta muy bien, pero este tema y el de ultra derecha dicen "verdades" a medias, por no decir, un relato demasiado sesgado al querer hacer una comparacion que es incompatible. Por ejemplo : El Muro de berlin y el de la frontera de Usa, son realidades y razon de ser son muy distintas, O querer comparar a la Ultra derecha con la libertad o libre mercado, cualquiera de estos casos son comparaciones incompatibles, dando lugar a falacias. Por ejemplo aludirle la libertad a la ultra derecha es totalmente contradictorio como los prisioneros quieren hacerlo creer. De todas maneras disfrutemos la musicalidad
Gonzalo
¡Exacto! Veo que muchas personas no le agradan los temas de Los Prisioneros solo porque no les gustan los temas que tratan, porque prefieren más a Soda, y esta solo se dedicó a temas del amor, temas un poco cerrados
Manuel Jaramillo
Nunca entendí cómo éste disco todavía no lo valoran y a mi también me costó escucharlo en su momento pero es un discazo
El instructor de la juventud TV
Era disco no para esa. Época sino para a Hora
Camilo Diaz
Los Prisioneros lo más grande de Latinoamérica ❤️💪🏻
Felipe M.
Adoro este tema, y estoy re contento de poder verlo en HD
jose luis urrutia martinez
Aguante los prisioneros!!!! Los mejores de chile