La Onda facts for kids

La Onda (which means "The Wave") was a cool artistic movement that started in Mexico during the 1960s. It was part of a big worldwide change called the counterculture of the 1960s, where young people questioned old rules. At first, some people called it Literatura de la Onda (Literature of the Wave), but it quickly grew to include all kinds of art. People who were part of it were called "onderos" or "jipitecas" (like hippies).

La Onda covered movies, literature, visual arts, and music. It talked about important social issues like women's rights, protecting the environment, spirituality, artistic freedom, and democracy. This was a big deal because Mexico was tightly controlled by the PRI at the time. A famous Mexican writer, Carlos Monsiváis, said La Onda was "a new spirit, saying no to old rules, creating new ways of thinking, and challenging what society thought was perfect."

La Onda: Music and Youth

La Onda really kicked off when rock and roll music from the U.S. and Britain came to Mexico. Rock and roll was spreading everywhere, challenging old traditions and ideas. It made young people think about who they were and what their country meant.

By the late 1950s, Mexican teenagers started their own bands. They tried to play hit songs in English, just like their favorite foreign rock stars. Mexican youth began to feel connected to young people in the United States and the United Kingdom. Soon, they were also inspired by social movements happening in other countries.

After the terrible Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City in 1968, a Mexican hippie movement called jipitecas grew. It spread across Mexico and even into parts of the U.S. and Central America. By 1969, a new kind of Mexican rock music appeared. It mixed Mexican and foreign sounds with messages of protest. This was called La Onda Chicana. It all came together at a huge two-day music festival in September 1971, called Avándaro. About 300,000 people showed up, like a Mexican Woodstock.

La Onda: Books and Writers

Starting in 1965, La Onda also made a big impact on books and other writing. Mexican novels in the 1960s focused on how teenagers in cities felt. They showed the influence of U.S. culture, rock music, the differences between generations, and the hippie movement. Many Mexican authors and thinkers were influenced by La Onda, including José Agustín, Enrique Marroquin, Carlos Baca, and Parménides Garcia Saldaña.

Alberto Blanco and Gustavo Sainz became famous figures of the movement. Some writers who weren't officially part of La Onda but supported its ideas included Elena Poniatowska, Gabriela Brimmer, Jose Emilio Pacheco, and Octavio Paz.

La Onda: Movies and Plays

La Onda also had famous people in movies and theater, like Alejandro Jodorowski, the Gurrola brothers, and Sergio García. They made Super 8 movies popular with the counterculture. Famous films that got worldwide attention included "5 de chocolate y 1 de fresa" by José Agustín, which was about women's freedom, and Jodorowski's amazing and colorful movie El Topo.

Mexico's Changing Society

Mexico changed a lot after the Mexican Revolution. The ruling PRI wanted to make Mexico modern and prosperous, like the United States. As Mexico became more connected to other countries, especially the U.S., its culture started to change too.

When rock and roll music, American TV shows, and movies arrived, Mexican youth began to act differently. They slowly became more rebellious, inspired by young people in the U.S. One big way they rebelled was by listening to and playing rock and roll. At first, they played famous English songs by artists like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. The Mexican government even tried to use rock and roll to get young people to support them, hoping the music would inspire good citizens instead of rebellion. But this didn't work. Instead, more and more Mexican rock and roll bands formed, and the music became a way for young people to express themselves freely.

Rock and roll connected Mexican youth with the trendy youth in America. Both countries had modernized quickly after World War II. Young people wanted their own identity, different from their parents and grandparents who had fought in the Mexican Revolution. The more the PRI tried to control Mexico's identity, the more young people felt they needed to fight back.

Mexican rock and roll bands needed places to play where everyone could go. They started performing in clubs like Cafe Cantante, which became a hub for the counterculture. These cafes were places where Mexican youth could experience and share the new youth culture. The government didn't like these clubs because they thought they caused "rebellion without a cause" and led to more youth problems. As the cafes were shut down, the counterculture of the 1960s grew even stronger, inspiring people to question authority.

By the early 1960s, the counterculture wasn't just about rock and roll. Young people started adopting foreign fashion and new attitudes towards authority. Rock music became a way to challenge old social values and express themselves freely. The Mexican government wanted everyone to be unified, but young people felt it was important to show their feelings about this strict control through their music and clothing.

As the decade went on, jipitecas, or hippies, appeared among Mexican youth. Students who cared about politics openly went against society's norms, just like hippies in the United States. They wanted to break free and find new ways to express themselves. Young men wanted to be different from their fathers, so they dressed more casually. Girls also fought for new freedoms, wanting the same rights and chances as men. Both genders began to fight for their right to express themselves and be unique individuals.

Politics: One Party in Charge

After the Mexican Revolution, the government worked to make the country stable. For a while, Mexico had many political parties and peaceful changes in power. But eventually, one strong government emerged. The PRI became the main party in charge for about 30 years after 1940. Leaders like Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Lázaro Cárdenas wanted to keep the ideas of the Revolution strong in Mexican society. They also wanted to make Mexico a modern, powerful country. In the 1940s, they focused on building factories and moving people from farms to cities. This shift, and their focus on the middle-class family, led to the first part of La Onda. The children and grandchildren of the revolutionaries started to challenge authority and express themselves through rock and roll music and foreign fashion.

By the 1960s, the way the economy was set up wasn't working as well. The government's strong focus on economic growth and stability was starting to make people feel stifled. In the 1950s, farmers in Northern Mexico started protesting for land. By the late 1960s, the PRI had even more control over politics. Now, it wasn't just middle-class youth rebelling. Working-class people were also protesting for better pay and protection from companies and the government.

Social Protests and the 1968 Student Movement

Before the big Student Movement of 1968, there were other protests. For example, in 1964-1965, hospital doctors went on strike for better pay. Even though this wasn't directly part of La Onda, it showed young people that they could fight against an authoritarian government.

The government often responded harshly to protests, especially from workers' unions. In the 1930s and 40s, they used police and military force. Later, in 1958-1959, many railway workers were arrested during a dispute. In 1961, police used tear gas and force to break up a student gathering in Mexico City. This harsh way of dealing with protests didn't help the government. After the 1968 Student Movement and the massacre, students, farmers, and city workers in Oaxaca formed their own political group, separate from the PRI, by 1972.

The 1968 Student Movement and Tlatelolco Massacre

For a long time, the Mexican government wanted everyone to be unified. They didn't want young people to rebel. This forced unity made the Mexican counterculture grow. Young people in Mexico saw others in different countries protesting their governments, and they wanted that same freedom. This challenge to authority showed up in rock and roll music and fashion. Just like students in other countries, Mexican students started to peacefully protest the government. A student leader, Gilberto Guevara Niebla, said that the student movement wasn't just about students. It also spoke for farmers, workers, and thinkers who wanted change.

The 1968 student movement showed the anger of many middle-class young people who had grown up during Mexico's "miracle" of modernization. It made them question the political system. The students had six main demands, including freedom for political prisoners and justice for those who had been hurt by the police. The movement wasn't just students; farmers, business people, and working-class Mexicans also joined the fight for democracy. The government's harsh response proved that it was authoritarian. Protesters wanted a big movement that would force the government to change and allow more people to participate in politics.

Economic growth after World War II led to less poverty, but the opportunities for the middle class didn't meet their hopes. Young people's dreams grew faster than the economy. The younger generation was still inspired by protests in other countries. Through books, music, and art, Mexican youth connected and formed a larger group that included students, farmers, and factory workers. They started to challenge the old ways and question authority, seeking self-expression and equality for everyone. More and more universities joined in, holding rallies against injustice. As more campuses joined, the government became worried about Mexico's reputation.

The government started watching politically active students, but the more they watched, the more students joined the cause. By late 1968, even some high schools and middle schools had joined. Young people were no longer just fighting conservative family values with rock and roll. Now, they were uniting against an authoritarian government.

Mexico was hosting the 1968 Olympic Games, and the PRI was very strict about student protests. They were not tolerant. Students played a key role in pushing for democracy. As police abuse became common, students felt that political change was needed. On July 29, 1968, students protested police abuse by barricading themselves in their high school. Troops used a bazooka to blast into the school and arrested a thousand students. This and other cases of police abuse led to a huge student protest on October 2, 1968. Mexican youth believed that if they peacefully protested together, the PRI might listen to their demands.

On July 26, 1968, protesters tried to gather at the Zócalo, a main square. As more people gathered, President Díaz Ordaz saw it as an insult to Mexico. The PRI couldn't control the students' demands for respect and rights. By August 13, 1968, 100,000 people were protesting the government's disrespect for freedoms and the presence of tanks in the streets. The government saw this unrest as a "revolutionary conspiracy."

On the evening of October 2, 1968, people gathered at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Plaza of Three Cultures). The government refused to talk. Troops and police opened fire on the protesters.

This terrible massacre at Tlatelolco effectively ended the protest movement. But it also created a call for new ways to oppose the authoritarian government. The student movement turned into a new phase of La Onda, focused on expressing a deep need for democracy and self-expression in Mexico.

The massacre made it clear that Mexico had an authoritarian government. It also helped reorganize society and led to changes in elections. After the Tlatelolco Massacre, La Onda changed again. First, it was a protest against old traditions using rock and roll, literature, and daring fashion. Then came the Student Movements that challenged the government and fought for democracy. After the massacre, a new wave of La Onda emerged – that of the jipitecas, or hippies. They rebelled against the old ways and promoted peace and democracy over strict government control.

The Avándaro Rock Festival

The Festival Rock y Ruedas in Avándaro, Mexico, happened on September 11–12, 1971. It was near the Avandaro lake and golf club in Valle de Bravo, State of Mexico. The "Rock and Wheels" festival actually started as a series of car races. The organizers decided to add rock music for a "Mexican Night" before the races. Many bands were hired, and it turned into a huge rock festival to promote the car race. Instead, it became a "Mexican Woodstock" with many Mexican rock bands like Los Dug Dug's, El Epilogo, La Division Del Norte, Tequila, Peace and Love, and El Ritual. They played for over 300,000 people for two days!

This huge music event was the peak of La Onda's efforts. It showed a modern sense of movement and communication, like a "wavelength" on radio or TV. The festival, which looked a lot like Woodstock in the United States, was a mix of La Onda's goals and the government's attempts to control unrest and make people feel heard. La Onda started as a teenage rebellion against strict parents, then became a political movement fighting for democracy. Finally, it returned to being a music demonstration, but instead of violent rebellion, it taught passive resistance, peace, and unity.