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 Voz De Los Ochenta
Los Prisioneros Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En la década de los ochenta
Ya se siente en la atmósfera
Saturada de aburrimiento
Los hippies y los punks
Tuvieron la ocasión
De romper el estancamiento
En las garras de la comercialización
Las juventudes cacarearon bastante
Y no convencen ni por sólo un instante
Pidieron comprensión, amor y paz
Con frases hechas muchos años atrás
Deja la inercia de los setenta,
Abre los ojos, ponte de pie
Escucha el latido, sintoniza el sonido,
Agudiza tus sentidos
Date cuenta que estás vivo
Ya viene la fuerza la voz de los ochenta
En Roma, Lima y en Santander
La gente de tu edad no sabe qué hacer
Santiago, Asunción y también Buenos Aires,
Bueno, las cosas no están que arden
Sangre latina necesita el mundo,
Roja furiosa y adolescente
Sangre latina necesita el planeta
Adiós barreras! Adiós setentas!
Ya viene la fuerza la voz de los ochenta
En plena edad del plástico
Seremos fuerza, seremos cambio
No te conformes con mirar
En los ochenta tu rol es estelar
Tienes la fuerza eres actor principal
De las entrañas de nuestras ciudades
Surge la piel que vestir al mundo
Ya viene la fuerza la voz de los ochenta
Se escucha el murmullo algo se siente venir
Los últimos vientos de los setenta se mueren
Mira nuestra juventud,
Que alegra más triste y falsa
Deja la inercia de los setenta,
Abre los ojos, ponte de pie
Escucha el latido, sintoniza el sonido,
Agudiza tus sentidos
Date cuenta que estás vivo
Ya viene la fuerza la voz de los ochenta
"La Voz De Los Ochenta" is a protest song by Los Prisioneros that was released in 1984. The song is a commentary on the cultural and social changes in Chile and Latin America during the 1980s. The song starts with the lyrics "Algo grande está naciendo en la década de los ochenta" which translates to "something big is being born in the decade of the 80s" - this sets the stage for the rest of the lyrics, which speak about a new generation rising up and taking control.
The song acknowledges that the previous generation of hippies and punks had tried to break free from commercialization and bring about change, but that their good intentions had died out. The lyrics then call for the youth of the 80s to find their own voice and power, to break free of the inertia of the 70s, and to "open their eyes, stand up, listen to the beat, tune into the sound, and sharpen their senses". The song emphasizes that the youth of Latin America should come together as one and fight for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Algo grande está naciendo
A significant change is happening
En la década de los ochenta
In the decade of the eighties
Ya se siente en la atmósfera
You can already feel it in the air
Saturada de aburrimiento
Saturated with boredom
Los hippies y los punks
Hippies and punks
Tuvieron la ocasión
They had the opportunity
De romper el estancamiento
To break the stagnation
En las garras de la comercialización
In the claws of commercialization
Murió toda la buena intención
All the good intentions died
Las juventudes cacarearon bastante
The youths talked a lot
Y no convencen ni por sólo un instante
And they don't convince even for a moment
Pidieron comprensión, amor y paz
They asked for understanding, love, and peace
Con frases hechas muchos años atrás
With cliched phrases from many years ago
Deja la inercia de los setenta,
Leave the inertia of the seventies
Abre los ojos, ponte de pie
Open your eyes, stand up
Escucha el latido, sintoniza el sonido,
Listen to the beat, tune into the sound
Agudiza tus sentidos
Sharpen your senses
Date cuenta que estás vivo
Realize that you're alive
Ya viene la fuerza la voz de los ochenta
Here comes the strength, the voice of the eighties
En Roma, Lima y en Santander
In Rome, Lima, and Santander
La gente de tu edad no sabe qué hacer
People your age don't know what to do
Santiago, Asunción y también Buenos Aires,
Santiago, Asunción, and also Buenos Aires
Bueno, las cosas no están que arden
Well, things aren't that hot
Sangre latina necesita el mundo,
The world needs Latin blood
Roja furiosa y adolescente
Furious and adolescent redness
Sangre latina necesita el planeta
The planet needs Latin blood
Adiós barreras! Adiós setentas!
Goodbye barriers! Goodbye seventies!
En plena edad del plástico
In the midst of the plastic age
Seremos fuerza, seremos cambio
We will be strength, we will be change
No te conformes con mirar
Don't settle for just watching
En los ochenta tu rol es estelar
In the eighties, your role is star
Tienes la fuerza eres actor principal
You have the strength, you're the main actor
De las entrañas de nuestras ciudades
From the depths of our cities
Surge la piel que vestir al mundo
The skin emerges to dress the world
Se escucha el murmullo algo se siente venir
The whisper is heard, something is felt coming
Los últimos vientos de los setenta se mueren
The last winds of the seventies are dying
Mira nuestra juventud,
Look at our youth
Que alegra más triste y falsa
That cheers more sad and false
Lyrics © SADAIC LATIN COPYRIGHTS, INC.
Written by: JORGE HUMBERTO GONZALEZ RIOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind