Art by Mariana Crottollini (Argentina)
The Beatles could have perfectly been Africans, since the natural talent of the original continent still retains its very high level of musical art
Why Operation Triumph is just an operation and not a triumph.
By Guillermo Cides
Recently, the news that I try to avoid crept into my eyes insistently with the headline of a so-and-so that apparently “deceived” its audience by making an unsolicited display of explicit sensuality on stage, when in reality a different show was expected. The artist from Operación Triumph’s TV was a source of popular scourge when she ‘disappointed’ her followers.
From my perspective, it’s crucial for me to comprehend what Operation Triumph means and the products it produces, supposedly consecrated under a title that guarantees, in a dubious way in some cases, the exquisiteness of one or the other.
– There is a competition.
Art is not possible under the mandate of mandatory success. Art—and from the caves—has been, is, and will be the most intimate expression of a person. If that expression is manipulated until it reaches levels of audience acceptance, things are going badly. To put it simply, everyone wants to be recognized, and the price of doing so should not be “accomplish your chords” to compete with others and satisfy their ears.
– No rebellion exists.
A while back, I wrote about the complacency of music (https://blog.guillermocides.com/el-temible-confort-de-la-musica/), where a dull future will invade us until death. An artist cannot be complacent about their art. He must risk, innovate, and provoke himself. Operation Triumph is far from that, and with few exceptions, the “artists” are 100% condescending to the market trend. Even nudity on stage marks the ant path that musicians are willing to follow in order to gain their much-desired fame.
– A jury is not a possibility.
We have gone from having pot-bellied gentlemen sitting at large record company desks deciding whether an artist is worth it or not—whom we have fortunately defeated over the years—to now having other gentlemen and ladies dressed for the occasion and deciding who is worth it or not. It seems that the artist is a kind of social slave whom we must publicly humiliate, put through tests and filters to finally expose him on stage, and then criticize him when an attempt at rebellion outside the guidelines is seen.
– The Beatles are from Africa.
The music market that we know is not supported by “unique talents that we must discover on TV”, but rather by market systems that have more power over others. That is to say, the Beatles could have perfectly been Africans, since the natural talent of the original continent still retains its very high level of musical art that is not visible simply because Sony Music does not work from there. Of course, we white people now sing like them. Thank you, Nina Simone; we no longer need your services.
– True artists are not going to Operation Triumph.
There are numerous musicians who have taken the risk to innovate and offer something different. We won’t go to Operation Triumph because we’ve already achieved what we call “success”: the simple pleasure of finding a way to express ourselves in this life. Take a look at how easy it was to achieve success.
– Defeat death.
Finally—and philosophically speaking, something that television lacks—art has one final objective: to transcend. Not only as people but to transcend as humans—that gigantic step that we all take at the same time and that evolves a little more every 100 years. Art is a part of that process, and we artists have a lot of work to do in the meantime. The music that will remain in the next century will not come from any operational triumph. It will come from a hidden cave and will be perpetuated forever and ever, amen.
G.C.
