Nueva Trova was one aspect of the Pan-Latin American "new song movement" which tended to use lyrics that were self-consciously literary, formal and schooled. Another influence was that of
filín (feeling), a romantic song movement of the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
Pablo Milanés, for one, was a filín singer. At approximately the same time as the rise of Nueva Trova, similar musical genres across the world were increasing in popularity as part of a
roots revival; these involved the popularization of traditional music welded with socio-political lyrics. Nueva Trova was most closely influenced by South American (especially Chilean)
nueva canción, Spanish
Nova Cançó, Bolivian
canto nuevo, Portuguese
canto livre and nova canção, and Brazilian
Tropicalismo. At about the same time, Puerto Ricans like
Roy Brown,
Andrés Jiménez,
Antonio Cabán Vale and the group
Haciendo Punto en Otro Son also became popular. Though inspired by American protest artists like
Bob Dylan and
Joan Baez, Nueva Trova criticized the abuses of the United States government and its allies. Other major influences include
The Beatles, Chilean revivalist
Violeta Parra, Uruguayan singer-songwriter
Daniel Viglietti and the
Catalan protest singer Joan Manuel Serrat. In both Cuba and Puerto Rico, the politicized lyrics of Nueva Trova were very often critical of the United States; Puerto Rican singers were especially critical of
Vieques' continued use as a
United States Navy training ground. Nueva Trova is defined, not only by its connection with
Castro's revolution, but also by its lyrics. The lyrics try to escape the banalities of life (e.g. love) by concentrating on socialism, injustice, sexism, colonialism, racism and similar 'serious' issues.
Silvio Rodríguez,
Noel Nicola, and
Pablo Milanés became the most important exponents of this style.
Carlos Puebla and
Joseíto Fernández were long-time trova singers who added their weight to the new regime, but of the two only Puebla wrote special pro-revolution songs. The government gave support to musicians willing to write and sing anti-U.S. and pro-revolution songs. This was an additional incentive in a period when many of the traditional musicians found it difficult or impossible to earn a living. In 1967, the
Casa de las Américas in Havana held a
Festival de la canción de protesta (protest songs). Tania Castellanos, a filín singer and author, wrote
¡Por Ángela! in support of
Angela Davis.
César Portillo de la Luz wrote
Oh, valeroso Viet Nam. Although Nueva Trova expressed the socio-economic issues of Cuba, later on some musicians chose to express these issues through
Rap Cubano which they viewed as more pure and more to the street. == Decline ==