181 results where found for «The Crux of the Matter»

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. »
[...]
« I sang this song often because it accurately described our situation. The words plead to soldiers not to fire against their own people. Rarely did this occur in Chile, but we shared our prisoners’ barracks, called Remo, with three members of the Air Force. »
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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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Song of a Middle-Class Man (Canción de un hombre medio)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
Tags:
« In our political discussions, we always spoke disdainfully of the middle class. In the view of the Marxist ideologues in prison, that sector of society supported the dictatorship and it was necessary to reverse that trend. »
[...]
« The daily regime at Valparaíso Jail obliged you to spend most of the day locked in your cell. If I was lucky to have a guitar to keep me company, I could transform that reclusion into fleeting freedom that lasted until the prison guard opened the latch the next morning. Something of the sort must have happened the night I wrote this song. »
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The Little Snail (El caracolito)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
Tags:
« I composed this song for a small children’s party we organised in the visitors’ yard of the Valparaíso Jail. I remember how the children had fun that day and enjoyed the play. That was the first time I put down the guitar so that a prisoner who played the accordion could accompany me. »
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Love (Amor)

Music piece by:
Guillermo Núñez (lyrics) and Sergio Vesely (music)
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« This song is based on a poem Guillermo wrote in the Puchuncaví Prison Camp dedicated to his partner Soledad. Of all the songs I composed as a prisoner, this is the only one where the lyrics are not mine. »
[...]
« I took the sheet of paper with the poem to my cell in one of the adjacent huts. After reading and re-reading it several times, I began to compose this song. »
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A Finger-Picked Cueca from a Solidary Companion (Cueca punteada de un solidario)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« 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. »
[...]
« If the political constellation of the inmates was explosive, life inside a cell could become a psychological torment as bad or worse than the physical torture. Sectarianism and mistrust were common, and there were only a few people with whom one could talk about personal issues, without fearing that the whole party would know about it the next day. Weaknesses were not tolerated. »
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King Ñaca Ñaca (El rey Ñaca Ñaca)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« '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. »
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Song of the Seed and the Plant (Canción de la semilla y la planta)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« The history of the seed and the plant, of which this song forms part, was performed as a play to entertain our audience of children during a family visit to the prison. Imagination had no limits when it came to kindling a small flame of hope in our hearts. »
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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
Tags:
« 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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