Authorial Intention, Social Memory, and Intermedial Tensions in “Miño” by Los Bunkers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17230/co-herencia.23.44.8294Keywords:
Popular music, Intermediality, Chilean rock-pop, Music video, protest, Incivility, Asbestosis, Politics, Memory, Los Bunkers, Eduardo MiñoAbstract
The hit song “Miño” by the Chilean band Los Bunkers is inspired by the story of Eduardo Miño, a former worker at the Pizarreño plant in Maipú, Chile, who in 2001 immolated himself in front of the Palacio de La Moneda to bring visibility to the victims of asbestosis. According to band member Mauricio Durán (2023), the song seeks to reflect the sense of abandonment experienced by Miño, eschewing an evocation of pity in favor of emphasizing the need for mutual social support. However, a preliminary analysis suggests that this authorial intent is not immediately evident due to the apparent disconnection between the work’s different intermedial elements: lyrics, music, and video. The lyrics omit precise biographical details regarding Miño, the pop-rock melody adopts a festive rather than commemorative tone, and the video depicts the band members traveling on a yellow bus through Santiago de Chile, without an explicit reference to the song’s tragic context. Based on these observations, and through a detailed analysis of each intermedial dimension, this article argues that an integrated and holistic approach would work best to both corroborate the authorial intent and reframe the song’s significance.
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