The Argentine musician said guards ordered some spectators to sit during his show. He later wrote that their actions recalled repressive episodes from the past and present.
Argentine musician Fito Páez clashed with security staff during a concert in Mar del Plata on Saturday night. La Nación reported that guards were asking some spectators to sit down. Páez told them from the stage that the audience was not disrupting the performance and should be able to dance and sing.
During the exchange, he threw his microphone, walked to the piano and continued addressing the crowd. He urged concertgoers not to let guards touch them and to stand up for themselves. The audience applauded.
Páez later wrote on Instagram that the venue, rather than his representatives, had hired the security staff. He said he had watched guards make people sit when they stood to dance and sing. Their manner, he wrote, brought to mind the repression of Argentina’s 1970s dictatorship and more recent crackdowns on public demonstrations. He said he did not regret his remarks.
Páez ended his post by thanking the audience and saying music had eased the tension. La Nación did not report injuries or police involvement.