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

This cuecaMusic genre (usually for voice and accompaniment) and partner dance, found in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. 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.

"Los de Chacabuco" was founded and directed by Ángel Parra. Its members were: Víctor Canto, Ángel Cereceda Parra (Ángel Parra), Luis Cifuentes, Marcelo Concha, Luis Corvalán Márquez, Antonio González, Manuel Ipinza, Ernesto Parra, Julio Vega and Ricardo Yocelewski.

This cueca was secretly recorded in Chacabuco by Alberto Corvalán Castillo, son of the Communist PartyFounded in Chile in 1912 by Luis Emilio Recabarren as Partido Obrero Socialista and renamed as Partido Comunista in 1922.'s Secretary-General Luis Corvalán, with help from Guillermo Orrego and Domingo Chávez. Alberto died in Bulgaria from permanent heart damage caused by torture suffered at the National Stadium velodrome.

The recording was made from underneath a wooden stage built by the prisoners. The cassette recorder was provided by a guard in the concentration camp. The cassette tape was taken from the camp by Ángel Parra and was initially released on vinyl in Italy between 1974 and 1975. Ángel Parra also included this cueca in his album Pisagua + Chacabuco, published in Chile in 2003.

The lyrics may be difficult to understand since they partly refer to concentration camp folklore, but also because they mock the soldiers subtly enough for them not to notice.

Victims remembered in this testimony:

Tags:

Published on: 17 December 2014

Clandestine recording made by political prisoners in Chacabuco in 1974.

I came to Chacabuco
cuz I’m such a good person
that's good, said my old man
so you get to see the area
So I came to Chacabuco.

On the airplane, I came
like a puppet
although they didn’t serve me
a dry Martini.

A dry Martini, oh yes
not that I was about to escape
but they wouldn’t let me
climb on the tankThere was a tank in the camp. On several occasions, the military placed it pointing its cannon at the prisoners while they were having lunch..

Climb on the tank, oh yes,
don’t know what’s going on,
they say I’m hauling with me
the entire plazaThe plaza was located outside the fenced perimeter where the prisoners were kept. They would be taken there by the military to look for wood to make fire as to heat water or cook. Other useful materials and implements were also transported from the square..

The entire plaza, oh yes
it shouldn’t surprise you
let's try a bit harder
with the parcelsNot all prisoners received parcels (clothing and food) from their families, so they were highly coveted..

With the parcels, oh yes
I’m looking my best for the mayor
at home I’ve already got
almost ten bucketsIn the camp, there were few buckets, but these were very useful so all prisoners longed to have one in their homes. Obviously, nobody could have ten buckets..

Almost ten buckets, oh yes
who would have said it
I’ve already got perks
at the supplies storeThe prisoners organised, with the authorisation of the military, a pulpería, that is a shop where some essential items could be sold. This was possible because the receipt of money transfers in the camp was authorised. The military themselves made purchases in Antofagasta and transported them to the camp, thus obtaining a profit..

At the supplies store, oh yes
don’t get scared of me
I’ve already made friends
with the commander.

With the commander, oh yes
don’t you get too excited
because I'm one of the judges
on the committeesLegal-military teams that would go to the camp to take statements from some prisoners as part of the trials brought by the dictatorship. In some cases, prisoners were removed from the camp and interrogated in other centres..

Let's get cracking, I'm getting plump
I'm with the kitchen crewGroup of prisoners who worked alongside the military in food preparation. Ranch members were supposed to have the privilege of greater access to food than the average prisoners. now.



Related testimonies:

  • Blue Eyes (Ojos azules)  Luis Cifuentes Seves, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, January – February 1974

    This is the last track on the cassette recorded by the band Los de Chacabuco in the concentration camp; it was digitised in 2015.

  • The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)  Servando Becerra Poblete, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, 9 November 1973 - 10 November 1974

    I recited this poem in the National Stadium. I continued to do so in the Chacabuco prison camp, earning the nickname of “Venancio” from my fellow prisoners.

  • The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)  Servando Becerra Poblete, Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, 9 November 1973 - 10 November 1974

    I recited this poem in the National Stadium. I continued to do so in the Chacabuco prison camp, earning the nickname of “Venancio” from my fellow prisoners.

  • How We Resemble Each Other (En qué nos parecemos)  Luis Cifuentes Seves, Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, September - November 1973

    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.

  • Chacabuco’s Soul (Alma de Chacabuco)  Luis Cifuentes Seves, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November - December 1973

    This is the original version of a composition by Ángel Parra at Chacabuco, as secretly recorded at the prison camp during his farewell concert. The composer’s voice can be heard.

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