181 results where found for «Song of the Disappeared»


Casida of the Dark Pigeons (Casida de las palomas oscuras)

Music piece by:
Federico García Lorca (words), Paco Ibáñez (music)
Testimony by:
Luis Alfredo Muñoz González
Experience in:
« According to scientists, memory and music processing are situated in a deep, ancestral part of the brain, where it is zealously guarded. »
[...]
« “No, they won’t kill you”, I told her. “That will be me, not you”. I told her this almost without thinking. After a long silence, La Jovencita said: “I feel very sad and very lonely. Would you sing to me … that song you sang the other night, the one about the doves?”. She was referring to 'Casida de las Palomas Oscuras', a poem by García Lorca with music by Paco Ibañez. »
[Read full testimony]

The Paper Boat (El barco de papel)

Music piece by:
Julio Numhauser, popularised by the band Amerindios
Testimony by:
Carlos Muñoz
Experience in:
« One of the most important songs in the detention centres. Impossible to count how many times we sang it. Every time someone was released from a detention camp or there was credible information that a person would be sent into exile, a gigantic chorus would sing this song, in a powerful unison. No one could possibly forget it. Especially significant at Tres Álamos, as this was the “exit” camp. »
[Read full testimony]

Creole Mass – Gloria (Misa criolla - Gloria)

Music piece by:
Ariel Ramírez
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
« As far as I remember (and there may be other versions), Los de Chacabuco band was founded by Ángel Parra in response to a request by the Army chaplain Varela, who asked for assistance for the Mass he celebrated for both prisoners and soldiers. »
[...]
« We also performed other songs, usually based on Latin American folklore, which we played in the weekly shows authorised by the military. »
[Read full testimony]

For the Guy Who's Leaving

Music piece by:
Alfredo Zitarrosa
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – April 1974
« Marcelo Concha Bascuñán, a member of the Los de Chacabuco band, was a young man of great charisma and personal skills. He had been a swimming champion and was an outstanding guitarist and singer. »
[...]
« In the Chacabuco concentration camp, he was renowned for his charm, excellent mood and spirit of collaboration. He taught songs to many of his colleagues, including myself, although I should note that I could never pluck the guitar as well as him. »
[Read full testimony]

Love Song (Canción de amor)

Music piece by:
Ángel Parra
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November – December 1973
« Ángel Parra organised and directed the band Los de Chacabuco until his release from prison. Angel only conducted the group, and never sang or played an instrument. The exception was his farewell concert, which was the only time he sang at Chacabuco. »
[...]
« One of the songs he performed on that occasion was this one, dedicated to his wife. When Angel was released, Ernesto Parra became the group’s conductor. »
[Read full testimony]

Today I Sing for the Sake of Singing (Hoy canto por cantar)

Music piece by:
Nydia Caro and Riccardo Ceratto
Testimony by:
Beatriz Bataszew Contreras
Experience in:
« I have never been a great music listener. Nevertheless, before the coup I used to listen to Nueva Canción, especially Quilapayún and Rolando Alarcón. I also liked cumbias, to fool around. We would dance and have fun. »
[...]
«  ‘New Song’, both a social and musical movement that began in 1960s Chile and spread to other Spanish-speaking countries. »
[Read full testimony]

Free (Libre)

Music piece by:
José Luis Armenteros and Pablo Herrero, popularised by Nino Bravo.
Testimony by:
anonymous
Experience in:
« While waiting in the grandstands to be interrogated for the first, second or more times, we would sing 'Free' to those who were being lined up to be released. 'Free' was a catharsis, a mixture of joy for those who were going and hope for those of us left behind. Unfortunately, the dictatorship and its civil and military henchmen employed the song for their own propaganda. »
[Read full testimony]

Tacit Song (Canción tácita)

Music piece by:
All the women present at that moment in Chacabuco
Testimony by:
Mónica García Cuadra
Experience in:
« 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. I am an only child and in my young life, he is my sole reference point and, in essence, my image of masculinity. »
[...]
« The song that finally sealed that profound reunion was a “tacit song” written by all the comrades present at that moment, while the men held their fists high, eyes gazing straight ahead, firm, expectant, and trembling behind the fence, observing how their daughters, wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers - their women- took flight with their own fists held high, wails suppressed in their throats. »
[Read full testimony]

The Vargas War (La guerra de los Vargas)

Music piece by:
Celestino Carrasco
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« This old Venezuelan song, written by an unknown songwriter, and that has had many variations, was performed by Los de Chacabuco in during the camp’s weekly show. »
[Read full testimony]

The Letter (La carta)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Paicavi Painemal
Experience in:
« We set up a band with a group of fellow prisoners. They were young, university students. One of them had a guitar. »
[...]
« 'The Letter' by Violeta Parra was one of the songs that we sang in the group. It touched us enormously. It reminded us of our relatives outside. »
[Read full testimony]