199 results where found for «Song of a Middling Man»


King Ñaca Ñaca (El rey Ñaca Ñaca)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Renato Alvarado Vidal
Experience in:
« During the last third of the 20th century, the concentration camps of the Chilean dictatorship were characterised by a high grade of organisation among prisoners, as well as the overflowing creativity they applied to all areas of human ingenuity. »
[...]
« The majority of inventions happened in arts and crafts. There were sculptures made from any imaginable materials. There were also drawings, paintings, songs and theatre works. This is hardly surprising with the number of artists and intellectuals in there who encouraged the participation of workers and farmers. »
[Read full testimony]

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. »
[...]
« One of the songs was ‘Brazas a ceñir’ (Trim the Sails), the hymn of the Army. We had to sing loud and spirited, as they said. We also had to sing the anthem ‘Lili Marlene’. Those who didn’t would receive a kick in the butt or a kick of the rifle. »
[Read full testimony]

El bimbó

Music piece by:
Georgie Dann
Testimony by:
César Montiel
Experience in:
Colonia Dignidad, April 1975
« I have a story about 'El bimbó', a song that shaped us in those difficult moments in Colonia Dignidad. It was a song with a tropical rhythm that was very trendy in the 1970s. It was played every day on the radio. Also on Eurovision, in European festivals, and on the TV programme 300 Million. »
[Read full testimony]

The Rack (El costillar)

Music piece by:
unknown. Folk tune from the south of Chile
Testimony by:
Teresa Retamal Silva
« The Cárcel Buen Pastor was a compound run by nuns. They called us political prisoners and were anxious to collect information about us to pass it on to our tormentors. »
[...]
« During mass in the prison chapel, we had to sing songs like ‘Pescador de hombres’ (Fisher of Men) and ‘Alabaré’ (I’ll Praise). The chapel was the meeting point for all female prisoners. »
[Read full testimony]

National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Testimony by:
Joaquín Real Hermosilla
« Some 30 leaders and activists from the Popular Unity parties were arrested in Coyhaique and confined in Las Bandurrias, fifteen kilometres from the city, in a compound used as a veterinary clinic for horses. »
[...]
« Songs such as ‘Venceremos’ (We Shall Be Victorious), ‘El pueblo unido jamás será vencido’ (The People United Will Never Be Defeated), ‘Plegaria a un labrador’ (Prayer to a Labourer), and others were chosen. If a prisoner did not sing or forgot the lyrics, the agents would beat him violently with their fists and feet or with their rifle butts. »
[Read full testimony]

The Dead Man Won't Be Pinned on Me (Ese muerto no lo cargo yo)

Music piece by:
Graciela Arango de Tobón, popularised in Chile by Giolito y su Combo, and by Los Vikings 5
Testimony by:
Joaquín Real Hermosilla
« From that troubled time, I would like to remember an activity that kept us active during the harsh confinement in Las Bandurrias. It is about music, an artistic expression that revealed the talent of several political prisoners and allowed us to endure the confinement for almost six months. »
[...]
« One of the most celebrated songs among the detainees was a cumbia that was adapted to a situation that had us very worried. Let's not forget that we were forced to take care of the cleanliness of the purebred horses in the camp, and the lieutenant had warned that we had to take good care of them because if one died, two detainees would lose their lives. »
[Read full testimony]

The Soldier (El soldado)

Music piece by:
Rafael Alberti (lyrics), Ángel Parra (music)
Testimony by:
Alfonso Padilla Silva
Experience in:
« During Christmas 1973, approximately 660 men and 100 women were held as prisoners in the Concepción Regional Stadium. Concentration camp officials allowed us to celebrate Christmas on the pitch. We were in a corner of the pitch and we used the pole vault pit as a stage. »
[...]
« The experience of prisoners in many concentration camps and jails throughout the country shows that engaging in cultural and artistic activity - whether it be creating and performing theatre, writing poems and stories, as well as essays, and producing crafts or music - was of vital importance in strengthening our personal and collective moral, an attitude of resistance and the sense of unity among political prisoners. »
[Read full testimony]

A Cocky Fellow (El puntúo)

Music piece by:
Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
« This cueca was composed in Chacabuco between November 1973 and February 1974, and was sung by the band Los de Chacabuco, to which Víctor Canto and I belonged. »
[...]
« This cueca was secretly recorded in Chacabuco by Alberto Corvalán Castillo, son of the Communist Party's Secretary-General Luis Corvalán, with help from Guillermo Orrego and Domingo Chávez. Alberto died in Bulgaria from permanent heart damage caused by torture suffered at the National Stadium velodrome. »
[Read full testimony]

Melody by Jorge Peña Hen

Music piece by:
Jorge Peña Hen
Testimony by:
María Fedora Peña
Experience in:
Cárcel de la Serena, October 1973
« 'Look here, Maria Fedora. I’ve brought you a treasure', it was the voice of my brother Juan Cristián as he crossed the doorway of our mother’s house one morning in January 1983. »
[...]
« In the love of music as a spark of life, in the quest for beauty, for justice, for transcendence, and his love of humanity in all its greatness. »
[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]