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:
Luis Madariaga
Experience in:
Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1974 - 1976

In prison, we would sing the 'Ode to Joy' when a comrade was released or sent to exile.

It was a powerful source of strength, solidarity and ironclad brotherhood, created during those long months in captivity, seeking an outlet for our hearts. I believe that that experience left a mark on all of us.

During my time at Valparaíso Prison, I had the chance to see the singer Julio Iglesias come to the facility. He said something stupid: 'I am a prisoner too, I live on an aeroplane'.

The reaction of the political prisoners watching from the third gallery of that hellish prison was total silence. The word had spread asking that no one should applaud whatever Iglesias had to say.

This led Iglesias to later ask the man who had brought him to this place who those guys were up on the Prison’s third gallery, who never once applauded him and kept quiet.

This had been quite noticeable because there were many of us up there surrounding the gallery's handrails. It was our way of expressing our disapproval for this man who was on good terms with Chile’s criminal dictatorship. Then Iglesias left.


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Published on: 05 August 2016

Listen, brother
to the song of joy
the joyful song that awaits
a new day.

Come, sing, dream, singing
live singing the new sun
under which men
will once again be brothers.

If in your path only sadness exists
and the bitter cry
of total solitude
come, sing, dream, singing
live dreaming the new sun
under which men
will once again be brothers.

If you don’t find joy
in this land
search for it, brother
beyond the stars.

Come, sing, dream, singing
live dreaming the new sun
under which men
Once again will be brothers.




Related testimonies:

  • Lament for the Death of Augusto the Dog (Lamento a la muerte del perro Augusto)  Sergio Vesely, Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975

    Augusto the dog (not to be confused with the journalist Augusto Olivares, affectionately nicknamed 'Augusto the Dog', who was murdered in the Presidential Palace on 11 September 1973), was the mascot of the political prisoners held at the Ritoque concentration camp, and accompanied his master when the military junta decided to close that prison and transfer the inmates to the neighbouring Puchuncaví concentration camp.

  • Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría)  Luis Madariaga, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1974 - 1976

    In prison, we would sing the 'Ode to Joy' when a comrade was released or sent to exile.

  • Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría)  Amelia Negrón, Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 31 December 1975

    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.

  • Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría)  Renato Alvarado Vidal, Campamento de Prisioneros Cuatro Álamos, 1975

    Once upon a time, there was a good little wolf. … No. That’s another story.

  • Today Was Visitors’ Day (Hoy fue día de visitas)  Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976

    Visitors’ day was an exceptional day that broke the monotonous routine of all the other days of the week.

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