Testimonies

Testimonies are sorted by publication date, showing the newest first.
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Under my Skin (A flor de piel)

Music piece by:
Julio Iglesias
Testimony by:
César Montiel
Experience in:
Colonia Dignidad, April 1975
Tags:
« At the beginning of the 1970s, I met Carmen, my comrade, my love, at the Juventudes Comunistas of Talca. We had the life of young idealists, sharing our everyday, living this revolutionary process so beautifully. »
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Published on: 18 June 2022

Swan Lake (El lago de los cisnes)

Music piece by:
Piotr Ilich Tchaikovski
Testimony by:
César Montiel
Experience in:
Colonia Dignidad, April 1975
Tags:
« In Colonia Dignidad, they played Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky a lot. It was very repetitive. To several comrades, it reminds them of torture. It is not very enjoyable for us to listen to this piece at this life stage, because it transports us back to all the suffering, to what they did to us. »
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Published on: 18 June 2022

Trim the Sails (Brazas a ceñir)

Music piece by:
Luis Mella Toro
Testimony by:
César Montiel
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« The Navy sailors made us sing every day, when we got up very early to raise the flag. We, as the squaddies, had to sing military songs, their songs. »
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Published on: 18 June 2022

Swan Lake (El lago de los cisnes)

Music piece by:
Piotr Ilich Tchaikovski
Testimony by:
Carmen Espinoza Alegría
Experience in:
Colonia Dignidad, April 1975
Tags:
« When we arrived at Colonia Dignidad, they threw us into a shed. I despaired, took off my hood and a guard gave me a slap so hard that I fell to the ground. This was my arrival at the Colonia. »
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Published on: 18 June 2022

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. »
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Published on: 26 April 2020

Lili Marlene

Music piece by:
Hans Leip
Testimony by:
Renato Alvarado Vidal
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, May - Octobre 1975
Tags:
« During the daily flag-lowering ritual in the camp Melinka, the prisoners first had to get into formation in the courtyard and then walk in line to the location of the mast. »
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Published on: 26 April 2020

The Dance of Those Left Behind (El baile de los que sobran)

Music piece by:
Los Prisioneros
Testimony by:
Eduardo Andrés Arancibia Ortiz
Experience in:
Cárcel de Santiago, 1986
Tags:
« I learnt about Los Prisioneros through the 'Hecho en Chile' programme on Radio Galaxia, presented by Sergio 'Pirincho' Cárcamo. Their music became our trench and musical poetry, like all other forms of struggles against dictatorship. »
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Published on: 15 December 2019

Cantata Santa María de Iquique

Music piece by:
Luis Advis
Testimony by:
Alfonso Padilla
Experience in:
Campamento Prisioneros Estadio Regional, 1975
Tags:
« Between March 1974 and July 1975, I had the opportunity to arrange about 200 songs and direct the production of the Cantata de Santa María de Iquique. In truth, the prison was my conservatoire. That’s where I learnt the basics of the profession of musician. »
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Published on: 04 December 2019

The Letter (La carta)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Pedro Mella Contreras
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, 1987
Tags:
« In January 1987, when solitary confinement was lifted and we were able to receive visitors, a brother who lived in Santiago travelled to see me. »
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Published on: 30 September 2019

The Apparition (El aparecido)

Music piece by:
Víctor Jara
Testimony by:
Pedro Mella Contreras
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, 1988-1989
Tags:
« When they took me out to physiotherapy treatment, I sang some verses of the song ‘The Apparition’ loudly: »
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Published on: 30 September 2019