International Protest Song Meeting

music festival, Havana, Cuba

Also known as: Encuentra Internacional de la Canción Protesta(Show More)

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July 19, 2026

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The International Protest Song Meeting, held in Havana, Cuba, in 1967, was a significant event within the Nueva Canción movement. This genre of pan-Latin American popular music emerged in the 1960s and '70s, characterized by its fusion of rural traditions with a powerful populist political message, advocating for social justice. The festival brought together participants from over 15 countries, highlighting the genre's growing influence and leading to the establishment of a Protest Song Centre in Havana. Nueva Canción artists often used traditional instruments like the guitar and Andean flutes, with lyrics that, while not always overtly political, fostered social awareness and challenged inequity.1

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nueva canción
The formative years: the late 1950s through the ’60s
The first of these, the International Protest Song Meeting (Encuentra Internacional de la Canción Protesta), held in Havana in 1967, drew participants from more than 15 countries and led to the Cuban government’s establishment of a Protest Song Centre (Centro de la Canción Protesta) at the House of the Americas…
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The first of these, the International Protest Song Meeting (Encuentra Internacional de la Canción Protesta), held in Havana in 1967, drew participants from more than 15 countries and led to the Cuban government’s establishment of a Protest Song Centre (Centro de la Canción Protesta) at the House of the Americas…
Read More