The recent presentation of La Renga in Luján reignited an old tension between the band and Javier Milei. During the show on November 15, in the middle of the “Panic Show,” a person wearing a mask of the President was brought onto the stage, a staging that resumed the dispute over the political use of the issue. Since entering politics, Milei adopted it as an anthem, despite the fact that the group repeatedly expressed its rejection and, for a time, even stopped playing it to avoid direct association.
In this context, Mariana Brey released a statement that quickly went viral. In his program on the Carnaval streaming channel, he questioned the band for making fun of the president and assured that they should thank him: “You have to thank Milei, my God. I didn’t know the singers’ faces, they are not Cerati, Calamaro or Fito Páez, you know who they are. I do know that La Renga exists and I know the band. I don’t know so many songs either. It’s not a band that I have followed, but I still like their songs.” For Brey, the exposure the President gave the group by using “Panic Show” in events and speeches placed them at a higher level of visibility.
The words collide head-on with La Renga’s historical position. The trio maintains that they never authorized this use, that the issue “is theirs” and that they made all possible legal claims to prevent it. “He stole it,” they said in previous interviews, distancing themselves from libertarian discourse and any attempt at appropriation.
The episode in Luján reactivated the discussion. While the band reinforced its critical gesture with the mask, Brey interpreted the scene as a lack of respect and defended the idea that Milei contributed to reinstating La Renga in the public conversation. Thus, a dispute that seemed exhausted reopened, combining politics, rock and provocation in equal parts.
