Jorge Cafrune was one of the main figures of Argentine folklore. While many artists with similar political and social messages went abroad to survive the dictatorship, Cafrune, who had also lived and performed in Europe, decided to return to Argentina. From listening to his songs, one can feel that he almost knew he might be killed, but also that he trusted his music would outlive him.
In early 1978 he arrived in Córdoba to prepare his return to the Cosquín Festival, where he had not sung since 1972. By then, songs like “Zamba de mi esperanza” and “El orejano,” which had made him a popular idol, were banned under censorship that began under Isabel Perón and deepened after the 1976 military coup, with persecution and control of the repertoire.
Cafrune had recently been detained by the police for singing “El orejano” at a festival in Córdoba, but was released the same day. That night he shared a barbecue with friends and continued singing banned songs such as “El hombre con H.” His return to the Atahualpa Yupanqui stage at Cosquín, after five years of absence, was a major event. He opened with “Luna cautiva” and was closely watched from the official box by General Lucio Benjamín Menéndez, one of the main figures of the repressive apparatus in Córdoba and the northwest. During the show, security forces cut the sound and took Cafrune into custody, causing a scandal.
According to the official version, on January 31, 1978, while riding his horse toward Yapeyú in homage to José de San Martín, he was hit by a van on Route 27 near Benavídez. He suffered serious injuries and died that night at the Municipal Hospital of Tigre, and the case was treated as a traffic accident with a brief, doubtful investigation.
Many people, however, argue that it was not an accident but a political attack. They see Cafrune as an uncomfortable figure for the dictatorship because of his songs with social and political content and his recent confrontations with authorities. There are also suspicions about powerful economic interests he criticized. Decades later, it is unlikely the full truth will be known.
What remains clear is that the dictatorship eliminated many it considered “subversive” in this way, and that Cafrune’s legacy did not die with him. His decision to come back, not stay silent, and continue denouncing injustice through music turned him into a reference and a beacon for later artists who chose, like him, not to shut up.
MATIAS JOFRE 