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.

A Cocky Fellow (El puntúo)

Music piece by:
Víctor Canto and Luis Cifuentes (lyrics), Roberto Parra (music)
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
Tags:
« This cueca was composed in Chacabuco between November 1973 and February 1974, and was sung by the band Los de Chacabuco, to which Víctor Canto and I belonged. »
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Published on: 17 December 2014

A Finger-Picked Cueca from a Solidary Companion (Cueca punteada de un solidario)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« It is true that the hard experience of torture and prison unified us and at times even generated strong ties of friendship among the prisoners. »
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Published on: 23 September 2015

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. »
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Published on: 28 September 2019

After the War (Después de la guerra)

Music piece by:
Sandro
Testimony by:
Nelly Andrade Alcaino
Experience in:
Regimiento de Ingenieros de Tejas Verdes / Campamento de Prisioneros Nº 2 de la Escuela Militar de Ingenieros, February 1974
Tags:
« 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. »
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Published on: 07 January 2015

Alfonsina and the Sea (Alfonsina y el mar)

Music piece by:
Félix Luna (lyrics) and Ariel Ramírez (music). Popularised by Mercedes Sosa.
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Villa Grimaldi, January 1975
Tags:
« It was not easy to endure being locked up in one of Villa Grimaldi’s miserable cells, which resembled vertical coffins. It was even harder in the high temperatures of the summer months of the Andes foothills in Peñalolén. I was inside one of those cells, blindfolded, my feet and hands in chains. »
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Published on: 18 June 2015

Amalia Rosa

Music piece by:
Tino Carrasco
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
Tags:
« Los de Chacabuco, a band founded and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this Venezuelan folk song, in the style of a joropo, singing it at the weekly prison camp show. I dare say it was one of the favourite songs of the audience, comprised of political prisoners. »
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Published on: 19 February 2015

An Old Love Tune (Tonada del viejo amor)

Music piece by:
Eduardo Falú and Jaime Dávalos
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
Tags:
« The Los de Chacabuco band, created and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this zamba by Eduardo Falú and Jaime Davalos at the camp’s weekly shows. »
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Published on: 19 February 2015

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

Anthem of Puchuncaví (Himno de Puchuncaví)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« A few weeks before being transferred to Valparaíso Jail - where I would face a war council on account of alleged violations of the State Interior Security Law and other military regulations that existed during the state of siege - I wrote a song that I called anthem, because I wanted it to be sung as a group at the end of our cultural events on Fridays. »
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Published on: 22 June 2015

Balderrama

Music piece by:
Manuel José Castilla (lyrics) and Gustavo Leguizamón (music). Popularised by Mercedes Sosa
Testimony by:
Eduardo Ojeda
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1973
Tags:
« We arrived at Camp Compingin on Dawson Island on the afternoon of 11 September. We knew that we had been arrested that morning, and we knew nothing else yet. »
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Published on: 16 October 2015