Contra-exilio: The Musical Poetics of Alberto Kurapel

Authors

Keywords:

phonography, music aesthetics, exile

Abstract

This article aims to examine the poetics of contra-exilio in the work of performing artist Alberto Kurapel through an analysis of some of his essays and his discography from the 1980s, which includes the albums Contra-exilio (1982), Guerrilla (1986), and Confidencial urgent (1989). It is argued that his work undergoes a crucial shift with the emergence of the Compagnie des Arts Exilio and its conceptualization of performance theater. The analysis explores the dialogue between essay and music, and discusses key concepts in his work such as dislocation and in-between-place. It is argued that the poetics of contra-exilio crystallize in the discography through procedures of sonic friction and the expansion of vocality. Ultimately, the study examines how Kurapel’s musical work sheds light on unexplored aspects of his artistic practice and, more specifically, on his aesthetic thought.

Editorial History:

Received: April 7, 2026

Accepted: April 27, 2024

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Author Biography

  • LAURA FRANCISCA JORDAN GONZALEZ, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso

    Faculty member at the Music Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso. She has conducted research on the relationship between music and politics, focusing on the dictatorial period, with a special emphasis on the Nueva Canción Chilena. She is co-author, along with Andrea Salazar Vega, of the book *Trafülkantun: Songs Crossing Between Garrido and Curilem* (Ariadna Ediciones 2022) and co-edited with Pablo Alabarces *Song with Everyone: Popular Cultures, Subalternities, and Decolonialities in Latin America* (CLACSO/CALAS 2024). She currently leads the project “Cultures of the Cassette: Technology, Listening, and Participation” (FONDECYT 1230421, 2023–2026), which examines past and present uses of this audio format. She is the director of the interdisciplinary project “Solidarities in Dispute in the Contemporary World” (2025–2026), funded by VINCI-PUCV. She is the principal investigator of the CMUS Millennium Nucleus (NCS 2025-065).

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Additional Files

Published

2026-08-10

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2026): Dossier: Old songs, new perspectives. Imaginaries of Latin American political song

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 LAURA FRANCISCA JORDAN GONZALEZ

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How to Cite

“Contra-Exilio: The Musical Poetics of Alberto Kurapel”. 2026. Revista Argentina De Musicología 27 (1): 172-200. https://www.ojs.aamusicologia.ar/index.php/ram/article/view/574.

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