Cantos Cautivos
The Letter (La carta)
- Music piece by:Violeta Parra
- Testimony by:Paicavi Painemal
- Experience in:Cárcel de Temuco, 1985
We set up a band with a group of fellow prisoners. They were young, university students. One of them had a guitar.
From what I remember, he was a music teacher and they allowed him to keep the instrument. In the band, we also played the bomboLarge bass drums used in various regions in Latin America. and the charangoA small Andean plucked string instrument traditionally made from an armadillo shell or wood.. I accompanied by singing.
The band had 22 members, all trustworthy people, left-wing. Apart from local prisoners, there were also people from Santiago, Puerto Varas, Talcahuano and Valdivia.
The gendarmes forbade us to sing and sometimes wanted to take the instruments. But we controlled the situation and sang anyway. We were in charge there.
We went to any of the prison wings and presented a show. They would look at us with a lot of respect because they knew that we were political prisoners. We had our followers.
The normal prisoners built guitars, violins and charangos in the workshops of the prison.
'The Letter' by Violeta Parra was one of the songs that we sang in the group. It touched us enormously. It reminded us of our relatives outside.
We also sang songs by Victor Jara ('Luchín'), Patricio Manns ('Arriba en la cordillera'),
Sometimes evangelicals would come to say a prayer and sing traditional songs. That never appealed to me.
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Published on: 22 November 2017
in the post this morning
and in this letter they tell me
that my brother is in jail
and, mercilessly, in chains
they dragged him in the street, yes.
The letter tells the crime
that Roberto has done
supported the strike
that is already resolved
If that is a good reason
please take me to jail too, sergeant, yes.
I’m so far away
waiting for news
the letter tells me that
in my country there's no justice
the hungry ask for bread
and they get bullets, yes.
In this pompous manner
they want to keep their seats
those with fans and tails
unworthy of them
they come and go to church
and forget the commandments, yes.
Ever seen such an insolence,
barbarity and treachery
to present the rifle
and kill in cold blood
those without defence
and with empty hands, yes.
The letter that I received
asks for an answer
I ask that to spread
to the entire population
that
in every generation, yes.
Luckily I have my guitar
to cry my pain
I also have nine brothers
other than the one in jail
all nine are communists
with god's blessing, yes.
Related testimonies:
- I Can Trust the Lord (Puedo confiar en el Señor) Sigifredo Ramos Vásquez, Cárcel de Temuco, September - December 1973
My experience during our captivity can be summed up in this personal observation. Protest songs were forbidden, so we had no other option than to sing religious songs.
- Free (Libre) Paicavi Painemal, Comisaría de Carabineros N° 2, Temuco, 22 April 1985
I’m from Chol Chol, part of the Coihue community. I was arrested along with 12 other people and they took us to the Second Police Station of Temuco.
- What Will the Holy Father Say (Qué dirá el Santo Padre) María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar, Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
We sang songs that were popular at the time. We’d sing 'What will the Holy Father say', especially the part that says 'What will the Holy Father who lives in Rome say ... they are slitting the throat of his dove...' quite often, for example when someone was taken off to Regimiento Arica, which was a torture centre.
- To Be Seventeen Again (Volver a los diecisiete) Gabriela Durand, Recinto CNI, Cuartel Central Borgoño, 1980
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. - To Be Seventeen Again (Volver a los diecisiete) David Quintana García, Intendencia de Rancagua, 1973
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.
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