181 results where found for «Story of the Chair»

The Paper Boat (El barco de papel)

Music piece by:
Julio Numhauser, popularised by the band Amerindios
Testimony by:
José Selín Carrasco Vargas
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1976
Tags:
« While we were imprisoned in Melinka, this song was sung every time that one of us was released. I remember a fellow prisoner nicknamed Bigote Molina (Moustache Molina) singing the song when we were going to Tres Álamos, from where we would be released a few days later. »
[...]
« We would change the lyrics of the song to “se va, se va, se va a la libertad” ("going away, going away, going away to freedom"). »
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Coplas of El Yopo (Coplas de El Yopo)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Traditional Venezuelan song. Popularised in Chile by Isabel and Ángel Parra
Testimony by:
Carlos Muñoz
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1975 - 1976
Tags:
« A comrade whose last name was Saavedra (if I recall correctly) sung this song passionately. This song earned him the nickname of ‘El Yopo’ (also ‘Chopo’), as is usual in popular culture. »
[...]
« The song was well-known in Chile, as sung by Ángel and Isabel Parra, who called it 'Décimas del folklore venezolano' or 'Coplas Venezolanas'. It was one of the most popular songs in prison and was performed at many of our musical events. It was also sung at Ritoque and Puchuncaví. »
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The Wall (La muralla)

Music piece by:
Nicolás Guillén (lyrics) and Quilapayún (music)
Testimony by:
Domingo Lizama
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, 1973 - 1978
Tags:
« In prison, there was a guy who played the guitar. He cheered up the afternoons in the cell. We all sang with him. »
[...]
« We sang them when we already knew that they would not kill us, after a visit from a delegation of the United Nations. »
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Fifth Symphony

Music piece by:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Testimony by:
anonymous
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« 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. »
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Luchín

Music piece by:
Víctor Jara
Testimony by:
anonymous
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« They said that once you got to the prison of Teja Island, you were safe. »
[...]
«  Famous musicians of the Nueva Canción movement. »
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Sinner, come to sweet Jesus (Pecador, ven al dulce Jesús)

Music piece by:
Unknown
Testimony by:
anonymous
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, September 1973
Tags:
« One time, a group of male and female evangelicals came to Teja Island to preach. They were taken to the visitors’ yard. »
[...]
« Something very funny happened that stayed with me for the rest of my life. After the music finished one of the evangelicals asked: 'Who wants to receive Jesus Christ as their saviour?' One prisoner replied: 'but what if they put us in prison again?' »
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You Can Blame Me (Échame a mí la culpa)

Music piece by:
José Ángel Espinoza, aka Ferrusquillo
Testimony by:
Marcia Scantlebury
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, June 1975
Tags:
« Mexican songs - and this one in particular - have always moved me. When I shared a cell with Miriam Silva, a young woman who belonged to the Communist Youth, arrested by the DINA when she was handing out leaflets on the street, we killed time in an organised fashion to keep ourselves from getting depressed and overcome by anxiety due to an unknown fate. »
[...]
« Since Miriam also liked music, one of the activities we planned was to spend the afternoons singing. On a piece of toilet paper I copied down the words to the song 'Échame a mí la culpa', so she could learn it and then we could sing it together. »
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To Be Seventeen Again (Volver a los diecisiete)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Gabriela Durand
Experience in:
Recinto CNI, Cuartel Central Borgoño, 1980
Tags:
« I was 18, and already I had been tortured on the parrilla several times. One day I was with some other comrade prisoners, and as sometimes happened, the guards put some music on. »
[...]
« The guys used to put the radio on, playing popular tunes of the time. For us young people, the songs were a bit corny, but still, we enjoyed them, they were a relief. We always kept absolute silence. »
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They Say the Homeland Is (Dicen que la patria es)

Music piece by:
Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio
Testimony by:
Sergio Reyes Soto
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1973 - 1974
Tags:
« This song, like so many others, was not at all “captive”. The revolutionary songs we sang behind bars imbued us with a sense of freedom. Rolando Alarcón, and later Quilapayún, introduced “Dicen que la patria es” (or “Canción de soldados”) to Chile. »
[...]
«  (1929-1973) Chilean singer-songwriter and poet of the Nueva Canción and Neofolklore movements. »
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Future (Futuro)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
Tags:
« 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. »
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