Testimonies

Testimonies are sorted by witness.
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María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar:

What Will the Holy Father Say (Qué dirá el Santo Padre)

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. »
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Three Mountaineers (Eran tres alpinos)

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. »
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The Little Fence (La rejita)

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. »
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We Shall Prevail (Venceremos)

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. »
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María Fedora Peña:

Melody by Jorge Peña Hen

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. »
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María Soledad Ruiz Ovando:

Let’s Break the Morning (Rompamos la mañana)

Music piece by:
René “Popeye” Cárdenas Eugenin
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1973 - 1974
Tags:
« Music was very important for us (my mother Sylvia, my sister Alejandra and myself) while my dad, Daniel Ruiz Oyarzo, 'el Negro Ruiz', was imprisoned during the dictatorship, when Alejandra was seven and I was four. »
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Marianella Ubilla:

Free (Libre)

Music piece by:
José Luis Armenteros and Pablo Herrero, popularised by Nino Bravo.
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, Christmas 1973
Tags:
« I was taken prisoner on 23 November 1973, at the University of Concepción. In the Regional Stadium of Concepción, we had to sing the National Anthem every day. »
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Mario Patricio Cordero Cedraschi:

Dreams of my Imprisonment (Sueños de mi encierro)

Music piece by:
Mario Patricio Cordero Cedraschi
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, Winter of 1975
Tags:
« I’d spent two years in prison and there was no end in sight for my time in jail. I observed during visiting hours that many prisoners had children, a wife, family. »
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Mónica García Cuadra:

Tacit Song (Canción tácita)

Music piece by:
All the women present at that moment in Chacabuco
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, Summer of 1974
Tags:
« I am the daughter of a former political prisoner who spent a long time imprisoned at Chacabuco, among other places. I am Monica, a little 9-year-old girl who travelled with a heavy heart full of sadness to visit her father, Gerardo García Salas, held at the Chacabuco concentration camp. »
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Nelly Andrade Alcaino:

After the War (Después de la guerra)

Music piece by:
Sandro
Experience in:
Regimiento de Ingenieros de Tejas Verdes / Campamento de Prisioneros Nº 2 de la Escuela Militar de Ingenieros, February 1974
Tags:
« The military officials in charge of the Tejas Verdes camp made us sing. They gave us just one day to select the songs and rehearse. »
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Paicavi Painemal:

Free (Libre)

Music piece by:
José Luis Armenteros and Pablo Herrero, popularised by Nino Bravo.
Experience in:
Comisaría de Carabineros N° 2, Temuco, 22 April 1985
Tags:
« I’m from Chol Chol, part of the Coihue community. I was arrested along with 12 other people and they took us to the Second Police Station of Temuco. »
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The Letter (La carta)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Experience in:
Cárcel de Temuco, 1985
Tags:
« We set up a band with a group of fellow prisoners. They were young, university students. One of them had a guitar. »
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Patricio Hermosilla Vives:

Errant Wind (Viento errante)

Music piece by:
Patricio Hermosilla Vives
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January 1974
Tags:
« Finally, in the Chacabuco Concentration Camp, after three days aboard the Policarpo Toro (a war ship which had an uncertain destination since sailing from Valparaíso in December 1973; the question was not when and where we would dock, but how we would fall overboard), I felt that death had decided to take a step back and watch from me from a little further away. »
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Patricio Polanco:

Futuristic Anthem (Himno futurista)

Music piece by:
unknown
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros de Pisagua, November 1973
Tags:
« In 1973 and 1974, Pisagua was characterised by the harsh and cruel treatment of political prisoners. Singing was mandatory for prisoners, who were guarded by Army platoons, and it was also a means to avoid beatings and collective mistreatment. »
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