Abstract: This paper discusses the two most revisited experiences of transition to socialism in the Latin American twentieth century: the Cuban Revolution and the Chilean Popular Unity government. To contrast Cuban and Chilean leftist conceptions of that period, we analyzed how the cultural magazines Casa de las Américas and La Quinta Rueda represented the agenda of the left. Based on these sources, we will discuss each government’s cultural policies, the intellectual debates, the exchanges, and conflicts between the two revolutionary processes.

Resumen: El presente texto pone en diálogo las dos experiencias más revisitadas de transición al socialismo del siglo XX en América Latina: la Revolución Cubana y el gobierno chileno de la Unidad Popular. Realizamos este estudio en el marco de la Historia Intelectual analizando las revistas culturales Casa de las Américas y La Quinta Rueda con el objetivo de identificar rasgos comunes y diferencias en las representaciones que guiaron las agendas de las izquierdas del período. Mediante estas fuentes, discutiremos las políticas culturales gubernamentales, los debates intelectuales, además de los intercambios y conflictos entre los dos procesos.

Abstract: The Chilean New Song contributed to express solidarity with the Cuban and Vietnamese revolutions before and during the Popular Unity government (1970-1973). Due to the particularity of the Chilean case and its “peaceful way to socialism”, this support was not without controversy. This article analyzes how New Song artists expressed their solidarity to both revolutions and how they either bypassed or deepened such conflicts. We present two findings. The first highlights the relevance of Chilean New Song in denouncing the American imperialism while showing solidarity with others. The second sheds light on the use of genres, instruments and intertextuality to support Cuba and Vietnam but also to validate the “Chilean way”. Analyzing this repertoire through the notion of South-South solidarity is innovative since it unveils the strategies that musicians used to express their solidarity while integrating the “Chilean way” in the international context of the cold war.

Resumen: La Nueva Canción Chilena (NCCh) contribuyó a expresar la solidaridad de la izquierda chilena hacia las revoluciones cubana y vietnamita antes y durante la Unidad Popular (1970-1973). Por la particularidad del caso chileno y su “vía pacífica” al socialismo, el apoyo a estas luchas revolucionarias no estuvo exento de conflictos. Aquí analizamos cómo estos artistas expresaron su solidaridad hacia ambas revoluciones y cómo sortearon o profundizaron dichos conflictos. Presentamos dos hallazgos principales. El primero destaca la relevancia de la NCCh en la denuncia del imperialismo estadunidense y como expresión de solidaridad Sur-Sur. El segundo documenta el uso de géneros, instrumentos e intertextualidad para apoyar a dichos pueblos y validar la “vía chilena”. El análisis de este repertorio bajo las nociones de solidaridad Sur-Sur es novedoso, puesto que permite develar las estrategias usadas tanto para expresar solidaridad como para insertar la “vía chilena” en el contexto de la guerra fría.

RESUMO O artigo examina as repercussões, no Chile da Unidade Popular (1970-1973), de dois eventos que marcaram o campo cultural cubano: o “Caso Padilla” e o Primer Congreso Nacional de Educación y Cultura (1971). O estudo foi realizado no marco da História Intelectual e se centrou no debate travado entre os signatários do documento intitulado “Declaración chilena” e um grupo de escritores representados pelo poeta Enrique Lihn. Verificou-se que os episódios cubanos tiveram impacto significativo no meio intelectual chileno, num momento em que escritores e artistas buscavam influenciar os rumos da política cultural da Unidade Popular. Como questão subjacente ao debate cultural, estava colocado o problema das vias revolucionárias representadas, naquele momento, por Cuba e Chile.

ABSTRACT This article examines the repercussions, in Popular Unity’s Chile (1970-1973), of two events that marked the Cuban cultural field: the “Padilla Affair” and the First National Congress of Education and Culture (1971). The study was conducted within the framework of Intellectual History and focused on the debate that took place between the signatories of the document entitled “Declaración chilena” and a group of writers represented by poet Enrique Lihn. The study found that the Cuban episodes had a significant impact on the Chilean intellectual milieu, at a time when writers and artists sought to influence the direction of Popular Unity’s cultural policy. The problem of the revolutionary ways represented at that time by Cuba and Chile was an underlying issue of the cultural debate.