"¡Ni Un Paso Atrás!" - Various Artists

Album

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Full Track Listing:

  • Ala Delta – Divididos (6:19)
  • El Rito de Los Corazones Sangrando – La Renga (4:35)
  • America – Attaque 77 (4:16)
  • Muy Despacito – Los Piojos (5:51)
  • El Fantasma de Canterville – Leon Gieco (4:09)
  • No Chamuyes – Caballeros de la Quema (5:06)
  • El Chupadero – Todos Tus Muertos (2:18)
  • Venganza de los Muertos Pobres – Bersuit Vergabarat (4:40)
  • Sin Hilo – Las Pelotas (5:20)
  • Estado Resignado – Actitud Maria Marta (2:46)
  • Fuck You – A.N.I.M.A.L (2:44)
  • Malon Mestizo – Malon (3:38)
  • Solo Para Amarte – Rata Blanca (7:09)
  • Discurso de Hebe de Bonafini (7:45)
  • The Mother of God (En Ingles) – Bono (0:52)
  • Mothers of the Disappeared (Acapella) – Bono (0:54)
  • Mothers of the Disappeared (En Espanol) – Bono (1:01)

Background Information

“Mothers of the Disappeared” is a song that U2 recorded for The Joshua Tree in 1987. The song was inspired by the group known as Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of women whose children have gone missing at the hands of the Argentinian and Chilean dictatorships. The Madres had joined together to campaign for information on their missing sons, and the circumstances of their deaths. Bono recounted the story of the group “People would just disappear. If you were part of the opposition, you might find an SUV with the windows blacked out parked outside your house…. If that didn’t stop you, occasionally they would come in and take you and murder you; there would be no trial.”

In 1998, while on tour in South America, Bono met with the Madres de Plaza de Mayo on February 4, 1998. U2 arrived at the House of the Madres at 4:30 that day, held a press conference with Hebe de Bonafini, the head of the organization. “I’m very moved. I thought of my own mother, whom I didn’t get to know well, but when I entered this room, I felt something familiar,” said Bono. The Head of the entity assured that her biggest pride was to be a mother. “Yes, and all of us, artists, are a little jealous of the mothers,” said Bono, “for you can engender true life, and that is far more important than any other creative act.” “We were born from the dissapearance of our sons,” replied Hebe, to who Bono responded that that was one of the most powerful thoughts he had ever heard. “They’re angry, but they’re not bitter, and that’s the best example for the world that confronts the winds you rise. You haven’t become monsters to fight the monster,” replied Bono.

After the meeting, U2 returned to the Hyatt Hotel, accompanied by de Bonafini and two other mothers. At the hotel Bono recited the poem “Mother of God” by William Butler Yeats in English, recited the lyrics to “Mothers of the Disappeared” in Spanish, and sung an acapella version of “Mothers of the Disappeared” in English. All three of these were recorded and released on the album “¡Ni Un Paso Atrás!”. The title “¡Ni Un Paso Atrás!” translates to “Not One Step Back”. The album claims to contain “The Mother of God” in Spanish and English in the track listing, but it is indeed the Spanish version of “Mothers of the Disappeared” read aloud by Bono. The album was put together to commemorate 20 years of the Madres. The bulk of the album was recorded at a concert held on October 11 and 12, 1997 as a tribute to the Madres at Ferrocarril Stadium. Bono’s parts, recorded February 4, 1998 are added to the end of the CD.

U2 would bring the Madres on stage with them at River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina the next night, as they performed “Mothers of the Disappeared” to close the show.

The album was first released in 1998 with the mask on the cover for the 20th anniversary of the Madres. The album was re-released in 1999 in a brown cover after the 20th anniversary had passed.

Liner Notes

The Mother of God: Written by William Butler Yeats.
Mothers of the Disappeared: Written by The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Bono.

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