Monsters: How Allegory Interprets Violence

Abstract

Rock National is an Argentinian genre of rock, which flourished during the 1970’s and 80’s. A primary innovator of this genre was Charly García, who wrote lyrics critical of the right-wing dictatorship in control of Argentina’s government at the time. García was a founding member of several bands, Sui Generis, La Máquina de Hacer Parájos, and Serú Girán, as well as a successful individual career. Throughout his career García evolved his use of allegory in lyrics to challenge and criticize the Argentinian dictatorship. This presentation will question what purpose and power an allegory contains. Through an analysis of Carmen Alemany Bay and Beatriz Aracil Varón’s book América en el Imaginario Europa, I’ll argue that the use of a particular allegory, the dinosaur, in García’s song “Los dinosaurios” is inspired in the image portrayed by Honduran writer Augusto Monterroso’s flash fiction story “El dinosaurio” to illustrate the vitality of allegory in bringing monstrous individuals into focus. Through the use of the dinosaur, a terrifying beast of the past, García and Monterroso create a mythos surrounding the dictators of Latin America, communicating the horror they created.