Review
Los Prisioneros
La Voz de los 80
1984
24/10/25
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The state of mind of the rebellious youth.

Throughout 10 seemingly simplistic tracks these three kids provide succinct criticism of the society of 80's Latin America, at a time when the hegemony of the great United States was at its highest in the land it looked down upon both geographically and politically, when Chile was under a dictatorship and in its nadir, and its society was dragged kicking and screaming into 'modernity', when the influence of punk was at its apogee, this album beautifully recounts the state of youth, its influences, vices and ideologies, all under a lens of sarcasm, rebellion, satire, and set to the sounds of New Wave.

Seemingly every track places its focus on some problem of society, recounting and mocking it in a universal manner, rarely drifting into personal details, it's the voice of the youth, not exclusively of Jorge González, and this is made in an incredibly efficient manner, being incredibly catchy despite the simplistic manner in which the tracks themselves are composed, not being too dissimilar to conventional New Wave and Punk, yet are fantastically effective in being impactful and assisting with the poignant lyricism present.

For such a complex society and an large number of states, all with their long list of difference, whether it be historical, cultural or political, seemingly everyone who grew up in Latin America can relate to some of it.