6. Cordones

The Impetus:

In Chile, in the late 1960s and early 1970’s, The Popular Unity government, under democratically elected “socialist” president Salvador Allende, was faced with a radical working class uprising (not unlike the workers uprising which lead to the Paris Commune 100 years earlier).  The workers, acting in their own interest, and unhappy with how slowly social programs where being implemented by Allende, organized the Cordones Industriales and began to seize factories and mines in order to produce and distribute goods for free to the impoverished masses.  This localized working class revolution, far from being embraced by the “socialist” government of Allende, was deemed unconstitutional.  The ensuing class war between the workers, and the owners (which also included US investors and US capital) led to the destabilization of the Chilean power structure giving the CIA backed dictator general Augusto Pinochet (who was the head of the military under Allende) the opportunity to  overthrow both the democratically elected Popular Unity government of Allende (who was assassinated) and the more radical socialist working class movement (including the Cordones Industriales) in a military coup.  The ensuing dictatorship of Pinochet re instituted private production (in favor of US capital) and began purging the Cordones Industriales and all leftward leaning workers through execution, torture, exile and imprisonment.  This short ballad is a tribute to the workers of the Cordones.

The Composition:

This piece started with the root motion which ascends and then descends chromatically. The melody comes mainly from Ab harmonic major although deviates with an occasional b7.

The track features Jason Harnell on drums, David J. Carpenter on bass, Joel Peloquin on guitar, and Matt Otto on tenor sax.

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6. Cordones

Cordones Score

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