181 results where found for «Song of the Disappeared»


How We Resemble Each Other (En qué nos parecemos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Popularised by Quilapayún
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
« 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. »
[...]
« Whenever the military allowed us to do so, we would sing it in the locker rooms where we slept, and in the grandstands where we spent much of the day. »
[Read full testimony]

The Little Fence (La rejita)

Music piece by:
lyrics: collective creation; music: 'Jálame la pitita' by Luis Abanto Morales (Peruvian polka)
Testimony by:
Lucía Chirinos
Experience in:
« Let’s get going, would say “the lizards”, as we called the policemen, because they dress all in green. »
[...]
« When they stripped me I had an attack of sobbing with hiccups. 'Alright, let her get dressed', said one of them. But another one arrived and said 'no, all the same, she should undress, fuck. If Allende was a degenerate all these are prostitutes'. »
[Read full testimony]

Las mañanitas

Music piece by:
Manuel M. Ponce
Testimony by:
Beatriz Bataszew Contreras
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, December 1974 - May 1976
« To every comrade who had a birthday, we would sing 'Las mañanitas' and we would give them presents. The majority of the female prisoners would come together and sing to you. I spent one birthday in prison. Birthdays were important for everyone because we were alive. Because you have a birthday when you’re alive. »
[Read full testimony]

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. »
[...]
« We arranged it as an instrumental tune, with no lyrics. Ricardo played impressive solos on the quena and the melody was accompanied by the rhythmic movements of the band members, something that was an innovation in our performances. Other instruments in use were guitar and charango. »
[Read full testimony]

Fifth Symphony

Music piece by:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Testimony by:
anonymous
Experience in:
« I like all classical music, particularly Beethoven and Mozart. I listen to it all day on Radio Esperanza, on the bus I drive. The passengers like it. »
[...]
« I think that perhaps there was a subliminal message behind the use of these works. I see it as a form of intimidation, perhaps because of the dark and dense atmosphere that this music can sometimes have. »
[Read full testimony]

Future (Futuro)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« The dream of the political prisoner was to regain freedom. All of us would feel joy when one of us was about to be released from prison, although it far from easy to see a comrade depart. Even less so for those who suspected they would never enjoy that privilege. »
[Read full testimony]

The Clock (El reloj)

Music piece by:
Roberto Cantoral
Testimony by:
Ana María Arenas
« The day I was captured, after the first torture session, I asked for permission to sing a Christmas carol, the name of which I cannot remember. I did it to let one of my captive friends know that I was also at the Venda Sexy. »
[...]
«  Term referring to both the Spanish bolero of the 19th century and the Cuban bolero associated with the trova genre and tradition of itinerant musicians. »
[Read full testimony]

Swan Lake

Music piece by:
Piotr Ilich Tchaikovski
Testimony by:
César Montiel
Experience in:
Colonia Dignidad, April 1975
« In Colonia Dignidad, they played Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky a lot. It was very repetitive. To several comrades, it reminds them of torture. It is not very enjoyable for us to listen to this piece at this life stage, because it transports us back to all the suffering, to what they did to us. »
[...]
« In Colonia Dignidad, we heard voices that were different from those we were used to. They were voices with foreign accents, with a German accent. They were authoritarian voices that told the torturers what to do. It is one of the things that confirm to my partner and me that we were there. »
[Read full testimony]

Sadness (Tristeza)

Music piece by:
Hermanos Núñez
Testimony by:
Germán Larrabe
« A very sad song, often performed by parents of young children. »
[Read full testimony]

Chacabuco’s Soul (Alma de Chacabuco)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November - December 1973
« 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]