Testimonies

Testimonies are sorted by witness.
Click on to sort by witness, to sort alphabetically by musical piece title, or to sort by publication date.

Alejandro Olate:

Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1974
Tags:
« The youngest among us, aged 17 or even 16 years, did the heaviest work on Dawson Island. We had to fell trees, cut them, split them in two, cut them into wedges, and walk the several hundred meters back to the barracks carrying the logs on our shoulders. »
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Alfonso Padilla:

Cantata Santa María de Iquique

Music piece by:
Luis Advis
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, 1975
Tags:
« Between March 1974 and July 1975, I had the opportunity to arrange about 200 songs and direct the production of the Cantata de Santa María de Iquique. In truth, the prison was my conservatoire. That’s where I learnt the basics of the profession of musician. »
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Alfonso Padilla Silva:

I’m Not from Here - To my Comrade, my Love (No soy de aquí - A mi compañera)

Music piece by:
Facundo Cabral, with lyrics modified by a political prisoner
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, 25 December 1973
Tags:
« The choir of male prisoners sang a piece called 'A mi compañera' (To my comrade, my love) to the music of 'No soy de aquí, ni soy de allá' (I'm not from here, nor from there) by Facundo Cabral. »
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We Shall Overcome

Music piece by:
Attributed to Charles Albert Tindley
Experience in:
Cárcel de Concepción / Cárcel El Manzano, December 1974
Tags:
« When the concentration camp that operated for nearly five months at the Regional Stadium of Concepción was closed in early February 1974, hundreds of political prisoners were transferred to the Concepción Prison, a wing of which was turned into a concentration camp. »
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The Little Cigarette (El cigarrito)

Music piece by:
Víctor Jara
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, 25 December 1973
Tags:
« During Christmas 1973, I was one of some 600 men and 100 women prisoners in Concepción Regional Stadium. »
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The Soldier (El soldado)

Music piece by:
Rafael Alberti (lyrics), Ángel Parra (music)
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, 25 December 1973
Tags:
« During Christmas 1973, approximately 660 men and 100 women were held as prisoners in the Concepción Regional Stadium. Concentration camp officials allowed us to celebrate Christmas on the pitch. We were in a corner of the pitch and we used the pole vault pit as a stage. »
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Amelia Negrón:

Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría)

Music piece by:
original by Friedrich von Schiller (lyrics) and Ludwig van Beethoven (music). Free version in Spanish by Amado Regueiro Rodríguez, aka Orbe (lyrics) y Waldo de los Ríos (music), popularised in Chile by Miguel Ríos.
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 31 December 1975
Tags:
« Preparations for that Wednesday night became more intense. It would be a different night. We women prisoners had secretly organised ourselves, but more importantly, we had also coordinated with the male prisoners. »
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Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, June 1976
Tags:
« We were in Pavilion 1. One of us came up with the idea, I can’t remember who. There were so many of us and we spent the day inventing and creating things! »
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Words for Julia (Palabras para Julia)

Music piece by:
José Agustín Goytisolo (lyrics) and Paco Ibáñez (music)
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1975 and 1976, until the closure of Tres Álamos
Tags:
« There were so many of us women prisoners. Despite the circumstances, we had managed to invent our own world, one with our rules, according to what we thought and wanted for ourselves, our families and all the Chilean people. »
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Ana María Arenas:

The Clock (El reloj)

Music piece by:
Roberto Cantoral
Experience in:
Calle Irán Nº 3037 / Venda Sexy / La Discotheque, December 1974
Tags:
« The day I was captured, after the first torture session, I asked for permission to sing a Christmas carol, the name of which I cannot remember. I did it to let one of my captive friends know that I was also at the Venda Sexy. »
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Ana María Jiménez:

The Internationale

Music piece by:
Eugène Pottier (lyrics) and Pierre Degeyter (music). Popularised by Quilapayún in Chile in the 1970s.
Experience in:
Villa Grimaldi, April 1975
Tags:
« In April 1975, the triumph of Vietnam was celebrated. We heard about it through a comrade who went to the bathroom and found a piece of the week’s newspaper. It was so beautiful for us to be there, having shouted so often for Vietnam at demonstrations. »
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Zamba so as Not to Die (Zamba para no morir)

Music piece by:
Hamlet Lima Quintana
Experience in:
Villa Grimaldi, April 1975
Tags:
« I want to recall a night at Villa Grimaldi. »
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Ángeles Álvarez Cárdenas:

Today I Sing for the Sake of Singing (Hoy canto por cantar)

Music piece by:
Nydia Caro and Ricardo Ceratto
Experience in:
Villa Grimaldi, 6 - 15 January 1975
Tags:
« At that time, many prisoners were subjected to extreme torture in the interrogations. Some managed to get through those processes alright, while others broke down. »
[Read full testimony]

anónimo:

Free (Libre)

Music piece by:
José Luis Armenteros and Pablo Herrero, popularised by Nino Bravo.
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
Tags:
« While waiting in the grandstands to be interrogated for the first, second or more times, we would sing 'Free' to those who were being lined up to be released. 'Free' was a catharsis, a mixture of joy for those who were going and hope for those of us left behind. »
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Sinner, come to sweet Jesus (Pecador, ven al dulce Jesús)

Music piece by:
Unknown
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« One time, a group of male and female evangelicals came to Teja Island to preach. They were taken to the visitors’ yard. »
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Fifth Symphony

Music piece by:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« I like all classical music, particularly Beethoven and Mozart. I listen to it all day on Radio Esperanza, on the bus I drive. The passengers like it. »
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Luchín

Music piece by:
Víctor Jara
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« They said that once you got to the prison of Teja Island, you were safe. »
[Read full testimony]

National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« I was detained in Panguipulli on 24 September 1973, along with 17 other young people. I was a high school student. I was also working at the forestry and logging company of Huilo Huilo, which had been taken over by the working class. »
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Beatriz Bataszew Contreras:

Lucía

Music piece by:
Joan Manuel Serrat
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, December 1974 - May 1976
Tags:
« Tres Álamos was a more 'normal' camp, even though we never had a trial. There was a lot of music, it was sort of ritualistic. »
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Today I Sing for the Sake of Singing (Hoy canto por cantar)

Music piece by:
Nydia Caro and Ricardo Ceratto
Experience in:
Calle Irán Nº 3037 / Venda Sexy / La Discotheque, 12 - 18 December 1974
Tags:
« I have never been a great music listener. Nevertheless, before the coup I used to listen to Nueva Canción, especially Quilapayún and Rolando Alarcón. I also liked cumbias, to fool around. We would dance and have fun. »
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Las mañanitas

Music piece by:
Manuel M. Ponce
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, December 1974 - May 1976
Tags:
« To every comrade who had a birthday, we would sing 'Las mañanitas' and we would give them presents. The majority of the female prisoners would come together and sing to you. I spent one birthday in prison. Birthdays were important for everyone because we were alive. »
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Boris Chornik Aberbuch:

National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, March 1975
Tags:
« The Puchuncaví detention camp’s daily routine included mandatory participation in the ceremonies of raising and taking down the Chilean flag on the flagpole at the entrance to the camp. »
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