Valparaíso Comes Alive: Fulano’s Music Reunites with Fans at Former Prison

Original article: Valparaíso a Full: La música de Fulano se reencuentra con el público porteño en la excárcel

The musical chords of Fulano, one of the most iconic jazz-rock bands in Chile, will resound again in the port city with the performance of the group Full, who have arrived with energy to reignite the passion of fans for this emblematic national group.

Their shows to date have sold out, revitalizing the enthusiasm of a crowd eager for the critical and sharp fusion of jazz-rock that characterized the now-defunct band, which emerged in Santiago in 1984.

This time, the venue will be outdoors, no longer confined to a hall, but in the plaza of what was once the public prison, now transformed into the Cultural Park of Valparaíso. The open-air event is scheduled for Sunday, February 15, at 7:30 PM, with free entry available for download on PortalTickets (click here).

“If in the ’90s, someone had said that the music of Fulano would be present in body and soul within the Public Prison of Valparaíso, now a memorial site and cultural center, it would have seemed too presumptuous,” organizers of the event remarked.

“But time has passed,” they added, highlighting that Full will make this possible alongside Jorge Campos (bass) and Willy Valenzuela (drums), original members of the group, along with Paquita Rivera (vocals and keyboards) and Cristóbal Dahm (baritone sax and clarinet), both of whom were part of Fulano’s later phase.

They are joined by essential contributions from Andrés Pérez (tenor and soprano sax) and Cuti Aste (keyboards, synthesizers, and soprano sax).

Jorge Campos, the musical director of this new group, shared, “With Full, we are revisiting this work because we believe it’s important to showcase and celebrate the music we created with Fulano, which in some way exorcised a difficult era through lyrics, experimentation, and avant-garde, reflecting the rage, irony, and attitudes we young people had during that time, in the dictatorship.”

“And obviously, sharing that music in a site of memory is extremely important. In one way or another, we exorcise those ghosts, those personal demons and all the painful and brutal ghosts that the civil-military dictatorship left in our minds, our history, and our memory,” the distinguished Chilean musician added.

The auditory memory of the port city still carries the remnants of Fulano’s performances, whether at Club Valparaíso or at Piedra Feliz, during a Rockódromo edition at the Barón pier, or in a visit to Radio Valentín Letelier at the University of Valparaíso. In all these instances, their experimental proposal and aesthetic audacity earned them a dedicated fanbase.

Historical Repertoire

Regarding the performance at the former prison, Jorge Campos mentioned they will present the historical repertoire of Fulano.

“What’s interesting about Fulano’s music is that, despite having closed structures with polym rhythms and complex harmonies, it offered plenty of room for improvisation. Therefore, it’s music that’s been refreshed, reimagined, and it has had a significant celebratory impact on those who have followed this music,” detailed the musician.

“So we hope to share this music with all the people of Valparaíso, this work we have done with lots of energy and love. We look forward to seeing you at the Cultural Park of Valparaíso to share this Sunday afternoon,” concluded the musical director of Full.

Important Information: To reach the former prison on that day, it is advisable to do so via Ecuador Hill or by descending down Cumming Street from Bismarck Square (Cerro Cárcel), as there will be street closures in the area of Plaza Aníbal Pinto, at the foot of Alegre and Concepción Hills, due to the sporting event “Valparaíso Cerro Abajo.”

El Ciudadano