392 results where found for «How Can I Describe This to You?»


Amalia Rosa

Music piece by:
Tino Carrasco
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
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. »
[...]
« This song can be found in Alberto Corvalán’s clandestine recording of the farewell show for Angel. On the recording, it is called "Canción de Venezuela". »
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Zamba of my Hope (Zamba de mi esperanza)

Music piece by:
Luis H. Profili
Testimony by:
Edgardo Carabantes Olivares
« Horacio Carabantes Olivares, my brother, was locked up in January 1975 at the Maipo regiment of Valparaíso, with a large group of male and female prisoners, all arrested by the DINA. »
[...]
« Some of the survivors have told this story, stressing the significance of that action by Horacio, who in the midst of interrogation and torture did not lose his nerve but took the opportunity to give his comrades a sign of hope. »
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Lucía

Music piece by:
Joan Manuel Serrat
Testimony by:
Beatriz Bataszew Contreras
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, December 1974 - May 1976
« 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. »
[...]
« I seem to remember that someone brought up ‘Candombe’ and said ‘shall we sing it?’ And we sang it. Now we look for a reason. I think we don't tend to value chance. »
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Little Doctors (Doctorcitos)

Music piece by:
unknown. Folk tune from the Andes highlands
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
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. »
[...]
« Other versions of 'Doctorcitos', such as those you can find on YouTube (Festival de Oruro), have different melodies, although it is interesting to see the costumes used by the street pageants and the ridiculous attire they wear. »
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Beloved Friend (Amado amigo)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« This song, written in my cell at the Puchuncaví Prison Camp, speaks to a friend and fellow prisoner; it could be any one of the thousands behind bars. »
[...]
« Paper boat (barco de papel): We had a habit of wishing farewell to our comrades who were released or about to be transferred to other prisons. People who were not fortunate enough to be included in the group would gather around those who were about to leave, a ritual that sometimes included singing Julio Numhausser’s beautiful song 'El barco de papel'. The first verse goes like this: 'Se va el barco de papel por el mar de la esperanza, llevando un montón de sueños y los niños no lo alcanzan. Se va, se va y no volverá. Se va, se va a la libertad.' (The paper boat sails to a sea of hope, carrying dreams and children can’t reach it. There it goes, there it goes, and it will never return. There it goes, there it goes to freedom.). »
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The Brief Space Where You Are Absent (El breve espacio en que no estás)

Music piece by:
Pablo Milanés
Testimony by:
Vilma Rojas Toledo
Experience in:
Cárcel de Coronel, 1986 - 1988
« I recall that during my time as a political prisoner, Pablo Milanés was one of our greatest companions. His songs filled us with life, helped us to keep breathing and living behind the bars imposed by Pinochet’s military dictatorship. »
[...]
« Today, I can remember it and speak about it. I can say that when I hear his songs I am immediately transported back to those years in jail in the city of Coronel, to that woman who is a political prisoner of Pinochet’s dictatorship. I remember him as the great comrade he was, through his music and his songs. »
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The Rain is Falling (Scende la pioggia)

Music piece by:
The Turtles ('Elenore'), with new lyrics by Gianni Morandi
Testimony by:
Eduardo René Cuevas
Experience in:
Cárcel de Los Ángeles, September 1973
« This song was a workhorse for the prisoners. Iván Moscoso sang it, accompanied by a guitar, in a powerful and defiant voice, and the most altruistic among us sung along in the presence of the gendarme guards, in a courtyard that was only for political prisoners. »
[...]
« For me, a prisoner from (the city of) Laja who walked with a cane, it represented a glimmer of hope and being able to say I am still alive, after twice being threatened with death on the very 11 September 1973. »
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What Will the Holy Father Say (Qué dirá el Santo Padre)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
« 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. »
[...]
«  Famous Chilean group of the Nueva Canción movement, with strong affiliation to the Popular Unity coalition. »
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Three Mountaineers (Eran tres alpinos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Traditional Spanish children's song
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
« 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. »
[...]
« In prison, you do whatever you can just to survive. Under torture, under pressure, under custody, you do what you can to get out. And I believe that is what we did to try to stay afloat and stay alive. »
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Dona Nobis Pacem

Music piece by:
Text from Agnus Dei (Roman Catholic Mass); music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Testimony by:
Lucía Chirinos
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. »
[...]
« I remember that that day we sang the canon 'Dona nobis pacem', which I had taught not only to the prisoners but also to the nuns. »
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