Caliche

Music piece by:
Calatambo Albarracín
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, December 1973 - February 1974

Los de Chacabuco, a band founded and conducted by Ángel Parra, arranged this song called "Caliche"Layer of hard rock in the nitrate mines. It is also a term of endearment in northern Chile.. It was sung several times during the Saturday shows at the Chacabuco concentration camp. At the farewell concert for Angel, Alberto Corvalán recorded it on cassette, and a subsequent LP was produced from that cassette.


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Published on: 22 June 2015

Clandestine recording made by political prisoners in Chacabuco in 1974.

Oh, my lovely dark-skinned girl, Caliche
I give you my love.
I’m from northern Chile
Caliche, my heart.

A northern cuecaSouth American plains devoid of tree vegetation., Caliche
let’s dance.
Tapping, toe and heel, Caliche
Let’s go out.

Don’t tell anyone, Caliche
about our love
keeping it quiet, Caliche
will be best.

We are poor wretches from the pampaSouth American plains devoid of tree vegetation., Caliche
pour the wine.

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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