The New Stages of Venezuelan Punk: Social Media, Online Streaming, and Digital Collaboration

Parallel to migrants’ claim-making through digital platforms, Jessa Lingel (2017) elaborates a strong argument with regards to the importance of countercultures for building a sense of community through online spaces. Lingel focuses on a particular case study of New Jersey punks and the way they organise to and create a community through online spaces. In addition, Lingel draws attention to the fact that technological innovation has vastly expanded the possibilities of the use of the Internet in pinpointing and denouncing the conformist structures that dominate society. More specifically, when considering the punk scene, these spaces have fostered the creation of digital countercultural communities, the development of punk practices and the spread of its values and ideas across the movement’s underground networks of communication.

By investigating the roles of social media in creating communities, Lingel brings forward evidence of how punks, considered outsiders by mainstream society, “[…]

have made the Internet meet their needs, developed tricks and tactics to establish and

support social ties, and sometimes worked against the established norms of how digital technologies should be used” (Lingel, 2017, 2).

The following analysis considers a number of digital spaces, the most notable being Instagram and Facebook, but also a number of web radio stations. These are among the most used spaces by punks of the Venezuelan scene alike other musicians and underground artists, also allowing to engage in forms of political activism and DIY practice, and providing access to vast collections of material in digital form. Much of what these accounts have to offer are a testimony to punks’ adaptability and expansion to the digital realm. Among the most relevant accounts are a number of pages and groups on Facebook, the most notable being that of “Punk en Venezuela”, a page created by Johann Olivares and José Francisco García. They established this page due to the need to redeem part of the history of Venezuelan Punk, as since the 1980s, there had been a number of bands that did not record their music through actual record labels but only managed to record a number of demos (music demonstrations) and direct recordings on cassettes. Consequently, their efforts were primarily aimed at rescuing those tapes, digitising and publishing them on a page where people could access and download the music. “Punk en Venezuela” has since become an important source of download for Punk and Hardcore groups all over the world.

Moreover, having first established the page in 2013, José Francisco and Johann played an active role in the organisation of independent events, together with Baila y Resiste Producciones as well as Soziedad Lp. The latter, an independent vinyl disc jockey society, is another memorable name in the underground Venezuelan Punk scene as its main role is to rescue a number of vinyl records of different Punk subgenres, like Hardcore, Oi! but also Ska (see Appendix I), and promoting them through social media. Soziedad Lp is mostly active on Instagram (@sozeidadlp), through which it publicises a myriad of punk records with regular posts as well as through Instagram “stories” – temporary posts that disappear 24 hours after publication. Through this feature a number of other Instagram accounts, including

@vinilos_bebidas77 and @punkvenezolanocoleccion, engage in the same activities, making it easier to advertise a larger number of discs, demos, fanzines, events and merchandise, as well as sharing other posts from the Instagram accounts of other bands and aficionados (see Appendix VI). Hence, it is possible to assert that punk enthusiasts and die-hard followers of the Venezuelan scene have proved to be

essential not only for the conservation of the punk project, but also in the development and sustenance of the underground and rock music scenes of Venezuela.

These efforts have not only benefitted the bands that are promoted on these virtual stages, but have further strengthened the notions linked to Venezuelan punk across the globe precisely as a result of DIY activities undertaken by individuals like José Francisco and Johann. Yet, if looked at more analytically, it is possible to comprehend how these accounts serve as prime examples of the shift of the Venezuelan punk scene from the physical to the digital as a result of these efforts. Moreover, through such practices these spaces serve as platforms from which a sense of identity comes to be created among punk artists, punk aficionados, and whomsoever accesses the pages with regularity. As previously anticipated, various features of punk are expressed precisely through a closer enquiry of the commodities available across these networks. These can be musical, political, or presenting a series of DIY features.

The efforts undertaken define the nature of these spaces through which punks both in Venezuela and outside of the country can come to engage with one another through digital platforms.

Nonetheless, one could argue that the act of sharing music and other products across these spaces does not constitute a countercultural activity, regardless of the nature of the material that is being exchanged and spread through these networks.

The exchange of countercultural products across digital spaces has evolved into a more mainstream type of activity, and the efforts carried out by such individuals can thus be compared to activities of more traditional journalism. What is derived from this reasoning demonstrates a stark opposition to the values that punk presupposes, rendering the circulation of digital material across social media increasingly common and available to a large portion of netizens. Despite these practices, what is fundamental to the digital Venezuelan punk scene is that engaging in these practices of sharing countercultural commodities in digital form has fostered a strengthening of a sense of belonging and Venezuelan identity.

To maintain these contacts not only have aficionados and bands been setting up social media accounts, a number of web radio stations have gained more traction over the years. Two of the most prominent channels currently active across web platforms are Radikal Sonoro (established in 2003) and Cresta Metálica (active since 2006). The former, a self-managed radio programme, mainly focuses on supporting the Latin American-Spanish and world underground scenes through weekly interviews with

emerging talents in the genres of Punk, Hardcore, Ska, Metal, and Rock. Previously established in Caracas, co-hosts José Francisco and “David”, have since moved to Madrid, Spain. The second channel is an online self-managed company that includes a web magazine, web radio station, a store; it organises and produces events, manages media, press campaigns, serves as a community manager, and handles booking and management, and it is established in the city of Caracas, Venezuela.

These two channels since their foundation, have been increasingly present on social media, and especially in recent years through their Instagram and Facebook accounts, have embarked on a mission to publicise their activities and dispense information on the growing punk and rock scenes that the Spanish world has to offer.

These stations help foster a sense of belonging and community through their broadcasts, whilst at the same time creating meaningful connections with Venezuelans across the globe and making new and old bands known to the public.

Facing the realities of having emigrated, punks and other Venezuelans alike, deal with the daily hardships that other refugees encounter as a result of forced displacement.

Clearly, each individual’s decision was influenced by a different set of conditions, but each also constantly strives to maintain their own identity and create a sense of belonging and place by engaging in different activities. A particularly noteworthy case is that of Emigrantes, a Venezuelan Hardcore, Grindcore, Metal (see Appendix I) band that formed in Caracas. Each member of the group resettled in a different part of the world after 2015. To this day they continue to produce music, with themes touching upon their everyday lives. More importantly, they seek to come to terms with the reality of having emigrated from their own country, and acknowledge that their children will not have the possibility to grow up in the land where they were born (interview with Paul Santana – 15/04/2021).

What complicates this for Venezuelan migrants is the fact that there is a great deal of stigma towards citizens who leave the country, particularly from those who still support the current president. Maduro, in fact, has been known to deprecate these groups by saying that they end up being slaves, cleaning toilets, having become beggars (interview with Paul Santana – 15/04/2021). In other words, supporters of the current Venezuelan government are rejoicing in the misfortunes of millions of people who have had to leave. Each migrant’s reality is distinct, possesses varying features for each migrant, and Emigrantes succeed in expressing these realities through their music. “Me encontraba yo / En aquel lugar / Como muchos otros / Tan necesitados /

Buscando / Luchando / Mano de obra barata […]” (Emigrantes, 2021– Track 02). From the first few verses of the song, called “Fulgor”, Emigrantes paint the perfect, real picture of what it is to be migrants in another country. The song begins with a call to the collective that finds itself in this situation: people who have to undertake the many, daily hardships coupled with the need to find a job, which will undoubtedly provide little pay. This is further emphasised by the ending verses of the song “Me llevo el pesar”, where one of the most gruelling aspects of being a migrant in another country, is not being able to have your children grow up in the place where people like the Emigrantes used to call home: “[…] Allá se quedó el lugar/ Donde aprendí a caminar / Me llevo el pesar / Que allí no lo hará mi hijo” (Emigrantes, 2021 – Track 07).

The case of Emigrantes is of notable relevance for the Venezuelan digital punk scene. They are a band that formed in Caracas before the crisis, but the members were forced to separate following their migration from Venezuela. Paul resettled in Alicante, Spain in 2015; Manuel, the vocalist, moved to A Coruña, Spain, and Alejandro, the drummer currently lives in Mexico City. Recently, in January 2021, the band released their first independently-produced album, called 2020 Pal Perro. They achieved the goal to record the entire album at a distance. Each member would pre-record their own part of the song and then send the audio file to Paul who would subsequently piece them all together with basic recording equipment and then send it to the other band members via WhatsApp. In the same manner they began to circulate their music through their groups of friends and, before they knew it, they were receiving audio files of their songs from other people without the sender realising that it had been the musicians from Emigrantes who had composed the song.

As stated by Paul Santana, the band’s guitarist, social media is nowadays the key element for the punk scene inasmuch as any other current music scene (interview with Paul, 15/04/2021). Precisely because of the increased connectivity through digital spaces, more bands are discovered and more connections are established while, at the same time, fostering a sense of community among the members who are engaged in the same type of cultural production. The following statement by Paul extensively exemplifies this.

"[…] Por ejemplo, muchas de las bandas que entrevistaste tú, yo las encontré por las redes sociales. A través de estaciones de radio, como Radikal Sonoro, o estos live streams que hacen con bandas. No solo son músicos siendo música y mostrando su

música a través de las redes, hay personas que están haciendo una labor de periodismo, hay paginas de personas que no son músicos y que se dedican a entrevistar bandas nuevas, se dedican a organizar festivales online, se dedican a publicar información acerca de bandas venezolanas, y estas no son necesariamente de músicos, sino de personas que están luchando desde su trinchera. Una persona que esta haciendo una labor de aportar al rock venezolano, pero de este punto de vista de investigación periodístico, de difusión. Entonces se ha hecho como una comunidad, músicos, consumidores de música, gente que esta en medio difundiendo el contenido y la música, esta muy muy interesante.

Y todo eso gracias a la conectividad que hay. […] Si no hubiese sido por las redes sociales, si no hubiese sido por la rapidez que hay ahora, Emigrantes no hubiese sonado.

No solo las redes sociales te permiten mandar un mensaje, pero te permiten recibirlo, hay un feedback y te ayuda a continuar. Si no hubiese esa recepción tan buena, no hubiéramos continuado y no habríamos hecho el disco” (interview with Paul, 15/04/2021).

The community that has come to be created through these digital spaces is thus formed, not only by punk musicians, but by all those who engage in the sharing of information, merchandise and musical productions. The role of digital media has become so fundamental, as Paul states, that it has allowed Emigrantes to exist. The creation of new channels of communication has strongly encouraged bands – and individuals – to continue practicing their activities even at a distance, forging new bonds and incentivising new creations. In such contexts, the role of social media has played a crucial role in expanding the networks of underground music scenes, offering migrants and punks alike a widespread range of opportunities to find a sense of identity and belonging despite the hardships of starting anew in another country altogether.

Social media and other platforms have allowed to increasing the underground network by mapping new emerging talents of Venezuelan punk. Among the most recent opportunities for these bands has been the release of compilations in March and May 2021, Rock Anti-Enchufados Vol. 1 & 2, with a third compilation currently in the making (see Figure 3.2). This project was born out of a collaboration by Enrique with Provea (the Human Rights NGO based in Caracas), and Nelson Garrido, one of the most prominent Anarcho-Punk photographers in Venezuela. The project took shape with numerous Venezuelan punk and rock bands inside and outside the country in protest of a political figure that has become prominent in Venezuelan politics and society, the enchufado. This term, which is strictly connected to the development of

Chavismo, refers to a person who is a well-connected politician with illicit contacts and who is profiting from government funds. It has become increasingly difficult to obtain legitimate employment in recent years in Venezuela, and the enchufado is someone who has obtained his position through dubious connections with the country’s criminal world, providing working opportunities whilst at the same time posing a serious threat to honest citizens. Enrique first told me about this figure as a consequence of a personal work experience that turned sour (interview with Enrique, 17/03/2021).

Consequently, this musical compilation has enabled Venezuelans to denounce this type of figure that is becoming prevalent within Venezuelan society.

Figure 4.2. Cover of Rock Anti Enchufados Volume 1. Published in March 2021 (source: Rock Anti Enchufados, by Recopilatorio, 2021b)

What can be understood from this process is that the production and publication of such compilations are aimed at criticising the political and social situation in Venezuela as a result of the widespread corruption permeating the country’s political elite.

Additionally, the roles and identities covered by the various artists in this collaboration consist of a set of values and roles encompassed within the wider notions of punk counterculture, highlighting opposition to authority and oppression through musical production. The title of these compilations conveys both a political and behavioural message in opposition to the authority and oppression that the enchufado embodies, and thus a challenge to what is considered acceptable to mainstream society – i.e., the normalisation of corruption as one of the dominant paradigms of Venezuelan society. It is important to point out a total of 52 bands sent one song each to participate in this initiative, and many of the bands contacted by Enrique refused to participate. In his opinion, the reasons for this are twofold: either they have become disillusioned with efforts of protest or they are afraid of possible governmental repercussions towards political and social dissenters (interview with Enrique – 17/03/2021). Both compilations are testimony to the resourcefulness of punk even during the period of lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The digital realm has greatly progressed since the turn of the century, when the web began to offer punks a way to reach out to people all over the world. The compilation and analysis of the information gathered from these multiple sources demonstrate how the concepts of production of space and sense of belonging are constructed and shared across physical and digital counterspaces. The analysis presented in the aforementioned examples substantiate the essential role that such spaces have come to play in the sustenance of the Venezuelan punk counterculture and have fostered a sense of collective identity and place online. Venezuelan punks’

various sociotechnical strategies for developing an online community emerged as a result of the need to re-create and guarantee stability for the Venezuelan punk scene.

The activities of journalism of Venezuelan punk, and punk in general through social media, have indeed presupposed a transition to a more mainstream type of practice.

Despite the stark opposition that punk values advocate, these occupations have on the other hand, fostered the development and a firm establishment of identity and a sense of belonging to Venezuelan migrants involved in the punk scene.

In addition, the increasing production and publication of punk commodities on digital platforms strengthen both the political and social critique towards the situation in Venezuela, but also the behavioural aspects of Venezuelan punks. The range of countercultural activities presented in this chapter encompass both areas of interaction – the physical space used by Venezuelan migrants as well as the shift from geographical space to digital space. Furthermore, the different tactics through which migrant punks seek to create or utilise a physical or digital space outside of the country permits them to reconnect to their Venezuelan identities. The compilations of Rock Anti Enchufados Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, present valid critiques to the failing social and political system of the country, but also allow punk musicians to affirm their rights as citizens, in a context where this dimension is being increasingly denied. Hence, through these examples it is possible to understand how the countercultural punk community connects across various spheres of interaction, transcending the existence of physical borders, and maintaining its identity.