187 results where found for «Today I Sing Just for the Sake of Singing»


Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Testimony by:
Amelia Negrón
« We were in Pavilion 1. One of us came up with the idea, I can’t remember who. There were so many of us and we spent the day inventing and creating things! »
[...]
« Then we see the guys running out with tables, benches, seats, and sitting down to see us play. They tuned charangos, bombos and guitars and began singing, singing to us at the top of their voices. Over a hundred prisoners singing in unison. It was stirring. »
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Melody by Jorge Peña Hen

Music piece by:
Jorge Peña Hen
Testimony by:
Eliseo González
Experience in:
Cárcel de la Serena, October 1973
« Jorge Peña Hen was in solitary confinement that day. I don’t know how, but someone brought him matches. With his saliva, he made ink from the phosphorus tips, which he then used to write a score of music on a scrap of paper. »
[...]
« They had been arrested while posing for photos for the cover of their new record. The place where they were arrested was adjacent to the petroleum tanks in the port district, near the ships in Guayacán or La Herradura Bay. »
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Today Was Visitors’ Day (Hoy fue día de visitas)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« Visitors’ day was an exceptional day that broke the monotonous routine of all the other days of the week. »
[...]
« Today in the shadow of the wall »
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You Will Pay (The Cigarette Smoke) (Pagarás [El humo del cigarrillo])

Music piece by:
Manuel Mantilla
Testimony by:
Fernando Aravena
Experience in:
« The political prisoners were isolated but when they made us go down to the courtyard, we were with the common prisoners. »
[...]
« For the political prisoners, singing allowed us to harbour hope and a sense of fraternity between us, and many more things. »
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Reflections (Reflexiones)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
« Prison forced me to think quite a lot about my political past and my total commitment to an ideological cause, and its consequences. »
[...]
« Today the man sings to the woman »
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After the War (Después de la guerra)

Music piece by:
Sandro
Testimony by:
Nelly Andrade Alcaino
« The military officials in charge of the Tejas Verdes camp made us sing. They gave us just one day to select the songs and rehearse. »
[...]
« meanwhile the gypsies keep singing that melody »
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National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Testimony by:
Boris Chornik Aberbuch
« The Puchuncaví detention camp’s daily routine included mandatory participation in the ceremonies of raising and taking down the Chilean flag on the flagpole at the entrance to the camp. »
[...]
« The process began by assembling the prisoners. On the camp’s central square, the commander and some of the soldiers would take roll call. Afterwards, we were marched to the camp entrance, singing military songs such as 'Lili Marlene' in unison (yes, indeed, the same one sung by the Nazi armies, but with the lyrics translated into Spanish). »
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Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Testimony by:
Sara De Witt
Experience in:
« 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. »
[...]
« The departing comrades were moved to tears, but they had to go. We kept singing to accompany them with our voices as they regained their freedom. »
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Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría)

Music piece by:
original by Friedrich von Schiller (lyrics) and Ludwig van Beethoven (music). Free version in Spanish by Amado Regueiro Rodríguez, aka Orbe (lyrics) y Waldo de los Ríos (music), popularised in Chile by Miguel Ríos.
Testimony by:
Amelia Negrón
Experience in:
« Preparations for that Wednesday night became more intense. It would be a different night. We women prisoners had secretly organised ourselves, but more importantly, we had also coordinated with the male prisoners. »
[...]
« And the director counted to four and then, all of a sudden, we burst into song in unison. The voices of the nearly 120 women political prisoners in Tres Álamos concentration camp began singing 'Ode to Joy' as loudly as we could, towards the sky. »
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Futuristic Anthem (Himno futurista)

Music piece by:
unknown
Testimony by:
Patricio Polanco
Experience in:
« In 1973 and 1974, Pisagua was characterised by the harsh and cruel treatment of political prisoners. Singing was mandatory for prisoners, who were guarded by Army platoons, and it was also a means to avoid beatings and collective mistreatment. »
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