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.

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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 15 December 2019

Cantata Santa María de Iquique

Music piece by:
Luis Advis
Testimony by:
Alfonso Padilla Silva
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. »
[Read full testimony]

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. »
[Read full testimony]

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: »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 30 September 2019

Shadows (Sombras)

Music piece by:
Rosario Sansores and Carlos Brito Benavides. Popularised in Chile by Lucho Barrios
Testimony by:
Juan Carlos de Luján Peralta Aranguiz
Experience in:
Cárcel de Menores Blas Cañas / Centro de Reinserción Abierto Manuel Rodríguez, September 1974
Tags:
« I arrived in this place as a war prisoner when I was 16 years old. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 30 September 2019

The Brief Space Where You Are Absent (El breve espacio en que no estás)

Music piece by:
Pablo Milanés
Testimony by:
Pedro Mella Contreras
Experience in:
Penitenciaría de Santiago (Centro de Detención Preventiva Santiago Sur), April 1987
Tags:
« In the Penitentiary, we listened to the song 'The Brief Space Where You Are Absent' on the radio stations Aurora and Nuevo Mundo. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 28 September 2019

A Million Friends (Un millón de amigos)

Music piece by:
Roberto Carlos
Testimony by:
Pedro Mella Contreras
Experience in:
Recinto CNI calle Pérez Rosales 764, Valdivia, September 1986
Tags:
« I was arrested when I was 32 years old, along with approximately 23 other people. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 28 September 2019

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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 24 August 2019

Moments (Los momentos)

Music piece by:
Eduardo Gatti
Testimony by:
Scarlett Mathieu
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1974
Tags:
« ‘Moments’ was a song sung by the female comrades whose partners were imprisoned on the other side of Tres Álamos, or were fugitives or disappeared. We all sang it, but it was like their anthem. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 11 June 2019

How We Resemble Each Other (En qué nos parecemos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Popularised by Quilapayún
Testimony by:
Scarlett Mathieu
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, 1974
Tags:
« In Cuatro Álamos, I was profoundly marked by the singing of a current detained-disappeared named Juan Chacón. He sang ‘En qué nos parecemos’, a love song from the Spanish Civil War. It remained engraved in me because that comrade disappeared from Cuatro Álamos. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 02 June 2019