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.


Joaquín Vallejos:

Neither Fish nor Fowl (Ni chicha ni limoná)

Music piece by:
Víctor Jara
Experience in:
« I was arrested at home together with a childhood friend who they’d gone to pick up first. My family thought he’d stitched me up, which was not true. »
[Read full testimony]

Jorge Montealegre Iturra:

Return, Return (Volver, volver)

Music piece by:
Fernando Z. Maldonado. Popularised by Vicente Fernández
« At the Chacabucan artistic shows, Hugo sang tangos, including 'Volver' (Return) by Gardel and Le Pera. »
[Read full testimony]

José Selín Carrasco Vargas:

The Paper Boat (El barco de papel)

Music piece by:
Julio Numhauser, popularised by the band Amerindios
« While we were imprisoned in Melinka, this song was sung every time that one of us was released. I remember a fellow prisoner nicknamed Bigote Molina (Moustache Molina) singing the song when we were going to Tres Álamos, from where we would be released a few days later. »
[Read full testimony]

Juan Carlos de Luján Peralta Aranguiz:

Shadows (Sombras)

Music piece by:
Rosario Sansores and Carlos Brito Benavides. Popularised in Chile by Lucho Barrios
« I arrived in this place as a war prisoner when I was 16 years old. »
[Read full testimony]

Julio Laks Feller:

Partisan Anthem (Himno guerrillero)

Music piece by:
anonymous Russian melody. During the Russian Revolution, several lyrics with different ideological content circulated. This version is based on 'Makhnovtchina', attributed to Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary.
Experience in:
« In late September 1974, the Soviet partisan’s song was intoned softly but with an awe-inspiring force in the José Domingo Cañas torture centre. »
[Read full testimony]

Lucía Chirinos:

Dona Nobis Pacem

Music piece by:
Text from Agnus Dei (Roman Catholic Mass); music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Experience in:
« Music was always present in my family. My dad played the violin and my mum the piano. When I was a child, my mum sent us to dance and piano lessons. »
[Read full testimony]


The Little Fence (La rejita)

Music piece by:
lyrics: collective creation; music: 'Jálame la pitita' by Luis Abanto Morales (Peruvian polka)
Experience in:
« Let’s get going, would say “the lizards”, as we called the policemen, because they dress all in green. »
[Read full testimony]


We Shall Prevail (Venceremos)

Music piece by:
Claudio Iturra (lyrics) and Sergio Ortega (music)
Experience in:
« The parish priest at Buen Pastor played the accordion. He played so beautifully. Because I played the piano, I asked him if I could borrow it. 'I'll lend it to you' he said. »
[Read full testimony]

Luis Alfredo Muñoz González:

Casida of the Dark Pigeons (Casida de las palomas oscuras)

Music piece by:
Federico García Lorca (words), Paco Ibáñez (music)
Experience in:
« According to scientists, memory and music processing are situated in a deep, ancestral part of the brain, where it is zealously guarded. »
[Read full testimony]


South-Eastern Storm (La Sudestada)

Music piece by:
Poni Micharvegas
Experience in:
« While I was in solitary confinement in Cuatro Álamos, one day I noticed there was a large room at the end of the corridor, which, overnight, the dinos had filled with prisoners. »
[Read full testimony]

Luis Cifuentes Seves:

Blue Eyes (Ojos azules)

Music piece by:
Manuel Casazola Huancco
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
« This is the last track on the cassette recorded by the band Los de Chacabuco in the concentration camp; it was digitised in 2015. »
[Read full testimony]


How We Resemble Each Other (En qué nos parecemos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Popularised by Quilapayún
Experience in:
« During the 1960s, the group Quilapayún popularised this old Spanish song in Chile. Víctor Canto and I performed it as a duet in Santiago’s National Stadium, which had been converted into a concentration, torture and extermination camp. »
[Read full testimony]


Chacabuco’s Soul (Alma de Chacabuco)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November - December 1973
« This is the original version of a composition by Ángel Parra at Chacabuco, as secretly recorded at the prison camp during his farewell concert. The composer’s voice can be heard. »
[Read full testimony]


Morning Has Broken

Music piece by:
Cat Stevens, based on a traditional Gaelic hymn; lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon
Experience in:
« At the time of the coup in 1973, this song was world-famous and frequently played on the radio. »
[Read full testimony]


Chacabuco Mass (Misa chacabucana)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra and Ariel Ramírez
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
« This song is the second track on the cassette recorded in the Chacabuco prison camp by the band Los de Chacabuco, formed by Ángel Parra and led by him until his release. At the time that the cassette was recorded, Ángel had already been freed and Ernesto Parra had become the group's conductor. »
[Read full testimony]


A Cocky Fellow (El puntúo)

Music piece by:
Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« This cueca was composed in Chacabuco between November 1973 and February 1974, and was sung by the band Los de Chacabuco, to which Víctor Canto and I belonged. »
[Read full testimony]


An Old Love Tune (Tonada del viejo amor)

Music piece by:
Eduardo Falú and Jaime Dávalos
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« The Los de Chacabuco band, created and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this zamba by Eduardo Falú and Jaime Davalos at the camp’s weekly shows. »
[Read full testimony]


Christmas Oratorio According to St. Luke (Oratorio de Navidad según San Lucas)

Music piece by:
Gospel According to St. Luke (lyrics), Ángel Parra (music)
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
« This is the first song on the cassette recorded at the Chacabuco camp by the band Los de Chacabuco, created by Ángel Parra and conducted by him until his release. »
[Read full testimony]


Creole Mass – Gloria (Misa criolla - Gloria)

Music piece by:
Ariel Ramírez
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
« As far as I remember (and there may be other versions), Los de Chacabuco band was founded by Ángel Parra in response to a request by the Army chaplain Varela, who asked for assistance for the Mass he celebrated for both prisoners and soldiers. »
[Read full testimony]


Amalia Rosa

Music piece by:
Tino Carrasco
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« Los de Chacabuco, a band founded and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this Venezuelan folk song, in the style of a joropo, singing it at the weekly prison camp show. I dare say it was one of the favourite songs of the audience, comprised of political prisoners. »
[Read full testimony]


Love Song (Canción de amor)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
« Ángel Parra organised and directed the band Los de Chacabuco until his release from prison. Angel only conducted the group, and never sang or played an instrument. The exception was his farewell concert, which was the only time he sang at Chacabuco. »
[Read full testimony]


St John Passion (Pasión según San Juan)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
« This song is the third track on the cassette recorded in the Chacabuco concentration camp by the band Los de Chacabuco, formed by Ángel Parra and conducted by him until his release. »
[Read full testimony]


For the Guy Who's Leaving

Music piece by:
Alfredo Zitarrosa
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – April 1974
« Marcelo Concha Bascuñán, a member of the Los de Chacabuco band, was a young man of great charisma and personal skills. He had been a swimming champion and was an outstanding guitarist and singer. »
[Read full testimony]


Lucky Devil (El suertúo)

Music piece by:
Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« This cueca was composed at Chacabuco sometime between November 1973 and February 1974 and was sung by Los de Chacabuco, of which Víctor Canto and I were members. »
[Read full testimony]


Barlovento

Music piece by:
Eduardo Serrano
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
« This is one of the songs the band Los de Chacabuco arranged and performed at the weekly show authorised by the military. »
[Read full testimony]


The Salamander (La salamanca)

Music piece by:
Arturo Dávalos
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
« A salamanca is a type of salamander that lives in caves in northern Argentina. By extension, it also represents the cave. In this song, the lyricist turns the salamanca into a place where a coven of witches gathers. »
[Read full testimony]


From the Poplars I have Come, Mother (De los álamos vengo, madre)

Music piece by:
Juan Vásquez
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« Los de Chacabuco, a band created and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this traditional Spanish song at the Chacabuco concentration camp. »
[Read full testimony]


Caliche

Music piece by:
Calatambo Albarracín
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, December 1973 - February 1974
« Los de Chacabuco, a band founded and conducted by Ángel Parra, arranged this song called "Caliche". It was sung several times during the Saturday shows at the Chacabuco concentration camp. At the farewell concert for Angel, Alberto Corvalán recorded it on cassette, and a subsequent LP was produced from that cassette. »
[Read full testimony]


La Adelita

Music piece by:
Unknown
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
« This is another song that was performed by the band Los de Chacabuco and was sung in the prisoners’ weekly show. It’s a very old Mexican song that was popular in Chile. »
[Read full testimony]


The Vargas War (La guerra de los Vargas)

Music piece by:
Celestino Carrasco
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« This old Venezuelan song, written by an unknown songwriter, and that has had many variations, was performed by Los de Chacabuco in during the camp’s weekly show. »
[Read full testimony]


Little Doctors (Doctorcitos)

Music piece by:
unknown. Folk tune from the Andes highlands
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
« Agreeing to a suggestion from Ricardo, Los de Chacabuco learned and arranged this tune. In the Andean high plateau, the tune is a satirical reference to lawyers and, by implication, to civil servants. It is performed at carnival time. »
[Read full testimony]


The Scholar (El letrado)

Music piece by:
Quelentaro (Gastón and Eduardo Guzmán)
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 – February 1974
« From the first time I heard it, I was impressed by the way the duo Quelentaro sang this song, which was also written by them. When I sang it, I always tried to sing it in their style. I never sang it on stage, only for myself or for small groups of friends strumming guitars together. »
[Read full testimony]


Answer Me

Music piece by:
Fred Rauch (lyrics) and Gerhard Winkler (music). English lyrics by Carl Sigman. Recorded by Frankie Laine.
Experience in:
« I sang this song, as a soloist, in the dressing rooms of the National Stadium. »
[Read full testimony]

Luis Madariaga:

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:
« In prison, we would sing the 'Ode to Joy' when a comrade was released or sent to exile. »
[Read full testimony]

Marcia Scantlebury:

You Can Blame Me (Échame a mí la culpa)

Music piece by:
José Ángel Espinoza, aka Ferrusquillo
« Mexican songs - and this one in particular - have always moved me. When I shared a cell with Miriam Silva, a young woman who belonged to the Communist Youth, arrested by the DINA when she was handing out leaflets on the street, we killed time in an organised fashion to keep ourselves from getting depressed and overcome by anxiety due to an unknown fate. »
[Read full testimony]