Return to "La tierra del olvido": Versions and Revisions of Memory in Colombia

Abstract

In the last thirty years, the music of Carlos Vives has not only headed lists of sales and popularity, but has accompanied moments of collective celebration and has been used in public events sponsored by state institutions and private companies. For its place in the institutional agendas and in the collective memory, this article proposes an analysis of two versions of 'La tierra el olvido', perhaps the most popular song by Vives. The first version that is analyzed is the original one, from 1995; the second is an audiovisual production made in 2015 to represent Colombia in an international event. In the first part of this article the author makes some general considerations about the relationship between history, music and memory. Then he analyzes the two versions of 'La tierra el olvido', examining their differences and putting their lyrical and visual components in relation with their particular sociopolitical contexts. The author's hypothesis is that each version is aligned to a different representation regime that defines what is memorable and what is forgettable at two different moments in the history of the past.