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.
La Gran Oportunidad
Los Prisioneros Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A los artistas nuevos la gran oportunidad
Para su arte mostrar y avanzar
Les dan unos minutos de gran economa
Y luego los despachan nadie los va a recordar
No te volvern a llamar la gran oportunidad
Pierdes tu tiempo hacindote ilusiones
Escribiendo lo que sientes
Con sus mentiras de amor amor amor
Te quemas la cabeza y rompes tus escritos
Y copias mil papiros y les da igual
El mismo clan no hay oportunidad
Y ante todas esas idioteces cusis
Te vas a llorar de impotencia
Viejos caducos que se creen famosos
Con sus mentiras de amor amor amor
Y te dicen que le falta y que debes aprender
Te cancelan el contrato y no sabes qu hacer
El show debe continuar el cadver vuelven a maquillar
No hay oportunidad
The lyrics of Los Prisioneros' "La Gran Oportunidad" speak to the false promises made to up-and-coming artists in the entertainment industry. The media offers these new artists a chance to showcase their talents and advance in their careers, but ultimately this opportunity is only temporary. The artists are given brief moments of fame before being forgotten and never called back for another opportunity. The song expresses the frustration of artists who invest their time and energy into their craft, only to be rejected by the same old powers that be. The chorus reinforces the message that there is no real opportunity in this system and that artists will end up feeling powerless and frustrated.
Line by Line Meaning
La tele y la radio dicen que les ofrecen
The television and radio claim they offer a great opportunity
A los artistas nuevos la gran oportunidad
To new artists, the big opportunity
Para su arte mostrar y avanzar
To exhibit and advance their art
Les dan unos minutos de gran economa
They give them a few minutes of great economy
Y luego los despachan nadie los va a recordar
And then they dispatch them, nobody will remember them
No te volvern a llamar la gran oportunidad
The big opportunity will not call you back
Pierdes tu tiempo hacindote ilusiones
You waste your time creating illusions
Escribiendo lo que sientes
Writing what you feel
Ah estarn los mismos viejos de siempre
There will be the same old people as always
Con sus mentiras de amor amor amor
With their lies of love, love, love
Te quemas la cabeza y rompes tus escritos
You burn your head and tear your writings apart
Y copias mil papiros y les da igual
And you copy a thousand papers, and they don't care
El mismo clan no hay oportunidad
The same clan, no opportunity
Y ante todas esas idioteces cusis
And with all those stupid things
Te vas a llorar de impotencia
You will end up crying in impotence
Viejos caducos que se creen famosos
Obsolete old people who think they're famous
Con sus mentiras de amor amor amor
With their lies of love, love, love
Y te dicen que le falta y que debes aprender
And they tell you that you lack and need to learn
Te cancelan el contrato y no sabes qu hacer
They cancel your contract, and you don't know what to do
El show debe continuar el cadver vuelven a maquil
The show must go on, the corpse gets made up again
No hay oportunidad
There is no opportunity
Contributed by Caden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.