The Argentina Independent plans on launching a free, independent, monthly publication in June. In order to remain 100% independent, we are hoping to raise the funds to cover the initial costs of design, printing and distribution via crowdfunding platform Ideame.

And to remind you of all the good things we have done over the course of the past six years as a publication, as well as giving you a reason to support us in our bid to go into print and help us keep doing such things, we will be bringing you a taste of some of the good times each week! This week – a selection of our best content.

If you would like to support us in our fundraising campaign, please visit our Ideame page where you can either make a donation (every cent counts), or help us by spreading the word!

Endangered: Argentina’s Disappearing Languages

Every two weeks, one of the world’s languages dies out, and Argentina is not immune to this mass linguistic extinction. Kate Granville-Jones’ investigated this phenomenon and discovered of the 35 languages spoken in Argentina in pre-Columbian times, now just 15 remain, and one has only two living speakers.

Family members fight to be heard at a protest against family member's deaths in February 2010 . (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Gatillo Facil and Deaths in Police Custory

“2009 was not just another year. It started with a new Miguel Bru that was Luciano Arruga, and finished with a new Walter Bulacios: Ruben Carballo. Police repression and violence grew to the point of taking the life of someone every 24 hours.” Any student of Argentine history is familiar with the dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s, and the thousands of students, unionists and activists that were “disappeared” by the military regime. A subject which is less-publicised, however, is that state violence and repression did not end with the return of democracy in 1983. As Daniel Edwards discoverd in his 2010 report, federal and provincial police forces continue to routinely use extreme violence and torture against suspects and detainees in their facilities, which often results in the death of the victim.

Guaraní Suicide

After a 2008 report indicated that the Guaraní indigenous group had the highest rate of suicide as a people in the world, Kristie Robinson headed up to community in Misiones, just 15km from the world-famous Iguazú Falls, to meet with Guaraní leaders to talk about the alarming rates of suicide and what is being done to tackle the issue.

Paco in the hands of an addict (Photo: Kate Stanworth)

Paco: Drug Epidemic Sweeping the Streets of Buenos Aires

Anthony Bale’s 2008 article on paco, a by-product of cocaine that is wreaking havoc on the lives of many shantytown inhabitants, brought the stark reality of life in Buenos Aires’ underclass home to many of our readers.

Secret Squats and Silent Evictions: A Response to BA’s Housing Deficit

In 2009 Harriet Hernando’s looked into Buenos Aires’ social housing crisis and the city government’s handling of the situation, highlighting mass migration to the cities and inadequate government policies, as well as violent police crackdown on illegal squatters as the main culprits in the crisis.

Victor Heredia in concert (Photo: Cantú Guerra)

With 35 albums to his name, Argentine musician and activist Victor Heredia is famous for his encapsulation of social problems in Latin America, many of which he has been intimately affected by.

Born in Buenos Aires, in 1947, to a French father and indigenous Argentine mother, Heredia retained a connection to the indigenous communities of Argentina.

Having studied music from a young age, he participated in various television and radio shows, as well as festivals, throughout his youth. When he was only 20, he won the Youth Revelation prize at Cosquín festival in Córdoba, with a self-composed samba called ‘To Charge Up’. This marked the beginning of a long and respected musical career, shining the first ray of public light onto his unique perspective and ability.

After a series of concerts called ‘Gritando Esperanzas’ held in the region, and only two years after his Cosquín debut, Heredia was again awarded a prize from the area. Then, in 1972, he participated in Peru’s Agua Dulce festival and was awarded best performer. In the same year, he composed music to accompany the poems of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.

Tours of Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico followed, earning him fame throughout the continent and attracting fans in their thousands, as well as appearances at festivals in Spain and New York.

Heredia’s most respected album, ‘Taki Ongoy’, is a conceptual work composed in 1986 in homage to the 16th century fight of the indigenous people to achieve liberation after the Spanish first conquered.

The musician presents Latin America as a heart-wrenching combination of conquerors and the conquered; a society composed of two sides. In his album, he poses a perspective of mourning, proclaiming that all indigenous people should yearn for the years when they once owned the land. “America is alive, and I am part of its body, refusing to celebrate when it wants to cry,” say the lyrics.

Other successful works include ‘Todavía Cantamos’, ‘Sobreviviendo’, ‘El Viejo Matías’, ‘Dulce Daniela’, and one of his most well known recordings, ‘Razón de Vivir’.

During his career, he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa, León Gieco, Milton Nascimento, El Cuarteto Zupay, Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés and has, himself, had a fruitful run.

Like many other artists, his music was banned during the military dictatorship of 1975-1983, but Heredia’s misfortune was added to when his sister, Maria Cristina, became one of the thousands of people known as desaparecidos who went missing at the time. Ever-since, he has held close ties to organisations such as Madres de Plaza de Mayo and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, as well as other indigenous organisations.

In 1991, shortly after an appearance at Buenos Aires’ Luna Park stadium, he was invited to attend the First International Meeting of the Peoples of Africa and Latin America. Two years later, the artist toured ten different locations along the Atlantic coast as part of a government cultural project, spreading his music over the province for free. In 1998, he was awarded a gold record for his work, ‘De Amor y De Sangre’.

The singer-songwriter then began to commemorate famous leading members of Indigenous tribes, dedicating an entire album to Don Atahualpa Yupanqui, the last Inca Emperor of Peru. Today, Heredia continues to pay tribute to somewhat mythical icons, bringing to the forefront a troubled past that many would rather forget.

Genre: Folk

Dates Active: 1968 – Present

In their own words: “This is the perspective of the defeated, or at least the ones who appear to have been defeated; the reverse of the coin so far has shown the supposed victors. But it is left for one to wonder how far one has been defeated when our collective memory underlies and struggles stubbornly to endure centuries, still achieving permanence of ancient rites and beliefs with the constant vigilance of direct descents of those that who once were masters of these territories and the entire continent. It is an inevitable emotion that overwhelms us.”

Most famous song: Taki Ongoy

Best lyrics: “This is the day of the year when the pain has ended, here come the songs of prophecy, the Indian has not died.” Or, “I walk on this earth surviving, surviving, surviving, I don’t just want to be a survivor anymore, I want to chose the day of my death.”

Famous for: Highlighting the pain that remains today among indigenous communities all over Latin America.

Best to listen to: Reading the news on a Sunday whilst relaxing with a coffee.