The Little Snail (El caracolito)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« I composed this song for a small children’s party we organised in the visitors’ yard of the Valparaíso Jail. I remember how the children had fun that day and enjoyed the play. That was the first time I put down the guitar so that a prisoner who played the accordion could accompany me. »
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The Man Who Transformed into an Animal (El hombre que se convirtió en animal)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« I wrote this song shortly after reading Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, one of the books that circulated in Camp Melinka from hand to hand and cabin to cabin. »
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The Paper Boat (El barco de papel)

Music piece by:
Julio Numhauser, popularised by the band Amerindios
Testimony by:
José Selín Carrasco Vargas
« 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. »
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The Valley Swallow (La golondrina del valle)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« One of the most amazing experiences I had during my six months in the Puchuncaví Prison Camp was to see the metamorphosis of the barbed wire fence into a huge musical score. »
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Three Indian Songs (Tres canciones indias)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« After our transfer from Tres Álamos to Puchuncaví in April 1975, a group of prisoners began toying with the idea of presenting a poetic-theatrical performance about the history of Latin America’s indigenous cultures and their extermination under Iberian domination. »
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To Sing by Improvising (Pa’ cantar de un improviso)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Claudio Durán Pardo
« We made a Venezuelan cuatro from a large plank of wood attached to one of the walls of the "ranch" where we ate. »
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Today Was Visitors’ Day (Hoy fue día de visitas)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« Visitors’ day was an exceptional day that broke the monotonous routine of all the other days of the week. »
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Trim the Sails (Brazas a ceñir)

Music piece by:
Luis Mella Toro
Testimony by:
César Montiel
« The Navy sailors made us sing every day, when we got up very early to raise the flag. We, as the squaddies, had to sing military songs, their songs. »
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Valparaíso

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« This song was written and sung in cell number 198 of Valparaíso’s former prison, that is to say, on the top floor of the main building, which was higher than the walls that surrounded it. »
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You Hear It Far Away (Se escucha muy lejos)

Music piece by:
Collective creation
Testimony by:
Ignacio Puelma
Experience in:
« The sound of the sea was carried over the cabins of the Ritoque Prison Camp by the wind. It was the daily music given to us as a gift by the ocean. »
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