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 Vargas War (La guerra de los Vargas)

Music piece by:
Celestino Carrasco
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974
Tags:
« This old Venezuelan song, written by an unknown songwriter, and that has had many variations, was performed by Los de Chacabuco in during the camp’s weekly show. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 13 January 2015

The Wall (La muralla)

Music piece by:
Nicolás Guillén (lyrics) and Quilapayún (music)
Testimony by:
Domingo Lizama
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, 1973 - 1978
Tags:
« In prison, there was a guy who played the guitar. He cheered up the afternoons in the cell. We all sang with him. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 22 November 2017

The Woman from Huillinco (La Huillincana)

Music piece by:
Liborio Bórquez Guzmán, popularised by Héctor Pavez
Testimony by:
Rubén Torres Ávila
Experience in:
Cárcel de Menores Blas Cañas / Centro de Reinserción Abierto Manuel Rodríguez, 1976
Tags:
« When I was in the last year of secondary school at the Liceo 8 in Santiago, I suggested to a teacher to do an interview with a prisoner of the youth detention centre Blas Cañas. After the interview, I offered the prison’s governor to take the school’s folk group to present a show to the inmates. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 18 June 2022

They Say the Homeland Is (Dicen que la patria es)

Music piece by:
Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio
Testimony by:
Sergio Reyes Soto
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Isla Dawson, 1973 - 1974
Tags:
« This song, like so many others, was not at all “captive”. The revolutionary songs we sang behind bars imbued us with a sense of freedom. Rolando Alarcón, and later Quilapayún, introduced “Dicen que la patria es” (or “Canción de soldados”) to Chile. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 07 September 2015

Three Indian Songs (Tres canciones indias)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Tags:
« After our transfer from Tres Álamos to Puchuncaví in April 1975, a group of prisoners began toying with the idea of presenting a poetic-theatrical performance about the history of Latin America’s indigenous cultures and their extermination under Iberian domination. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 23 September 2015

Three Mountaineers (Eran tres alpinos)

Music piece by:
Unknown. Traditional Spanish children's song
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
Tags:
« We adapted this song and produced a play based on it. Each of us played one of the characters. We spent a lot of time on this. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 02 January 2016

Three White Lilies (Tres blancos lirios)

Music piece by:
Unknown composer. This song probably relates to European early-years pedagogy.
Testimony by:
Domingo Lizama
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valdivia / Cárcel de Isla Teja, 9 October 1973
Tags:
« They arrested me at my workplace in October 1973 . I was 31 years old and worked as a porter at a logging business in Chumpullo, near Valdivia. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 22 November 2017

To Be Seventeen Again (Volver a los diecisiete)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
Gabriela Durand
Experience in:
Recinto CNI, Cuartel Central Borgoño, 1980
Tags:
« I was 18, and already I had been tortured on the parrilla several times. One day I was with some other comrade prisoners, and as sometimes happened, the guards put some music on. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 01 September 2015

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. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 06 April 2019

To my Little Dove (A mi palomita)

Music piece by:
Teófilo Vargas Candia, popularised in Chile by the group Quilapayún
Testimony by:
David Quintana García
Experience in:
Cárcel de Rancagua, 1974 - 1975
Tags:
« On 10 September 1974, a folk band of Communist Youth activists arrived at the prison of Rancagua. They were arrested to prevent them from participating in the demonstrations and other acts against the dictatorship on 11 September through their role as musicians and activists. »
[Read full testimony]

Published on: 06 April 2019