Metal music in Argentina: debates in place and time about a music scene

Abstract

Metal is a music genre that has generated its own scenes in each of the countries in which it
circulates. In Latin America, they have a strong interaction with the local culture. This work
approaches the Argentinian scene, which is made up in a heterogeneous way through the social
relations of its members and its consequences disputes. The article analyzes the tensions that
occur in a spatial and temporal way, considering that the scene is organized around a paradigm of
authenticity. In addition to exalting the marginal, underground and DIY culture, that paradigm
values positively the past (retromania), federalism and heteronormative masculinity. Despite the
particularities of the Argentine socio-political context and the metal’s characterization as a
white, wes- tern and globalized musical genre, there is a strong tendency to construct the scene
through values of traditionalism and the patriarchal system. Under these parameters certain
productions, media, artists and fans are recognized and consecrated. This proposal is based on
empirical work done in the capital city (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires) and the province of
Buenos Aires in the period between 2011 and 2017, whose conflictive relationship shows the notion
of «double periphery» and works as an
example of the Argentine scene on a larger scale.