Nuestra Escena: Punk Across Latin America

In response to colonization, dictatorships, class inequality, and a myriad of contemporary societal maladies, young people throughout the Latin American region have built rebellious scenes that allow for radical creative expression, community, and revolutionary ideology—alongside classic teenage debauchery. Influenced by pioneering Latin proto-punk bands such as Los Saicos and Joelho de Porco, and internationally known rock bands like the Sex Pistols and The Dead Kennedys, vibrant punk scenes began popping up in the 1970s in countries like Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil, and even spread to the Latin diaspora in American cities like Los Angeles. From lo-res documentaries to works of fiction made on shoestring budgets, this series provides a glimpse into the lives and stories of Latin America’s real punks throughout history.