Rolando Alarcón Soto was a Chilean singer-songwriter and teacher, who was one of the main figures of the movement Nueva canción chilena. He was the artistic director of Cuncumén, one of the most important Chilean folk groups in the 20th century. During the 1970s, Rolando was a political activist for the Popular Unity of the socialist president Salvador Allende.

Nueva canción chilena was a movement and genre of Chilean music incorporating strong political and social themes, taking influences from traditional or folk music of Chile. The movement was to spread throughout Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s, in what is called "Nueva canción" sparking the renewal in traditional folk music and playing a key role in political movements in the region.