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.
Porque Los Ricos
Los Prisioneros Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con los curas con las monjas
De la caridad
Con sus cuerpos llenos de comida
Crecen como europeos
Rubios y robustos
Nos quitan el camino a la universidad
Sus cabezas saben todo lo que hay
Que responder
Tienen las escuelas numeradas
Nos enseñan humildad y resignación
Nos explican de que esta de más
Intentar pensar siquiera en ser profesional
Tu educación es una porquería
Yo con esas notas, ni siquiera trataría
Dedícate a ladrón, a vago o esclavo
Y nunca trates de entender
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Si son tan imbéciles como los pobres
Allí van cruzando su ciudad
Taquillando en sus autos
O en el de su papá
Disfrutando de la juventud
Del derecho de herederos
De los dueños de América del Sur
A veces unos tienen ganas de igualar
Forman entidades, juegan a luchar
De exclusos o reclusos
Y de intelectual
Y todo sigue tan igual
Tan igual
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Por qué, por qué los ricos
Tienen derecho a pasarlo tan bien
Si son tan imbéciles
Si son tan imbéciles
Si son tan imbéciles
Y los de arriba siguen
Y los de abajo siguen
Y nadie tiene ganas de ver un final
Si los de abajo creen
Lo que de arriba dicen
En quién voy a confiar
Quizá al final me de igual
Dime por qué
Tantos Mercedes tanta comida
Tantas palabras, tantas mentiras
The song "Por Qué los Ricos" by Los Prisioneros is a critique of the unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities in society. The lyrics depict the stark contrast between the privileged upbringing of the rich and the limited opportunities for education and professional advancement for the poor. The first stanza describes how the rich go to school to play with priests, nuns, and charity workers, filling their bodies with food and growing into European-looking, blonde, and robust individuals. On the other hand, the poor are denied access to higher education and are forced to learn humility and resignation while being taught that it is futile to even attempt to become a professional.
The chorus repeatedly asks why the rich have the right to enjoy life so much, enjoying their youth, wealth, and inheritance, while being as foolish as the poor. The second verse explains how the rich are so privileged that they can afford to taunt the poor by displaying their wealth in expensive cars and clothes. The third verse explains how some people try to fight back against the system, but nothing changes, and the cycle of privilege and poverty continues. The song ends with a question, begging to know why there is so much excess in society, so many cars, so much food, so many lies.
Overall, "Por Qué los Ricos" is a powerful and thought-provoking social commentary that highlights the unfortunate reality of socioeconomic inequality in much of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Van a sus colegios a jugar
They go to their schools to play
Con los curas con las monjas de la caridad
With the pastors and nuns of charity
Con sus cuerpos llenos de comida
With their bodies full of food
Crecen como europeos rubios y robustos
They grow up like blonde, robust Europeans
Nos quitan el camino a la universidad
They take away our path to the university
Llenan sus libretas de notas sin igual
They fill their notebooks with unparalleled grades
Sus cabezas saben todo lo que hay que responder
Their heads know everything to answer
Tienen las escuelas numeradas
They have the numbered schools
Nos enseñan humildad y resignación
They teach us humility and resignation
Nos explican de que esta de más intentar pensar siquiera en ser profesional
They explain to us that it's pointless to even think about becoming professionals
Tu educación es una porquería
Your education is crap
Yo con esas notas, ni siquiera trataría
With those grades, I wouldn't even try
Dedícate a ladrón, a vago o esclavo
Dedicate yourself to being a thief, lazy, or a slave
Y nunca trates de entender
And never try to understand
Allí van cruzando su ciudad
There they go crossing their city
Taquillando en sus autos o en el de su papá
Ticketing in their cars or their dad's
Disfrutando de la juventud
Enjoying their youth
Del derecho de herederos de los dueños de América del Sur
Of the inheritance right of the owners of South America
A veces unos tienen ganas de igualar
Sometimes some want to be equal
Forman entidades, juegan a luchar
They form entities, play fighting
De exclusos o reclusos y de intelectual
Of excluded or secluded and of intellectual
Y todo sigue tan igual
And everything remains the same
Y nadie tiene ganas de ver un final
And no one wants to see an end
Si los de abajo creen lo que de arriba dicen, en quién voy a confiar
If those below believe what those above say, in whom shall I trust?
Dime por qué
Tell me why
Tantos Mercedes tanta comida
So many Mercedes, so much food
Tantas palabras, tantas mentiras
So many words, so many lies
Lyrics © SADAIC LATIN COPYRIGHTS, INC.
Written by: JORGE GONZALEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
link26leo
Los Prisioneros es mi Infancia, me da rabia nunca haber ido a algún concierto de ellos. Larga vida para este trío que es el MEJOR de Latinoamérica, salud con Terremoto hermanos chilenos, saludos desde Perú 🇵🇪
leocousino
Salud con pisco peruano y vino chileno 🤟
Mats Soto
Esta canción resume lo que es Chile
Sebastian Arcos
Llora
Ricardo Miño
Ecuador en este momento
Genocida maoyor
MAMERTO
JUAN DIEGO CL
No solo a Chile, todo LATAM
Axcel Spinam
A toda latinoamerica
Madridista 48
Espectacular, los prisioneros los mejores del rock latino, los chilenos muuuuuuy superiores a Soda, viva CHILE y Los Prisioneros, saludos desde México
Madridista 48
@karicia2413 Los Prisioneros escribian canciones comprometidas. Los argentinos canciones descriptivas. Esa es la gran diferencia.