The holiday season is upon us and we’re about to hear a million and one songs talking about Christmas, the spirit of giving, and everything we tend to think about this time of year, not to mention the endless stream of carols and traditional songs sung by tons of artists. In fact, we’re already experiencing that.
So it’s fitting that the Mexican collagecore exponents are here to represent the wintery spirit with a song that is not your typical fanfare of holiday cheer. Hot on the heels of their album Sombras de Oro, here they cover a song by Nicaraguan nueva canción latinoamericana exponent Carlos Mejía Godoy. As a band steeped on Mexican Revolution lore, it’s not surprising that Centavrvs seize the opportunity to make a comment about the recent events surrounding the country’s current sociopolitical climate, and they do it in kind fashion. That’s why doing a Christmas song by a Sandinista sympathizer/singer songwriting is more topical than one might think. Tragically, though, many of the sentiments expressed by “Navidad En Libertad” are still relevant, since thos mostly deal with the strife for a better world.
With some guitars, xylophone and piano, the track sounds warm without being soft. The gentle guaracha rhythm keeps things moving before morphing into something more akin to a hip-hop beat, deeper in it’s impact and more current. The track is as busy as Centavrvs gets without going nuts, it feels like things are moving like they should. Lyrically, it expresses messages of anti-consumerism, anti-imperialism and a call for more teachers, justice and peace among everyone, something we can all relate to.
We should celebrate this time of year when we look for a brighter future without forgetting that things out there might not be the best they can. As long as we have music, there’s hope for a better tomorrow.