181 results where found for «Song of the Disappeared»


A Finger-Picked Cueca from a Solidary Companion (Cueca punteada de un solidario)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« It is true that the hard experience of torture and prison unified us and at times even generated strong ties of friendship among the prisoners. »
[...]
« I wrote this song while at Camp Melinka, thinking openly about our flaws. Thinking about the double standards that ruled our daily behaviour: talking about love on one hand and feeding hatred on the other. Thinking about how far we were from living what we preached every day: to live together in equality, in peace, in brotherhood and in solidarity with everyone. »
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King Ñaca Ñaca (El rey Ñaca Ñaca)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« 'Ñaca-ñaca' was an interjection we used at Camp Melinka whenever we wanted to signal and poke fun at any dark thought that might cross our minds. That may be why it seemed the ideal name to give to the paper maché puppet that played the role of the mean king in the puppet stories we performed to entertain the children who came to visit their captive fathers. »
[...]
« At our Friday evening performances, a guitar-playing jester acted as director and he narrated the gory tale of the mean king. I wrote this song for him to sing at the beginning of the narrative. "King Ñaca Ñaca" is one of three children’s songs I composed while in prison. »
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National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« The Puchuncaví Prisoners Camp had a daily routine similar to that of military regiments. In a ridiculous ceremony, the flag was raised every morning at dawn and then it was taken down at nightfall. »
[...]
« We would arrive marching and singing military songs to the place where the flagpole was located and, when the order was given, it was our duty to sing the National Anthem. »
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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. »
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Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Testimony by:
Alejandro Olate
« The youngest among us, aged 17 or even 16 years, did the heaviest work on Dawson Island. We had to fell trees, cut them, split them in two, cut them into wedges, and walk the several hundred meters back to the barracks carrying the logs on our shoulders. »
[...]
«  Song inspired by the candombe, a dance developed by African slaves in Uruguay. »
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Go Tell It to the Rain (Ve y díselo a la lluvia)

Music piece by:
Clan 91
Testimony by:
Eduardo Ojeda
« We had a comrade who sang beautifully. He was called Peye and was a student at the State Technical University. »
[...]
« When I met Peye again in the Alpha Barracks, he started singing the song 'Ve y díselo a la lluvia' ('Go tell it to the rain'), in the most spectacular voice. »
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Prayer So You Don't Forget Me (Oración para que no me olvides)

Music piece by:
Óscar Castro (words) and Ariel Arancibia González (music)
Testimony by:
Rosalía Martínez
Experience in:
« When Katia Chornik contacted me a few years ago asking me to provide my testimony about my musical experience in prison, I thought I didn’t have much to say. »
[...]
« The songs were part of our leftist musical culture: protest and political songs, the inevitable boleros and other Mexican songs that Amalia would sing in her low, deep voice. »
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Oh Saving Victim (O salutaris Hostia)

Music piece by:
text by Saint Thomas Aquinas; music by Lorenzo Perosi
Testimony by:
Roberto Navarrete
Experience in:
Cárcel de Santiago, November 1973 - April 1974
« The political prisoners’ cell block in Santiago Prison was established when they transferred many people from the National Stadium in October or November 1973. »
[...]
« I remember this because I’d never sung a song of this kind before. I was a complete atheist. I also felt an inner reluctance: how were we going to sing religious songs if what we normally sang were revolutionary songs? »
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National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Testimony by:
Eduardo Ojeda
Experience in:
« We arrived at Dawson Island on the afternoon of 11 September. All we knew was that we had been arrested in the morning - nothing else. »
[...]
« First of all, were the military songs we were forced to sing. If prisoners arrived from Pudeto, we had to sing that regiment’s anthem. »
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Far Away (Tamo daleko)

Music piece by:
Djordje Marinkovic. Chilean adaptation of traditional Serbian song, originally composed in 1916.
Testimony by:
Eduardo Ojeda
« At Compingin Camp on the island, Mario started telling us about the Spanish lyrics of the Yugoslav song 'Tamo daleko'. The song was not Croatian: it was Serbian. »
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