Longstanding Chilean band Congreso, Final Part [1992 Pichanga, 1992 Los Fuegos, 2022 Luz del Flash, and Santiago compilation]

 

Back to wikipedia (what a complex story they lived through!):

Conceptual music (1991-1994)

The 1992 album Pichanga was created together with the poet Nicanor Parra , for the Convention on the Rights of the Child .

Two concept albums, difficult for the general public to grasp but musically sophisticated, were their next works, both released in 1992. Pichanga was a work based on poems by Nicanor Parra , inspired by the Convention on the Rights of the Child , and involved institutions such as UNICEF , Raddabarnen of Sweden , Terranova of Italy , and the Chilean Ministry of Education . Los Fuegos del Hielo (The Fires of Ice) was composed for a modern ballet, referencing the extinction of indigenous groups in southern Chile such as the Kawésqar , Aonikenk , Yaghan , and Selk'nam . The work was performed at the Municipal Theater of Santiago , as well as at the Itálica Festival in Seville , Spain , and the Budapest Opera House in Hungary , among many other venues in Europe. Each of these works proved complex for the general public, confirming Congreso's limited commercial focus. While the group distanced itself from charts and sales lists, it maintained a loyal following.

To be honest, I didn't find the 1992 albums very complex or impressive, so I stopped listening at that stage.  Notwithstanding, a nice composition from 1992's Los Fuegos, Exterminio:

I wanted to listen to the most recent release, 2022's Luz del Flash, and in that one I was shocked to hear this lovely composition about someone with Alzheimer's, and I would love to know what the lyrics are saying:

I love how the basic verse part flows into a chorus section with completely broken up modulations of chords in different keys, almost unconnected to any specific tonic, as if imitating the fracturing of memory of that unfortunate and terrifying illness.

I believe that one song is a work of genius (among so many others in this oeuvre) and totally a fitting way to close out this review of Congreso, an unfortunately undeservedly unknown band.

Thank you to all those myriad members for the wonderful half a century of music here.