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

Priests and Soldiers (Curas y milicos)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« I don’t want to exaggerate but Camp Melinka became not only a factory that produced handicrafts and a performance hall but also a university. »
[...]
« Songs are good for releasing a singer from tempestuous doubts and allowing him to denounce injustice openly, with no qualms. In other words, the way things are painted when we see the world in black and white. Joking aside, the positive medicinal effect of music therapy is undeniable. Beyond the value that a songwriter gives a song or that others may give, I think songwriting was a discovery that helped me, above all, to give meaning to my life as a prisoner. »
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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. »
[...]
« At our Friday evening performances, a guitar-playing jester acted as director and he narrated the gory tale of the mean king. I wrote this song for him to sing at the beginning of the narrative. "King Ñaca Ñaca" is one of three children’s songs I composed while in prison. »
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National Anthem of Chile

Music piece by:
Eusebio Lillo and Ramón Carnicer
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« The Puchuncaví Prisoners Camp had a daily routine similar to that of military regiments. In a ridiculous ceremony, the flag was raised every morning at dawn and then it was taken down at nightfall. »
[...]
« But, looking at it with different eyes, it also was amusing, because it gave us another chance to sing at the top of our voices the line that goes: “Que o la tumba serás de los libres, o el asilo contra la opresión” (May you be the grave of the free or the refuge from oppression). »
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The Prisoner of Til Til (El cautivo de Til Til)

Music piece by:
Patricio Manns
Testimony by:
Renato Alvarado Vidal
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1975
Tags:
« I arrived at Tres Álamos on the eve of the departure for Mexico with 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. »
[...]
« Around that time one of the guys from MIR, who had taken part in the famous televised press conference calling on everyone to lay down their arms, was held in a neighbouring cell with his girlfriend. This young woman had the most beautiful voice. Every evening, at sunset, she would sing, and always a different song, for all the rest of us prisoners. We were never able to see her, yet we will remember her forever. »
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What Will the Holy Father Say (Qué dirá el Santo Padre)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
Tags:
« We sang songs that were popular at the time. We’d sing 'What will the Holy Father say', especially the part that says 'What will the Holy Father who lives in Rome say ... they are slitting the throat of his dove...' quite often, for example when someone was taken off to Regimiento Arica, which was a torture centre. »
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The Scholar (El letrado)

Music piece by:
Quelentaro (Gastón and Eduardo Guzmán)
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 – February 1974
Tags:
« From the first time I heard it, I was impressed by the way the duo Quelentaro sang this song, which was also written by them. When I sang it, I always tried to sing it in their style. I never sang it on stage, only for myself or for small groups of friends strumming guitars together. »
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To Be Seventeen Again (Volver a los diecisiete)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
David Quintana García
Experience in:
Intendencia de Rancagua, 1973
Tags:
« I spent 45 days in the torture centre of Intendencia de Rancagua. Previously, I was detained with my brothers in the headquarters of the Cuartel de Investigaciones de Rancagua. »
[...]
«  (1917-1967) Chilean singer-songwriter and graphic artist who pioneered the revival of Latin American folk music in the 1950s. »
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I Come Back (Vuelvo)

Music piece by:
Patricio Manns (lyrics) and Horacio Salinas (music)
Testimony by:
Fernando Aravena
Experience in:
Cárcel de Santiago, 1989
Tags:
« During our mateadas in the Prison of Santiago, we always talked about the song ‘Vuelvo’ (I Come Back). It gave you the hope of returning to the fight. The prison was only something temporary. »
[...]
«  (1943-) Catalan singer-songwriter. One of the most important figures of popular music in Catalan and Spanish languages. »
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The Clock (El reloj)

Music piece by:
Roberto Cantoral
Testimony by:
Ana María Arenas
Experience in:
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. »
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King Ñaca Ñaca (El rey Ñaca Ñaca)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Renato Alvarado Vidal
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, May - October 1975
Tags:
« 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. »
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