iaspm2011proceedings Situating popular musics ISSN 2225-0301 Situating popular musics: IASPM 16th International Conference Proceedings, pp. 307-315 CC 3.0 2012 IASPM | International Association for the Study of Popular Music | ISSN: 2225-0301 http://www.iaspm.net/proceedings | DOI 10.5429/2225-0301.2011.41 Clandestine recordings: The use of the cassette in the music of the political resistance during the dictatorship (Chile, 1973-1989) 1 Laura Jordán GonzáLez UNIverSIté LAvAL absTraCT A number of studies have examined the intense cultural activity of the political re- sistance during the Chilean dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1989), which included, as one of its most signiicant aspects, the creation and circula- tion of music among political dissidents. In this context, the cassette, as a phono- graphic device, acquired a special usage, becoming a fundamental instrument for the transfer and distribution of censured and clandestine music. Cassettes allowed auditors, for the irst time, to choose and record their preferred songs at home, and to tape forbidden material. this made possible not only the circulation of political music, but also the establishment of a inancial source for the clandestinised po- litical organizations through the sale of pirated cassettes. this paper will examine three qualities inherent to the cassette that propelled it to this central role: the un- fettered public access to blank cassettes, the malleability of the tape, and its surface opacity, in other words, its ability to hide subversive messages without revealing any exterior signs. Multiple genres of music took shelter in the copied cassette: censored examples of the Nueva Canción Chilena (“New Chilean Song”), record- ings carried out in exile with the support of the international community, and other productions conceived in Chile by and for those operating in secrecy. KeywOrDS: cassette; dictatorship; resistance; clandestinity; secrecy; Chile.