Testimonies

Testimonies are sorted by publication date, showing the newest first.
Click on to sort by witness, to sort alphabetically by musical piece title, or to sort by publication date.

Story of the Chair (Historia de la silla)

Music piece by:
Silvio Rodríguez
Testimony by:
Eduardo Andrés Arancibia Ortiz
Experience in:
Cárcel de Santiago, 1990
Tags:
« This was one of the songs Silvio Rodríguez sang to us the day he visited the political prisoners in Santiago’s Public Jail in 1990. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 05 January 2015

Futuristic Anthem (Himno futurista)

Music piece by:
unknown
Testimony by:
Patricio Polanco
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros de Pisagua, November 1973
Tags:
« 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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 05 January 2015

From the Poplars I have Come, Mother (De los álamos vengo, madre)

Music piece by:
Juan Vásquez
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 31 December 2014

Candombe for José (Candombe para José)

Music piece by:
Roberto Ternán
Testimony by:
Sara De Witt
Experience in:
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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 29 December 2014

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:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 31 December 1975
Tags:
« 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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 29 December 2014

How We Resemble Each Other (En qué nos parecemos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Popularised by Quilapayún
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
Tags:
« During the 1960s, the group Quilapayún popularised this old Spanish song in Chile. Víctor Canto and I performed it as a duet in Santiago’s National Stadium, which had been converted into a concentration, torture and extermination camp. »
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Published on: 23 December 2014

To Sing by Improvising (Pa’ cantar de un improviso)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Claudio Durán Pardo
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, June 1975
Tags:
« We made a Venezuelan cuatro from a large plank of wood attached to one of the walls of the "ranch" where we ate. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 23 December 2014

Answer Me

Music piece by:
Fred Rauch (lyrics) and Gerhard Winkler (music). English lyrics by Carl Sigman. Recorded by Frankie Laine.
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973
Tags:
« I sang this song, as a soloist, in the dressing rooms of the National Stadium. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 23 December 2014

Dreams of my Imprisonment (Sueños de mi encierro)

Music piece by:
Mario Patricio Cordero Cedraschi
Testimony by:
Mario Patricio Cordero Cedraschi
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, Winter of 1975
Tags:
« I’d spent two years in prison and there was no end in sight for my time in jail. I observed during visiting hours that many prisoners had children, a wife, family. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 23 December 2014

Partisan Anthem (Himno guerrillero)

Music piece by:
anonymous Russian melody. During the Russian Revolution, several lyrics with different ideological content circulated. This version is based on 'Makhnovtchina', attributed to Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary.
Testimony by:
Julio Laks Feller
Experience in:
Recinto DINA, José Domingo Cañas Nº 1367, September 1974
Tags:
« In late September 1974, the Soviet partisan’s song was intoned softly but with an awe-inspiring force in the José Domingo Cañas torture centre. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 19 December 2014