"You can't have a revolution without songs." This banner, suspended over Salvadore Allende after his election as president of Chile, shows the influence that the New Song movement had over the political process in Chile. In this case, songs were used to express support for Allende and his political ideals. New Song is an expression of the feelings of singers and songwriters for their country, and has had a great influence on the music of Chile and other Latin American countries.

The traditional culture of a country is an extremely important influence in New Song. For example, the traditional music that Victor Jara learned from his mother had a great influence over his later work. With this respect for tradtional music also comes the use of traditional instruments. In addition, New Song artists have a great respect for the poor farmers and workers of the country who are responsible for carrying along traditions of music and culture. New Song is expressed by casting off materialistic things and focusing on the feelings and thoughts of the people of the country. This change in focus is not only a change in personal expression, however. New Song has been used as a political weapon to attack injust governmental systems. In sum, New Song has the belief that songs can be used to aleviate problems in a country. The power of New Song comes from its ability to begin and support a revolution within a country.

All of the artists of New Song have several things in common. First, they possess a great love for the simple people of their country, and a great respect for the culture, instruments and music of these people. Second, the artist works to better the conditions in the country, especially for the poor farmers and workers. These people often do not have a leader who can express their needs, and the singers and songwriters of New Song give them a voice in government. As a result, the artists of New Song work to aliviate inequalities within their country.

The history of New Song coincides with political events occuring in Latin America. Since before 1950, the United States has been exerting its influence on Central and South American countries. Many times, the United States has sought to manipulate events in these countries for their own benefit. Both educated and uneducated persons in these countries resent this influence, and many times the artists of New Song use this resentment as a basis for the themes of their songs. In addition, the political aims of New Song artists have often been opposing governments under the influence of the United States. The destruction of imperialism is an essential part of the use of New Song.

New Song first began in Argentina when this country was under the Peron regime. In Argentina, New Song was used to revive the traditional songs of the country. So, the focus of New Song artists was on discovering and teaching traditional music of Argentina. When the New Song movement expanded to Chile, it began to try to influence the politics of the country. Violeta Parra was mainly responsible for the initial development of New Song in Chile. She was not only a student of the traditional music of Chile, but was also concerned with problems of injustice and poverty in the country. She got to know Victor Jara, and spent much time with him. The music of Victor Jara developed from a combination of the life experiences of Victor Jara and the knowledge of Violeta Parra. As can be clearly seen from reading about the life of Victor Jara, his music has a great impact on the future of his country. New Song reached its greatest impact in Chile with the election of Salvadore Allende. Allende was a member of the Popular Unity party, a coalition within the Communist Party of Chile, and ran under a reform platform. However, after a coup orchestrated by the Chilean right wing and the CIA, Allende was ousted and Victor Jara was brutally murdered. With the death of Victor Jara, the music and power of New Song began to grow within Chile. This occured despite the attempts of the government to supress New Song music. The music of Victor Jara and other singers was confiscated and banned from radio play, and two important New Song groups in Chile, Quilapayun and Inti Illimani, were forced to remain in exile from their native country for many years. But today, the ideas of New Song are returning to Chile. In 1990, there was a great celebration after the demise of an opressive dictatorship. The celebration, named "Free Song" in honor of Victor Jara, featured numerous groups playing traditional instruments and expressing the ideas of New Song.

Besides Victor Jara's work in Chile, the ideas of New Song also had importance in other countries. For example, in Cuba the New Song movement was referred to as "Nueva trova." This movement supported the ideals of Fidel Castro's revolution within Cuba. The Cuban singers wrote songs in favor of the new government, and these songs helped keep people's spirits high, even during the bad times following the revolution. Pablo Milanes and Silvio Rodriguez are two singer/songwriters synonymous with New Song in Cuba. In Central American countries, New Song often served the opposite purpose, however. In these countries, New Song was often used as a powerful instrument in opposition of the government. For example, in Nicaragua and El Salvador, singers wrote songs favoring the revolution.
 
Despite all of the forms of New Song, it is always a reflection of love for the people and traditions of a country. This love is often expressed as an opposition of societal injustices as a means to end these inequalities. The life and work of Victor Jara clearly demonstrate these characteristics of New Song.