157 results where found for «They Say the Homeland Is»


They Say the Homeland Is (Dicen que la patria es)

Music piece by:
Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio
Testimony by:
Sergio Reyes Soto
Experience in:
« This song, like so many others, was not at all “captive”. The revolutionary songs we sang behind bars imbued us with a sense of freedom. Rolando Alarcón, and later Quilapayún, introduced “Dicen que la patria es” (or “Canción de soldados”) to Chile. »
[...]
« They Say the Homeland Is »
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Words for Julia (Palabras para Julia)

Music piece by:
José Agustín Goytisolo (lyrics) and Paco Ibáñez (music)
Testimony by:
Amelia Negrón
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, 1975 and 1976, until the closure of Tres Álamos
« There were so many of us women prisoners. Despite the circumstances, we had managed to invent our own world, one with our rules, according to what we thought and wanted for ourselves, our families and all the Chilean people. »
[...]
« They had been made by women who were political prisoners, they would say to each other; they knew our names, knew of our struggle, our resistance against torture, and could not believe that from those confines we had succeeded in conveying our joy of life, to move forward, to silently shout here we are, and we’re still here. And so they bought our goods, for themselves, to give to their daughters, friends and mothers. »
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What Will the Holy Father Say (Qué dirá el Santo Padre)

Music piece by:
Violeta Parra
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
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. »
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Today I Sing for the Sake of Singing (Hoy canto por cantar)

Music piece by:
Nydia Caro and Ricardo Ceratto
Testimony by:
Beatriz Bataszew Contreras
Experience in:
« I have never been a great music listener. Nevertheless, before the coup I used to listen to Nueva Canción, especially Quilapayún and Rolando Alarcón. I also liked cumbias, to fool around. We would dance and have fun. »
[...]
« Why is it in my mind? Because the dinos amused themselves with it. They would say to us “sing”, because singing also means grassing on someone. For me, this was fresh aggression, because whenever they played this song, and they would put it on very loud, it was to pressure you to collaborate. »
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Song of a Middle-Class Man (Canción de un hombre medio)

Music piece by:
Sergio Vesely
Testimony by:
Sergio Vesely
Experience in:
« 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. »
[...]
« and if they say you are black, they tell you to get out of here. »
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The Little Fence (La rejita)

Music piece by:
lyrics: collective creation; music: 'Jálame la pitita' by Luis Abanto Morales (Peruvian polka)
Testimony by:
María Cecilia Marchant Rubilar
Experience in:
Cárcel de Mujeres Buen Pastor, La Serena, September 1973 - January 1974
« We always sang this song when we were taken to Regimiento Arica. That was a torture centre. »
[...]
« My parents couldn’t come every time we were allowed visitors because they lived in Santiago. My friends would say, 'Cecilia, laugh at anything when you’re with your parents. Later, when they leave, ask the nun to open your cell and howl into your pillow, but as long as your parents are here, you have to act fine.' And that's what we all tried to do. »
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Lucía

Music piece by:
Joan Manuel Serrat
Testimony by:
Beatriz Bataszew Contreras
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros, Tres Álamos, December 1974 - May 1976
« Tres Álamos was a more 'normal' camp, even though we never had a trial. There was a lot of music, it was sort of ritualistic. »
[...]
« Then someone might say ‘if I sang this it was for a reason’. I think that often things just happen, as they do in love. Rather than the lyrics, what made sense for me was that we, eighty women, sang it together. It was extremely potent. »
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Prayer So You Don't Forget Me (Oración para que no me olvides)

Music piece by:
Óscar Castro (words) and Ariel Arancibia González (music)
Testimony by:
Rosalía Martínez
Experience in:
« When Katia Chornik contacted me a few years ago asking me to provide my testimony about my musical experience in prison, I thought I didn’t have much to say. »
[...]
« In 1998, providing a testimony had no legal or political consequences. The only situation in which people testified and revealed details of their experience was when they were called upon to say something about a missing person. Since then much water has flowed under the bridge. »
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Melody by Jorge Peña Hen

Music piece by:
Jorge Peña Hen
Testimony by:
Eliseo González
Experience in:
Cárcel de la Serena, October 1973
« Jorge Peña Hen was in solitary confinement that day. I don’t know how, but someone brought him matches. With his saliva, he made ink from the phosphorus tips, which he then used to write a score of music on a scrap of paper. »
[...]
« Keep in mind that the prisoners included farmworkers, miners and intellectuals. So if you put on classical music for an old guy from the hills, he would say 'What’s that?' Or, if you played corridos for the intellectuals or pseudo-intellectuals, they might not like it much. »
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The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)

Music piece by:
Tito Fernández
Testimony by:
Servando Becerra Poblete
Experience in:
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. »
[...]
« and you need to know what they say. »
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