Prohibido Olvidar - Song Analysis

SONG ANALYSIS:

Rubén Blades: Prohibido Olvidar

Prohibieron ir a la escuela e ir a la universidad


Prohibieron las garantías y el fin constitucional


Prohibieron todas las ciencias, excepto la militar.


Prohibiendo el derecho a queja, prohibieron el preguntar.


Hoy te sugiero, mi hermano, pa' que no vuelva a pasar,


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!
Prohibido esperar respuestas.

Prohibida la voluntad.


Prohibidas las discusiones.

Prohibida la realidad


Prohibida la libre prensa y prohibido el opinar.


Prohibieron la inteligencia con un decreto especial.


Si tú no usas la cabeza, otro por tí la va a usar.


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Prohibido el derecho a huelga y el aumento salarial.


Prohibieron ir a la calle y al estado criticar.


Prohibieron reírse del chiste de su triste gobernar.


Prohibieron el desarrollo del futuro nacional.


Yo creo que la única forma de darle a esto un final es:


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Prohibieron los comentarios sin "visto bueno" oficial,


Prohibieron el rebelarse contra la mediocridad.


Prohibieron las elecciones y la esperanza popular.


Y prohibieron la conciencia, al prohibirnos el pensar.


Si tú crees en tu bandera y crees en la libertad:


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Pobre del país donde lo malo controla,


donde el civil se enamora de la corrupción.


Pobre del país alienado por la droga,


porque una mente que afloja, pierde la razón.


Pobre del país que, con la violencia crea
que puede matar la idea de su liberación.


Pobre del país que ve la justicia hecha añicos
por la voluntad del rico o por orden militar.


Cada nación depende del corazón de su gente.

Y a un país que no se vende, nadie lo podrá comprar!

¡No te olvides!

¡No te olvides!

The song that I am going to analyze is called Prohibido Olvidar and is written and performed by Rubén Blades.  Blades is from Panama City, Panama and the song was written in 1991. The style of this song is salsa, presumably because the majority of Rubén Blades’ works were of the same style and therefore this would have been his common style to use.  During the time when the song appeared it was right after the Americans had invaded Panama and all throughout Latin America there was a recession. Unemployment in the region was a serious problem because of the invasion and the abolishment of the military in the region. Panama in 1991 was in a state of re-building after the American invasion.

            The underlying message of the song is that the government is not allowing its citizens to be able to do anything and it’s not fair to the people. The government in Panama at the time was run by a man by the name of Manuel Noriega and he was very intertwined with illegal drug and weapon smuggling. Although the Americans invaded for many reasons, this was the largest reason that they would invade Panama and ultimately, it would result in many losses to the Panamanians at the time. The people were not allowed to do anything and Rubén keeps repeating the words “Prohibido Olvidar”. With all of this being said I think that the overall underlying message of the song is that these people should not give up or forget about what they have been through and they should continue pressing on with their lives. What this means is that although they had been through some hard times with civilian casualties, and pressures by the Panamanian as well as American government, these people should never forget these problems so as to combat them in the future. In addition to this, the song tells the story of major oppression by the Panamanian government and even possibly by the American government at the time that they invaded Panama.

            By having Rubén Blades sing the song, it adds a little bit of meaning because his parents and himself were originally exiled by the government, and when Blades decided to return to Panama, he ended up running for President and finishing third place. What this symbolizes is that Blades clearly had at least some influence in Panama, and so hopefully people would have taken the lyrics of his song a little more seriously and important. With this being said, the song did come out after the American government invaded Panama, and before Blades ran in government for the President. Rubén Blades was also the son of two talented parents in Panama which gave him the background that was necessary for people to understand his thoughts and also to understand him as a person a little better. His parents were very established in Panama at the time, and well known to the general population for their works, therefore, Blades had a certain amount of popularity among the people prior to this song being released. This popularity was of the ‘infectious’ sort and for the general population of Panama, Blades would have been much like a person that was held in high regard for his political opinions and ideas, which his songs conveyed meaningfully to the general population. The lyrics of this song would have been enough to be able to spark the minds of the Panamanian people that what was going on was wrong, and that it was within their power to prevent it from happening in the future.  

            This song is important for Latin American people because it represents everything that they had gone through in terms of oppression by both the Panamanian forces under the command of Manuel Noriega as well as the American government. This song would be a very influential song to show the people not to give up even though they have had a lot of their rights stripped from them and there was dying and despair all around them. This song may be more important to Panamanian citizens, however I think its universality applies to the larger portion of Latin America as a whole. This is because, Panama was not the only country to suffer under oppression of government forces and therefore this seems like it could have potentially been anywhere. Many countries in Latin America faced problems with dictatorships and the rulers oppressing the general population, therefore this song conveys this sort of universality. The undertone of the song is what makes it universal to the people in Latin America as a whole rather than solely the Panamanians. Perhaps the specific examples do not pertain to every nation all of the time, however the underlying message and overlying tone can be felt and conveyed throughout Latin America as a whole.

            To me the song conveyed emotions of sadness and disparity, but it also conveyed emotions of strength and courage. I feel like in this song Blades is telling his audience not to give up and that as long as they keep remembering and fighting then maybe one day then will be able to have all of the things that he mentions they cannot have and cannot do. What this means is that with their strength against the government regime in Panama, it will becomes easier for them to fight for what they believe in and that should they not forget, then they will be able to conquer these powers at work. The fact that this song is able to show the disparity of the Panamanian people as well as the driving forces for courageousness and self-determination, establishes just how important this song was and is. It is important to note that this song conveys such polar opposite feelings, because it is in fact only one song so it seems unreal that it would be able to convey so much in such a little time frame. This song conveys multiple emotions to allow people of all different atmospheres and backgrounds to be able to relate to this song.

            My personal opinion of the song is that I think it would have been a very important aspect of culture at the time in 1991. However I cannot be sure because I was not born at this time. I feel like if I were in a situation such as the people in Panama were in 1991 then this song would have appealed to me on a large scale. This song would have given me a drive to fight for what I believe in and I would hope that it did for others at the time. It is unfortunate that so many people have had to put up with oppression of all sorts in Latin America on such a large scale, however, songs like this one are what allow people to be able to cope with certain situations and get through hard times. I did in fact like this song because of its meaning as well as its beat. The song itself without the lyrics is very relaxing, but when the lyrics are added in, the song has a much deeper meaning. I did understand what the song’s underlying meaning was, and I feel like to have had a better understanding I would have to put myself back in the situation of the people that were living in Panama at the time that this song was released.

            In conclusion, the song Prohibido Olvidar by Rubén Blades was and still is a very influential song in Panama as well as the rest of Latin America. This song speaks to the emotions of the past and present governments in the region and how the people feel under such pressures. Songs like this one have a great influence on the people in Latin American countries and give them a ‘voice’ to the rest of the world, that may not always have a clear understanding on what is going on in the region. Ruben Blades is an amazing performer from Latin America with a superior voice and writing talent that allows everyone to feel emotionally connected with the song.

Works Cited

Keen, Benjamin & Haynes, Keith. A History of Latin America. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009.

McGraw Hill. "Vox Compact Spanish and English Dictionary." Larousse Editorial, 2008. Book.

Blades, Ruben. “Prohibido Olvidar”. 1991.