Sadness (Tristeza)

Music piece by:
Hermanos Núñez
Testimony by:
Germán Larrabe
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1974 -1976

A very sad song, often performed by parents of young children.


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Published on: 05 March 2015

Don’t complain child, if I neglect you
I fight to death for you my treasure
Don’t complain child if I’m late.
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by and my child far away!
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by, my child far away!

Do not ask me child why I'm crying
What shall I do if life demands so much of me
Go to sleep and I will cover you.
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by and my child far away!
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by and my child far away!

Sunday sun, shine with all your might
for I’ll go with my child to gather caresses.
I will dress as a mother, with her smiles.
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by and my child far away!
Oh, what a rocky road
anguish close by and my child far away!


Related testimonies:

  • The Black King (El rey negro)  Sergio Vesely, Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975

    One cold winter night of 1975, the small clinic of Melinka, in the Puchuncaví Detention Camp, became the setting for a touching story.

  • National Anthem of Chile  Boris Chornik Aberbuch, Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, March 1975

    The Puchuncaví detention camp’s daily routine included mandatory participation in the ceremonies of raising and taking down the Chilean flag on the flagpole at the entrance to the camp.

  • Dreams of my Imprisonment (Sueños de mi encierro)  Mario Patricio Cordero Cedraschi, Cárcel de Valparaíso, Winter of 1975

    I’d spent two years in prison and there was no end in sight for my time in jail. I observed during visiting hours that many prisoners had children, a wife, family.

  • 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.

  • To Sing by Improvising (Pa’ cantar de un improviso)  Claudio Enrique Durán Pardo (Kila Chico), Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, June 1975

    We made a Venezuelan cuatro from a large plank of wood attached to one of the walls of the "ranch" where we ate.

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