He moved to Santiago where he recorded his music and shared the stage several times with Víctor Jara.

However, unlike other singers of the Nueva Canción Chilena, Fernández also had followers within the military and right-wing.

[2] After the military coup in 1973, he was assigned to deliver Victor Jara's wedding ring to his widow.

Fernández was himself detained by the military after the coup and imprisoned for a short time at the Escuela de Aviación, where he had studied in his youth.

This led to disagreements with artists of the Nueva Canción Chilena who no longer considered him to be part of their musical movement.