The veiled hope: the lyrical and the epic in “San Vicente”

Abstract

In the cramped atmosphere of the early 1970s, “San Vicente” was released as the ninth track on the album by Milton and Lô Borges, Clube da Esquina. Its good reception, which granted it the title of Latin American anthem, contributed to the establishment of reciprocity in musical production and circulation among artists from Brazil and other subcontinent countries. But its poetic-musical framework, which aligns temporalities of different natures, contrasted with the ways themes dear to the Nueva Canción Latinoamericana movement – emblematically represented by “Canción con todos” on Mercedes Sosa’s 1970 recording – were frequently dealt with. Building upon the distinction between lyrical and epic stylistic traits, which guides our poetic and musical analysis of “San Vicente”, we demonstrate how this song thematizes and elaborates on the experience of radicalized repression in dictatorial Brazil and the widespread of military coups in other Latin American countries, and, finally, reveal the particular way in which his poetic-musical framework projects hope.