The Man Who Transformed into an Animal (El hombre que se convirtió en animal)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975

I wrote this song shortly after reading Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, one of the books that circulated in Camp Melinka from hand to hand and cabin to cabin.

I presume I don’t have to explain who is the one experiencing the metamorphosis here.

Due to security considerations, these verses were only sung in a low voice and before a selected audience of political prisoners.


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Published on: 23 September 2015

This is the sad story
of the example of a servile being
the owner of his garments but not his mind.
A despicable, obedient biped
who sickened craving power
despite his suffering
but sobbed like a madman
because he couldn’t be brave
living in a subjugated skin.

Then he grew a fierce fang,
claws grew out of each limb
and with them, he dug a lair in the dirt.
Finally, the beast in him was born.
His hunger became so voracious
His cruelty knew no bounds
And his brain was a stomach
a tomb for all fantasy
a prison of imagination.

After three years of training
He decided to fulfil his greatest aspiration,
Attack the home of the regent
who was a sharp and eloquent man.
He readied the battalion
cleaned the cannon barrel
and ordered the troops to fire
while he shined the boot
that he would wear as a dictator.

And as of that moment
No one could save that man
from going down into the animal’s den
where he ended up
just like his ancestor.


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.

  • 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.

  • Song of a Middle-Class Man (Canción de un hombre medio)  Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976

    In our political discussions, we always spoke disdainfully of the middle class. In the view of the Marxist ideologues in prison, that sector of society supported the dictatorship and it was necessary to reverse that trend.

  • How Can I Describe This to You? (Cómo hacer para darte una idea)  Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976

    This is one of two songs I wrote in prison for my beloved Graciela. In the song I tried to draw her closer to me, describing my everyday world and my experience of life as a captive.

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