199 results where found for «The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)»

The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)

Author:
Tito Fernández
Testimony by:
Servando Becerra Poblete
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, 9 November 1973 - 10 November 1974
Tags:
« I recited this poem in the National Stadium. I continued to do so in the Chacabuco prison camp, earning the nickname of “Venancio” from my fellow prisoners. »
[...]
« The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero) »
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The Prisoner of Til Til (El cautivo de Til Til)

Author:
Patricio Manns
Testimony by:
Renato Alvarado
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1975
Tags:
« I arrived at Tres Álamos on the eve of the departure for Mexico of a large group of prisoners. The group included Dr. Ipinza, who before leaving entrusted me with the job of physician, the medicine donated by the Red Cross, and his position in the Council of Elders. At 28 years of age, I found this title odd but also understandable, in light of the social esteem with which all tribes regard their healers. This tale has its origins there, as does a famous doctors’ strike, but that is another story. »
[...]
« The fact of the matter is that a while later we learned that an International Red Cross committee would visit our pavilion. The prisoners of the adjoining pavilion, who were about to leave for Mexico and would not be visited by the Red Cross, were keen to ensure that the visiting committee saw a list of the names of people who had disappeared by then. So they wrote the names on a piece of paper which they rolled up and pushed through a minuscule hole in the wall that separated both pavilions, near the back of the prison yard, next to the wash basins. »
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We Shall Overcome

Author:
Attributed to Charles Albert Tindley
Testimony by:
Alfonso Padilla Silva
Place & date:
Cárcel de Concepción / Cárcel El Manzano, December 1974
Tags:
« When the concentration camp that operated for nearly five months at the Regional Stadium of Concepción was closed in early February 1974, hundreds of political prisoners were transferred to the Concepción Prison, a wing of which was turned into a concentration camp. On 19 February of that year, a trial process began before a military tribunal and seven or eight comrades including myself were transferred to the prison. »
[...]
« On that occasion, our newly formed band (without a name) performed the following programme: "Soy del pueblo" (I am of the People) by Carlos Puebla; "El aparecido" (The Appeared) by Víctor Jara; "Los pueblos americanos" (The American Peoples) by Violeta Parra; "Vamos a Serchil" (Let's go to Serchil) by the Guatemalan Leopoldo Ramírez; "Del Norte vengo, Maruca" (I Come from the North, Maruca) by Ángel Parra (although some people say it was written by his mother); "Villancico nortino" (Northern Christmas Carol), a traditional song; and finally 'We Shall Overcome', written between 1950 and 1960 in the United States within the context of the Afro-American civil rights movement. In the prison we were acquainted with Joan Baez's version. We sang it in English and, of course, we explained its content and meaning. »
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Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Author:
Roberto Ternán
Testimony by:
Sara De Witt
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, September 1976
Tags:
« We were in Tres Álamos barracks in September 1976. I don’t recall how many of us women were imprisoned there. I believe there were close to a hundred of us. »
[...]
« I tried to raise my voice to the infinite space way beyond the edge of the barrack roof that reminded me of my limitations. Amelia put her arm around my shoulder. I did the same to Tuca and all of us embraced each other, singing from the tabletop. We were so close together, and a sense of sisterhood enveloped us. I was not alone; I was with those women who were my sisters. We had survived so much brutality and suffering. I sang with all my might on top of the table with those dear women: Amelia, Tuca, Anita, Anita María, Elena, Gabriela, Nieves, Cristina, Fidelia, Cecilia and another friend whose name I have forgotten. »
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King Ñaca Ñaca (El rey Ñaca Ñaca)

Author:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Place & date:
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 crossed our minds. That may be why it seemed the ideal name to give to the papier 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. But Ñaca-Ñaca’s important role was more than that. The paper model was borrowed to perform the 'star role' in one of the cultural events we customarily staged every Friday. Events which, it should be pointed out, were attended only by captives and armed guards. It was a “Prisoners’ Show”, full of fantasy. »
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Little Doctors (Doctorcitos)

Author:
Unknown. Folk tune from the Andes highlands
Testimony by:
Guillermo Orrego Valdebenito
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, 1974
Tags:
« In 1974 - I don’t quite remember the month - the Chacabuco Olympics were held. The opening ceremony consisted of symbolically carrying the Olympic torch through the concentration camp. »
[...]
« The march was accompanied by the sounds of the quena played by Ricardo Yocelevsky, a former member of the group Los Curacas. I remember the song as a taquirari from Los Chaskas, a Bolivian group that performed at the Viña del Mar Festival on one occasion. »
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The Clock (El reloj)

Author:
Roberto Cantoral
Testimony by:
Ana María Arenas
Place & date:
Calle Irán Nº 3037 / Venda Sexy / La Discotheque, December 1974
Tags:
« 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. »
[...]
« Before being imprisoned, my friend and I rehearsed this Christmas carol in the Coro Mozart, where we sang. This choir was an amalgamation of members of the Coro de Cámara of the Universities of Chile, the Católica and the Técnica del Estado. »
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Lament for the Death of Augusto the Dog (Lamento a la muerte del perro Augusto)

Author:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« Augusto the dog (not to be confused with the journalist Augusto Olivares, affectionately nicknamed "Augusto the Dog", who was murdered in the Presidential Palace on 11 September 1973), was the mascot of the political prisoners held at the Ritoque concentration camp, and accompanied his master when the military junta decided to close that prison and transfer the inmates to the neighbouring Puchuncaví concentration camp. »
[...]
« Lament for the Death of Augusto the Dog (Lamento a la muerte del perro Augusto) »
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From the Poplars I have Come, Mother (De los álamos vengo, madre)

Author:
Juan Vásquez
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
Tags:
« Los de Chacabuco, a band created and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this traditional Spanish song at the Chacabuco concentration camp. »
[...]
« From the Poplars I have Come, Mother (De los álamos vengo, madre) »
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The Valley Swallow (La golondrina del valle)

Author:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Place & date:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« One of the most amazing experiences I had during my six months in the Puchuncaví Prison Camp was to see the metamorphosis of the barbed wire fence into a huge musical score. This happened when a flock of swallows made a surprise visit and hundreds of them perched at different heights on the stiff barbed wire. It was the image that inspired this song. »
[...]
« The Valley Swallow (La golondrina del valle) »
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