Víctor Jara
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| Víctor Jara | ||
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 Víctor Jara
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez | |
| Born | September 28, 1932 | |
| Origin | Chillán Viejo,  Chile |
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| Died | September 15, 1973 | |
| Genre(s) | Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Andean music, Latin music, Chilean music | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer/Songwriter, Poet, Theatre director, University academic, Social activist | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Spanish Guitar | |
| Years active | 1962-1973 | |
| Label(s) | EMI-Odeon Alerce Warner Music |
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| Associated acts |
Violeta Parra, Quilapayún, Inti-illimani, Patricio Manns, Ángel Parra, Isabel Parra, Sergio Ortega, Pablo Neruda, Daniel Viglietti, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Joan Baez, Dean Reed, Silvio Rodriguez, Holly Near, Cornelis Vreeswijk |
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| Website | Official Website | |
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (September 28, 1932 – September 15, 1973) was a Chilean educator, theatre director, poet, folk singer-songwriter, and political activist. He was prominent in the development of the “Nueva canción Chilena”(New Chilean Song) movement, that acquired considerable prominence during the socialist government of Salvador Allende. His murder shortly after the September 11, 1973 coup in Chile, transformed Jara and his music into a symbol of struggle against military repression across Latin America.
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"As long as we |
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[edit] Early life
Jara was born in the small town of Chillán Viejo, south of Santiago, to poor peasants Manuel Jara and Amanda Martínez. The marriage was not a happy one, and Manuel left the family when Víctor was still a child to look for work elsewhere. Amanda persevered in raising Víctor and his siblings by herself, insisting that all of them should receive a good education.
Jara's mother died when he was 15, leaving him to make his own way thereafter. He began to study to be an accountant, but soon moved into a seminary instead, studying to become a priest. After a couple of years, however, he became disillusioned with the church and left the seminary. Subsequently he spent several years in the army before returning to his home town to pursue interests in folk music and theater.
[edit] Artistic life
Jara was deeply influenced by the folklore of Chile and other Latin American countries; he was particularly influenced by artists like Violeta Parra, Atahualpa Yupanqui, and the poet Pablo Neruda. Jara began his foray into folklore in the mid-1950s when he began singing with the group Cuncumen. He moved more decisively into music in the 1960s getting the opportunity to sing at Santiago's La Peña de Los Parra, owned by Ángel Parra. Through them Jara became greatly involved in the Nueva Canción movement of Latin American folk music. He published his first recording in 1966 and, by 1970, had left his theater work in favor of a career in music. His songs were drawn from a combination of traditional folk music and left-wing political activism. From this period, some of his most renowned songs are Plegaria a un Labrador ("A Farmer's Prayer") and Te Recuerdo Amanda ("I Remember You Amanda"). He supported the Unidad Popular ("Popular Unity") coalition candidate Salvador Allende for the presidency of Chile, taking part in campaigning, volunteer political work, and playing free concerts.
[edit] Political activism
Allende's campaign was successful and, in 1970, he was elected president of Chile. However, the US-supported military, who opposed Allende's politics, staged a coup on September 11, 1973, in the course of which Allende died (See Allende's death). At the moment of the coup, Jara was on the way to the Technical University (today Universidad de Santiago), where he was a teacher. That night he slept at the university along with other teachers and students, and sang to raise morale.
[edit] His death
On the morning of September 12, Jara was taken, along with thousands others, as a prisoner to the Chile Stadium (renamed the Estadio Víctor Jara in September 2003). In the hours and days that followed, many of those detained in the stadium were tortured and killed there by the military forces. Jara was repeatedly beaten and tortured; the bones in his hands were broken as were the bones of his ribs. Reports that one of Jara's hands, or both of his hands, had been cut off, are however erroneous. Fellow political prisoners have testified that his captors mockingly suggested that he play guitar for them as he lay on the ground. Defiantly, he sang part of a song supporting the Popular Unity coalition. After further beatings, he was machine-gunned on September 15 and his body dumped on a road on the outskirts of Santiago, and then taken to a city morgue.
Jara's wife, Joan, was allowed to come and retrieve his body from the site and was able to confirm the physical damage he had endured. After holding a funeral for her husband, Joan Jara fled the country in secret.
Before his death, Victor Jara wrote a poem about the conditions of the prisoners in the stadium, the poem was written on a paper that was hidden inside a shoe of a friend. The poem was never named, but is commonly known as Estadio Chile.
[edit] Victor Jara's legacy
Although the military regime managed to burn the vast majority of master recordings of Jara's music, Joan Jara managed to sneak recordings out of Chile, which were later copied and distributed worldwide. Joan Jara later wrote an account of Víctor Jara's life and music, titled Víctor: An Unfinished Song.
On September 22, 1973, the Soviet/Russian astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh named a newly found asteroid 2644 Victor Jara, in honor of Victor Jara's life and artistic work.
[edit] Víctor Jara Quotes
Victor Jara was asked, 4 days before the military coup of September 11, 1973, what the word ‘Love’ meant to him: He responded:
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Love of my home, my wife and my children. |
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In 1969 Víctor commented about the distinction between the commercialised ‘protest song phenomenon’ imported into Chile and the nature of the New Chilean Song Movement.
| “ | The cultural invasion is like a leafy tree which prevents us from seeing our own sun, sky and stars. Therefore in order to be able to see the sky above our heads, our task is to cut this tree off at the roots. US imperialism understands very well the magic of communication through music and persists in filling our young people with all sorts of commercial tripe. With professional expertise they have taken certain measures: first, the commercialization of the so-called ‘protest music’; second, the creation of ‘idols’ of protest music who obey the same rules and suffer from the same constraints as the other idols of the consumer music industry – they last a little while and then disappear. Meanwhile they are useful in neutralizing the innate spirit of rebellion of young people. The term ‘protest song’ is no longer valid because it is ambiguous and has been misused. I prefer the term ‘revolutionary song’. | ” |
- Jara, Joan (1983). Victor: An Unfinished Song. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-02954-1. p.121
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Album Cover | Year of Release | Title |
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1966 | Víctor Jara (Geografía) |
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1967 | Canciones Folklóricas de América (with Quilapayún) |
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1967 | Víctor Jara |
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1969 | Pongo En Tus Manos Abiertas |
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1970 | Canto Libre |
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1971 | El Derecho de Vivir en Paz |
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1972 | La Población |
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1973 | Canto Por Travesura |
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1974 | Manifiesto |
[edit] Live Albums
- El Recital (1983)
- Víctor Jara en México (1996)
- Habla y Canta en la Habana Cuba (2001)
- En Vivo en el Aula Magna de la Universidad de Valparaíso (2003)
[edit] Compilations
- Todo Víctor Jara (1992)
- Víctor Jara (2001)
- 1959 – 1969 – Víctor Jara (2001)
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- The song "Victor Jara" [1] with lyric's by Adrian Mitchell and music by Arlo Guthrie has been recorded by Guthrie on his 1998 album, Amigo, by Christy Moore on his 2001, This is the Day and as "Victor Jara of Chile" by The Life and Death Orchestra [2] on their 2000 album "This Way for the Gas, Ladies & Gentlemen" (music by Bill Smith).
- American singer-songwriter Chuck Brodsky performed a self-written song called "Hands of Victor Jara" [3] on his 1996 album, Letters in the Dirt.
- Victor Jara is mentioned in the song "Washington Bullets" by The Clash from their 1980 Sandinista! album.
- U2's "One Tree Hill" song from their 1987 The Joshua Tree album.
- Ska-P's cover of Victor Jara's "Juan Sin Tierra" on their 1998 album Eurosis.
- His death is one of the events mentioned in Holly Near's song "It Could Have Been Me".
- Los Fabulosos Cadillacs's song "El Matador".
- Leon Gieco's songs "Los Salieris de Charly" and "Los Chacareros de Dragones".
- "The Weapon They Fear" by the German band Heaven Shall Burn dedicated to Victor Jara.
- Alexander Gradsky, Stadium (rock-opera). A well-known Russian composer, poet and singer has been working on it from 1973 up to 1984. The rock opera tells about the tragic fate of Singer (Gradsky), who was brutally assassinated on September 11 at Estadio Chile.
- The legendary Dutch folk singer Cornelis Vreeswijk, dedicated two whole albums to the music of Víctor Jara. In 1977 he released Het recht om in vrede te leven in which he translated and interpreted a number of songs of Victor Jara into Dutch. In 1978 he released Cornelis Sjunger Victor Jara, an album of Victor Jara songs translated into Swedish and interpreted with Vreeswijk norsk-scandinavian touch and feel. He also dedicated a song to Victor Jara: “Blues for Victor Jara”. Vreeswijk version of “La Partida” was used in a current affairs show in Sweden.
- Cornelis Vreeswijk popularized songs such as "Folkets vind" (Vientos del Pueblo); "Rätten till et eget liv" (El Derecho de Vivir En Paz); "Fimpen" (El Cigarito); "Plogen" (El Arado) and others, in the Netherlands and Sweden.
- One of the most famous and legendary folk music groups from Portugal is called Brigada Víctor Jara. The band has lasted more than 30 years and have profoundly influenced Portuguese folk and contemporary music. The members of the group were deeply influenced by the New Chilean Song Movement and when they formed they named themselves after the symbol of the New Chilean Song: Victor Jara.
- The Italian jazz saxophonist Daniele Sepe dedicated an album to Victor Jara in 2000 entitled: Conosci Victor Jara/Do you know Victor Jara?
- Simple Minds's 1989 song Street Fighting Years is dedicated to Victor Jara.
- A schooner-rigged vessel built in 1917 in Denmark as a fishing vessel was renamed to honor Victor Jara. Today it is used for cultural and social events in Germany. When the tall ship is not sailing the high seas it is at rest at the museum port of Lübeck, Germany.[4]
- Norwegian legendary artist Lillebjørn Nilsen has written a ballad song titled "Victor Jara", telling the dramatic story of his death.
- Indie rock band Apostle of Hustle's 2007 CD "National Anthem of Nowhere" features a song called "Fast Pony For Victor Jara"
- Swedish progg band Hoola Bandoola Band released a song called "Victor Jara"
- The Clash mention Victor Jara briefly in their 1980 song Washington Bullets on the album Sandinista!
Please remember victor jara, In the Santiago Stadium, Es verdad - those Washington Bullets Again
[edit] Film
- An East German biographical movie called El Cantor was made in 1978. It was directed by Jara's friend Dean Reed, who also played the part of Jara.
- In the late 1990s British actress Emma Thompson started to work on a screenplay, which she planned to use as the basis for a movie about Victor Jara. Thompson, a human rights activist, and a fan of Jara, considered the political murder of the Chilean artist as a symbol of human rights violation in Chile. She believed a movie about Jara’s life and death would make more people aware of the Chilean tragedy.[5] The movie would feature Antonio Banderas – another fan of Victor Jara – as Jara himself where he would sing some of his songs and Emma Thompson as Victor Jara's British wife Joan Jara. The project of translating a screenplay on Victor Jara, into a major movie, featuring Hollywood actors – for obvious reasons - must have encountered considerable obstacles and contretemps and hitherto has never eventuated.[6]
[edit] Notes
- The Chile Stadium, also known as the Victor Jara Stadium, is often confused with the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium).
- The date of Jara's death was confirmed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (The Rettig Report.)
- Joan Turner Jara currently lives in Chile and runs the Victor Jara Foundation.
[edit] References
- Víctor: An Unfinished Song by Joan Jara (1998, Bloomsbury Press, London)
[edit] External links
[edit] Resources in English
- Three chapters from Victor: An Unfinished Song by Joan Jara
- The Life of Víctor Jara
- Discography
- Background materials on the Chilean Workers' Movement in the 1970s
- Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
- GDR Poster Art: Víctor Jara
- Víctor Jara on Find-A-Grave
[edit] Resources in Spanish
- Fundación Víctor Jara
- Lyrics of all his Songs
- Discography
- Che, Guía y Ejemplo: - Songs of Víctor Jara dedicated to the Che Guevara
- Informe de la Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación (Informe Rettig)
- Vientos del Pueblo: Un Homenaje a Víctor Jara
