
The Little Snail (El caracolito)
- Music piece by:Sergio Vesely
- Testimony by:Sergio Vesely
- Experience in:Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
I composed this song for a small children’s party we organised in the visitors’ yard of the Valparaíso Jail. I remember how the children had fun that day and enjoyed the play. That was the first time I put down the guitar so that a prisoner who played the accordion could accompany me.
'El caracolito' is one of three songs in this genre I wrote while in prison.
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Published on: 23 September 2015
said the sun to the good snail.
'Hi, brother, I’m weary
and I want to sleep in my shell'.
Stretch out your feet, little snail
Stretch out your hands, you big snail.
He is lazy and a grouch
he spends his life wanting to rest.
He's got his house strapped to his back
and moves slowly because he's a glutton.
Stretch out your feet, little snail
Stretch out your hands, you big snail.
At nighttime when the stars come out
the snail sings to the beautiful night
lovely little snail songs
to put himself to sleep and dream.
Stretch out your feet, little snail
Stretch out your hands, you big snail.
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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