Los Prisioneros

Los Prisioneros was a Chilean rock band formed in San Miguel, Santiago, in 1983 by schoolmates Jorge González, Claudio Narea (guitar) and Miguel Tapia (drums). Regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of Latin American rock, the trio pioneered Rock en español and became one of the most politically and socially influential bands in Chilean history. The band developed a new wave sound rooted in British punk rock — chiefly the Clash — and later incorporated rockabilly, reggae, ska and, from the mid-1980s onward, synthpop. Its lyrics, written almost entirely by González, criticized the social, economic and educational structures of dictatorship-era Chile, leading to a partial media ban between 1985 and 1990 that failed to stop the band's music from spreading by word of mouth on homemade cassette tapes.