Cantos Cautivos
Testimonies
Testimonies are sorted by witness.
Juan Carlos de Luján Peralta Aranguiz:
- Music piece by:Rosario Sansores and Carlos Brito Benavides. Popularised in Chile by Lucho Barrios
- Experience in:
- Tags:
- « I arrived in this place as a war prisoner when I was 16 years old. »
- [Read full testimony]
Julio Laks Feller:
- Music piece by:Spanish version of 'Makhnovtchina', attributed to Ukranian anarchist Nestor Makhno, based on anonymous Russian melody.
- Experience in:Recinto DINA, José Domingo Cañas Nº 1367, September 1974
- Tags:
- « 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:
- Music piece by:Text from Agnus Dei (Roman Catholic Mass); music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, October 1973 - April 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:lyrics: collective creation; music: 'Jálame la pitita' by Luis Abanto Morales (Peruvian polka)
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, October 1973 - April 1974
- Tags:
- « Let’s get going, would say “the lizards”, as we called the policemen, because they dress all in green. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:Claudio Iturra (lyrics) and Sergio Ortega (music)
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, October 1973 - April 1974
- Tags:
- « 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:
- Music piece by:Federico García Lorca (words), Paco Ibáñez (music)
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, February - March 1975
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Poni Micharvegas
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, late February 1975
- Tags:
- « 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:
- Music piece by:attributed to Gilberto Rojas Enríquez (Bolivia), Manuel Casazola Huancco (Perú), and the Andean oral tradition. Popularised in Chile by Violeta Parra and her children Isabel and Ángel Parra.
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Unknown. Popularised by Quilapayún
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Ángel Parra
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November - December 1973
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Cat Stevens, based on a traditional Gaelic hymn; lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
- Tags:
- « At the time of the coup in 1973, this song was world-famous and frequently played on the radio. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:Ángel Parra and Ariel Ramírez
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Eduardo Falú and Jaime Dávalos
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Ariel Ramírez
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Tino Carrasco
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Ángel Parra
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Ángel Parra; text from the Gospel of Luke
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Alfredo Zitarrosa
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – April 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Eduardo Serrano
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Arturo Dávalos
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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
- Tags:
- « Los de Chacabuco, a band created and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this traditional Spanish song at the Chacabuco concentration camp. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:Calatambo Albarracín
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, December 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Unknown
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Celestino Carrasco
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:unknown. Folk tune from the Andes highlands
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January - February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Quelentaro (Gastón and Eduardo Guzmán)
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 – February 1974
- Tags:
- « 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]
- Music piece by:Fred Rauch (lyrics) and Gerhard Winkler (music). English lyrics by Carl Sigman. Recorded by Frankie Laine.
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
- Tags:
- « I sang this song, as a soloist, in the dressing rooms of the National Stadium. »
- [Read full testimony]
Luis Madariaga:
- 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:Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1974 - 1976
- Tags:
- « In prison, we would sing the 'Ode to Joy' when a comrade was released or sent to exile. »
- [Read full testimony]
Marcia Scantlebury:
- Music piece by:José Ángel Espinoza, aka Ferrusquillo
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, June 1975
- Tags:
- « 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]
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar:
- Music piece by:Violeta Parra
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
- Tags:
- « We sang songs that were popular at the time. We’d sing 'What will the Holy Father say', especially the part that says 'What will the Holy Father who lives in Rome say ... they are slitting the throat of his dove...' quite often, for example when someone was taken off to Regimiento Arica, which was a torture centre. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:Unknown. Traditional Spanish children's song
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
- Tags:
- « We adapted this song and produced a play based on it. Each of us played one of the characters. We spent a lot of time on this. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:lyrics: collective creation; music: 'Jálame la pitita' by Luis Abanto Morales (Peruvian polka)
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
- Tags:
- « We always sang this song when we were taken to Regimiento Arica. That was a torture centre. »
- [Read full testimony]
- Music piece by:Claudio Iturra (lyrics) and Sergio Ortega (music)
- Experience in:Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
- Tags:
- « I was studying to be a chemistry teacher at the University of Chile in La Serena. I was 21 years old when I was arrested. I think I was picked up due to a specific fact. I was regularly sent copies of the El Rebelde newspaper by train, in order to distribute them in parts of Region IV. »
- [Read full testimony]
María Fedora Peña:
- Music piece by:Jorge Peña Hen
- Experience in:Cárcel de la Serena, October 1973
- Tags:
- « 'Look here, Maria Fedora. I’ve brought you a treasure', it was the voice of my brother Juan Cristián as he crossed the doorway of our mother’s house one morning in January 1983. »
- [Read full testimony]
María Soledad Ruiz Ovando:
- Music piece by:René “Popeye” Cárdenas Eugenin
- Experience in:Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1973 - 1974
- « Agreeing to a suggestion from Ricardo, Los de Chacabuco learned and arranged this tune. In the
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