La Comuna

La Comuna (The Commune) was a controversial Mexican rock band formed by a highly intellectual, multidisciplinary and idealistic group of individuals who were part of the counterculture movement known as La Onda (The Wave).

La Comuna
OriginMexico City, Mexico
GenresPsychedelic rock
Years active1969 - 1975
LabelsPeerless Records
Associated actsLas Plumas Atomicas

Origins and influences

Influenced by classical music, jazz and rock acts like Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd and Procol Harum, La Comuna was formed in 1969 in Mexico City. After playing at local parties they switched to perform concerts playing original materials and singing in both English and Spanish. They soon gained national notoriety after winning the second place at the Festival Pop del Naranjazo, losing the first prize to jazz-rock band Tinta Blanca.[1]

Recording and touring

They signed a record contract in 1971 with Peerless Records and recorded an EP. A single of their hit song No hay mañana (There is no tomorrow) was also produced. They often toured with other La Onda bands like Three Souls in my Mind and El Amor, La Comuna being notorious for their often long improvisations and happenings of 30 minutes long mixing poetry and visual arts. As it happened with their peers, the band Peace and Love, they were one of the few La Onda music acts that were allowed to perform at Mexico's most prestigious hall for the performing arts; El Palacio de Bellas Artes (The Palace of Fine Arts).[2]

Collapse

Due to their radical views of society and their own strict counterculture values, they refused to appear six times in a row on the famous Telesistema Mexicano program Siempre en Domingo, hosted by Raúl Velasco. This caused Peerless to cancel their projected LP and the band was soon without a record contract eventually disbanding in 1975 due to lack of work opportunities caused by the Avandarazo phenomenon and the end of the hippie trend worldwide.[3]

Brief comeback

In the 1980s, Blanco, Mekler and Darszon formed Las Plumas Atómicas playing in cultural hubs around Mexico City. They resumed to play from time to time until the mid-2000s.[4]

Discography
  • La Comuna, extended play, Peerlees 1971
  • "No hay mañana", single, Peerless 1971

Notable members
  • Alberto Blanco: Musician, chemist, painter and poet. Considered one of the greatest Mexican poets of the second half of the 20th century by intellectuals like Elena Poniatowska.[5]
  • Gustavo Martinez Meckler: Musician and physicist. Current professor at the prestigious UNAM.
  • Alberto Darszon: Musician and biochemist. Professor at the UNAM and awarded in 2009 with the Premio Nacional de Ciencia, Mexico's top award for scientists.[6]

References
  1. Poniatowska, Elena (18 November 2007). "El poeta Alberto Blanco". La Jornada. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. Cardenas Guzman, Guillermo (22 March 2010). "Ecuaciones + notas estridentes, los cientificos en el rock and roll". El Universal. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. Poniatowska, Elena (20 November 2007). "El poeta Alberto Blanco (2nd part)". La Jornada. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. Ramirez, Javier (14 January 2012). "La poesía es la yoga del lenguaje". Proceso. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  5. de la Torre, Monica (2001). Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry (1st ed.). Copper Canyon Press. ISBN 1556591594.
  6. Olivares Alonso, Emir (14 December 2009). "Alberto Darszon Israel, científico "por accidente", recibe el galardón nacional". La Jornada. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
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