| Name | Víctor Jara |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez |
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| Born | September 28, 1932 |
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| Died | September 15, 1973 |
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| Origin | Chillán Viejo, Chile |
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| Occupation | Singer/Songwriter, Poet, Theatre director, University academic, Social activist |
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| Instrument | Vocals, Spanish Guitar |
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| Genre | Folk, Nueva canción, Andean music |
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| Years active | 1959–1973 |
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| Label | EMI-Odeon DICAP/Alerce Warner Music |
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| Associated acts | Violeta Parra, Patricio Castillo, 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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| Url | Official website |
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Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez () (September 28, 1932 – September 15, 1973
''sing his songs,
''as long as his
''courage can inspire
''us to greater courage,
''Victor Jara will
''never die."
|-----
| align="right" |
Pete Seeger
|}
Early life
Víctor Jara was born in the locality of
Lonquén, near the city of Santiago, to poor
peasants Manuel Jara and Amanda Martínez. Jara's father, Manuel, was illiterate and wanted his children to work as soon as they could rather than get an education, so by the age of 6, Jara was already working on the land. Manuel Jara was unable to extract a livelihood from the earnings as a peasant in the Ruiz-Tagle estate nor was he able to find stable work to support his large family. He took to drinking and became violent. His relationship with his wife deteriorated, 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. Amanda, a
mestiza with deep
Araucanian roots in the south of Chile, was not
illiterate, she was
autodidactic; played the guitar, the piano and was a singer in her town, singing traditional folk songs at local functions like wedding and funerals for the locals. After further beatings, he was machine-gunned on September 15, 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.
Joan Turner Jara currently lives in Chile and runs the Víctor Jara Foundation. The Chile Stadium, also known as the Víctor Jara Stadium, is often confused with the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium).
Before his death, 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.
In June 2008, Chilean judge Juan Eduardo Fuentes re-opened the investigation into Jara's death. Judge Fuentes said he would examine 40 new pieces of evidence provided by the singer's family.
On May 28, 2009, José Adolfo Paredes Márquez, a 54-year-old former Army conscript arrested the previous week in San Sebastian, Chile, was formally charged with Jara's murder. Following Paredes' arrest, on June 1, 2009, the police investigation identified the name of the officer who first shot Víctor Jara in the head. The officer played Russian roulette with Jara, by placing a single round in his revolver, spinning the cylinder, placing the muzzle against Jara's head and pulling the trigger. The officer repeated this a couple of times, until a shot fired and Víctor fell to the ground. The officer then ordered two conscripts (one of them Paredes) to finish the job, by firing into Jara's body. A judge ordered Jara's body to be exhumed in an effort to determine
more information regarding his death.
On December 3, 2009, a massive funeral took place in the "Galpón de Víctor Jara" across from "Plaza Brazil". Jara's remains were honoured by thousands. His remains were re-buried in the same place he was buried in 1973.
Víctor 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 Víctor Jara, in honor of Víctor Jara's life and artistic work.
American folksinger Phil Ochs, who met and performed with Jara during a tour of South America, organized a benefit concert in his memory in New York in 1974. Titled "An Evening With Salvador Allende", the concert featured Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Ochs.
An East German biographical movie called El Cantor (the Singer) was made in 1978. It was directed by Jara's friend Dean Reed, who also played the part of Jara.
Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter Cornelis Vreeswijk recorded "Blues för Victor Jara" on his album Bananer - bland annat in 1980.
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 Víctor Jara. Thompson, a human rights activist and 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. The movie would feature Antonio Banderas – another fan of Víctor Jara – as Jara himself where he would sing some of his songs and Emma Thompson as Víctor Jara's British wife Joan Jara. The project has not yet been made into a film.
The Soviet musician Alexander Gradsky created the rock opera Stadium (Стадион, Stadion) in 1985 based on the events surrounding Jara's death.
The Southwestern American band Calexico open their 2008 album Carried to Dust with the song "Victor Jara's Hands".
Portuguese folk band Brigada Víctor Jara is named after him.
Songs mentioning Víctor Jara
The Chilean group Inti-Illimani dedicated the song "Canto de las estrellas" to Víctor Jara.
In 1975, Norwegian folksinger Lillebjørn Nilsen included a tribute song entitled "Victor Jara" on his album Byen Med Det Store Hjertet. The same year the Swedish band Hoola Bandoola Band included their song "Victor Jara" on their album Fri information.
Belgian singer Julos Beaucarne relates the death of Víctor Jara in his song "Lettre à Kissinger".
French singer Pierre Chêne also wrote a song about Jara's death entitled "Qui Donc Est Un Homme?"
In 1976,
Arlo Guthrie included a biographical song entitled "Victor Jara" on his album
Amigo. The words were written by Adrian Mitchell and Arlo Guthrie wrote the music.
On Barnstormer's album Zero Tolerance, Attila the Stockbroker mentions Jara in the song "Death of a Salesman", written just after the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Centre. "You were there in Chile, 11 September '73. 28 years to the day - what a dreadful irony. Victor Jara singing 'midst the tortured and the dead. White House glasses clinking as Allende's comrades bled."
Former German folk duo Zupfgeigenhansel (Thomas Friz and Erich Schmeckenbecher) featured a live performance of their song "Victor Jara" as a last track on their 1978 LP Volkslieder III.
The Clash sing about Jara in the song "Washington Bullets" on their 1980 album Sandinista!. Joe Strummer sings "As every cell in Chile will tell, the cries of the tortured men, Remember Allende in the days before, before the army came, Please remember Victor Jara, in the Santiago Stadium, Es Verdad, those Washington Bullets again."
In 1987, U2 released The Joshua Tree, which included the track "One Tree Hill" where Bono sings "And in the world a heart of darkness, a fire zone where poets speak their heart then bleed for it. Jara sang his song, a weapon in the hands of love, though his blood still cries from the ground."
Jackson Browne recorded "My Personal Revenge" on his CD "World in Motion" in 1989 as a tribute to Víctor Jara. The lyrics include "My personal revenge will be to give you... these hands that once you so mistreated."
Holly Near's "Sing to me the Dream" is a tribute to Víctor Jara.
Chuck Brodsky wrote and recorded "The Hands of Victor Jara." This 1996 tribute includes these words:
The blood of Victor Jara
Will never wash away
It just keeps on turning
A little redder every day
As anger turns to hatred
And hatred turns to guns
Children lose their fathers
And mothers lose their sons
Rory McLeod's title song on his album "Angry Love" is about Jara.
Marty Willson-Piper, who plays guitar for The Church, included "Song for Victor Jara" on his 2009 solo album, Nightjar.
The Argentine rock group, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, remember Víctor Jara in their hit song, "Matador", with the lyrics "Que suenan, son balas me alcanzan, me atrapan, resiste, 'Víctor Jara' no calla... Matador!! Matador!!"
Heaven Shall Burn made a song about him and his legacy called "The Weapon They Fear".
Spanish ska group Ska-P dedicated a song called "Juan Sin Tierra" to Jara (the song was originally written by Jorge Saldaña, and previously recorded by Jara), with the chorus going:
"No olvidamos el valor de Víctor Jara/
dando la cara siempre a la represión/
le cortaron sus dedos y su lengua/
y hasta la muerte gritó revolución."''
"We won't forget Victor Jara's courage/
always fighting oppression/
They cut off his fingers and his tongue/
And right up to his death he shouted 'Revolution'."''
Tucson, AZ-based Calexico include a song called Víctor Jara's Hands on their 2008 album Carried to Dust.
Cuban rap group Eskuadron Patriota mentions Jara in their song "Decadencia". The song goes: "Como Víctor Jara diciendole a su pueblo: La libertad esta cerca"
The Peruvian ska band Psicosis mentions Jara in their song "Esto es Ska". The chorus goes "Lo dijo Víctor Jara no nos puedes callar".
Soviet, Byelorussian composer Igor Lutchenok wrote a song "In memory of Victor Jara" on lyrics of Boris Brusnikov which first time was performed in 1974 by Byelorussian singer Victor Vuyachich and afterwards this song was performed by Byelorussian folk-rock group "Pesniary" in the arrangement of Vladimir Mulyavin. Please visit http://krasnoetv.ru/node/6853 http://krasnoetv.ru/node/6855 to listen to the song.
The Glasgow/Irish folk group The Wakes included a song about Víctor Jara on their album These Hands in 2008.
The San Francisco post-rock band From Monument to Masses samples excerpts from a reading of Jara's poetry on the track "Deafening," a song from their 2005 remix album Schools of Thought Contend.
German singer Hannes Wader published his song "Victor Jara" on his album Wünsche in 2001.
Scottish singer/songwriter Bert Jansch had written his "Let Me Sing" about him.
Venezuelan singer/songwriter Alí Primera wrote his "Canción para los valientes" ( Song to the courageous ones ) about Victor Jara. The song was included in the album of the same name in 1976.
British musician Marek Black's 2009 CD "I Am A Train" features the song "The Hands of Victor Jara" written by Marek Black
Scottish Group, Simple Minds, Released an album with the title track called "Street Fighting Years" dedicated to Victor Jara in 1989
Welsh folk singer/songwriter Dafydd Iwan wrote a song called "Can Victor Jara" (Victor Jara's song) that was released on his 1979 album "Bod yn rhydd" (Being free). Here are the original Welsh lyrics.
Theatre work
Works directed by Víctor Jara
1959. Parecido à la Felicidad (Some kind of happiness), Alejandro Sieveking
1960.
La Viuda de Apablaza (The Widow of Apablaza), Germán Luco Cruchaga (assistant director to Pedro de la Barra, founder of
ITUCH.)
1960. La Mandragola, Niccolò Machiavelli
1961. La Madre de los Conejos (Mother rabbit), Alejandro Sieveking (assistant director to Agustín Siré)
1962. Ánimas de Día Claro (Daylight Spirits), Alejandro Sieveking
1963. Caucasian Chalk Circle, Bertold Brecht (assistant director to Atahualpa del Cioppo)
1963. Los Invasores (The Intruders), Egon Wolff
1963. Dúo (Duet), Raúl Ruiz
1963. Parecido à la Felicidad (Some kind of happiness), Alejandro Sieveking (version for Chilean television)
1965. La Remolienda, Alejandro Sieveking
1965. The Knack, Ann Jellicoe
1966.
Marat/Sade, Peter Ulrich Weiss (assistant director to William Oliver.)
1966. La Casa Vieja (The old house), Abelardo Estorino
1967. La Remolienda, Alejandro Sieveking (redirects)
1967. La Viuda de Apablaza (The Widow of Apablaza), Germán Luco Cruchaga (as director)
1968. Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Joe Orton
1969. Viet Rock, Megan Ferry
1969. Antigone, Sophocles
1972. Directed the ballet and musical homage to Pablo Neruda which coincided with the poets return to Chile after being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Discography
Studio albums
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 100%;"
!
Year of Release
!
Title
|-
|1966
|
Víctor Jara (Geografía)
|-
|1967
|
Canciones folklóricas de América (with Quilapayún)
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|1967
|
Víctor Jara
|-
|1969
|
Pongo en tus manos abiertas
|-
|1970
|
Canto libre
|-
|1971
|
El derecho de vivir en paz
|-
|1972
|
La Población
|-
|1973
|
Canto por travesura
|-
|1974
|
Manifiesto
|}
Live albums
Víctor Jara en Vivo (1974)
El Recital (1983)
Víctor Jara en México, WEA International (1996)
Habla y Canta en la Habana Cuba, WEA International (2001)
En Vivo en el Aula Magna de la Universidad de Valparaíso, WEA International (2003)
Compilations
Te recuerdo Amanda, Fonomusic (1974)
Vientos del Pueblo, Monitor – U.S. (1976)
Canto Libre, Monitor (1977)
An Unfinished Song, Redwood Records (1984)
Todo Víctor Jara, EMI (1992)
20 Años Después, Fonomusic (1992)
Víctor Jara presente, colección “Haciendo Historia”, Odeon (1997)
Te Recuerdo, Víctor, Fonomusic (2000)
Antología Musical, Warner Bros. Records (2001) 2CDs
1959-1969 – Víctor Jara, EMI Odeon (2001) 2CDs
Latin Essential: Victor Jara, (WEA) 2CDs (2003)
Colección Víctor Jara – Warner Bros. Records (2004) (8CD Box)
Víctor Jara. Serie de Oro. Grandes Exitos, EMI (2005)
Tribute albums
An Evening with Salvador Allende, VA - U.S. (1974)
A Víctor Jara, Raímon - Spain (1974)
Het Recht om in Vrede te Leven, Cornelis Vreeswijk - Nederlands (1977)
Cornelis sjunger Victor Jara, Rätten till ett eget liv, Cornelis Vreeswijk - Sweden (1979)
Omaggio a Victor Jara, Ricardo Pecoraro - Italy (1980)
Quilapayún Canta a Violeta Parra, Víctor Jara y Grandes Maestros Populares, Quilapayún - Chile (1985)
Konzert für Víctor Jara VA - Germany (1998)
Inti-illimani performs Victor Jara, Inti-illimani - Chile (1999)
Conosci Victor Jara?, Daniele Sepe - Italy (2001)
Tributo a Víctor Jara, VA - Latin America/Spain (2004)
Tributo Rock a Víctor Jara, VA - Argentina (2005)
Lonquen: Tributo a Víctor Jara, Francesca Ancarola - Chile (2007)
Documentaries and films
The following are films or documentaries about and/or featuring Víctor Jara:
El Tigre Saltó y Mató, Pero Morirá…Morirá…. Director: Santiago Álvarez – Cuba (1973)
Compañero: Víctor Jara of Chile. Directors: Stanley Foreman/Martin Smith (Documentary) – UK (1974)
Il Pleut sur Santiago. Director: Helvio Soto – France/Bulgaria (1976)
Ein April hat 30 Tage. Director: Gunther Scholz - East Germany (1978)
El Cantor. Director: Dean Reed – East Germany (1978)
El Derecho de Vivir en Paz. Director: Carmen Luz Parot - Chile (1999)
Freedom Highway: Songs That Shaped a Century. Director: Philip King – Ireland (2001)
La Tierra de las 1000 Músicas [Episode 6: La Protesta]. Directors: Luis Miguel González Cruz/Joaquín Luqui – Spain (2005)
Notes
References
Jara, Joan (1983). Victor: An Unfinished Song. Jonathan Cape, London. ISBN 0-224-01880-9
Kósichev, Leonard. (1990). La guitarra y el poncho de Víctor Jara. Progress Publishers, Moscow
'Washington Bullets' from the album Sandinista! (1980) by The Clash features the lyrics "please remember Victor Jara, in the Santiago stadium"
El matador from the album 'Vasos vacios' (1994) by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. "mira hermano en que terminaste por pelear por un mundo mejor Que suenan, son balas, me alcanzan, me atrapan, resiste, Víctor Jara, no calla" (Look my brother how you ended up because of fighting for a better world, that's the sound of bullets, they get me, they hit me, resist Víctor Jara, don't shut his voice)
The song "One Tree Hill" from the album The Joshua Tree (1987) by U2 includes the lyric "Jara sang his song a weapon / In the hands of love / You know his blood still cries from the ground"
The character Pedro Tercero Garcia in Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits (1982) is based on Jara.
In credits page of album "street fighting years" from Simple Minds is the leyend: ""street fighting years" song written in memory of Victor Jara"
German metalcore band Heaven Shall Burn's song "The Weapon They Fear" is about the life of Victor Jara
The first song on the 2008 Calexico Album "Carried to Dust" is a tribute to Victor Jara.
External links
Resources in English
Three chapters from Victor: An Unfinished Song by Joan 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
Victor Jara tabs
"Who Killed Victor Jara?", Professor Paul Cantor, Norwalk Community College, Connecticut
Resources in Spanish
Fundación Víctor Jara
Lyrics of all his Songs
Discography
Che, Guía y Ejemplo: - Songs of Víctor Jara dedicated to Che Guevara
Informe de la Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación (Informe Rettig)
Vientos del Pueblo: Un Homenaje a Víctor Jara
Category:1932 births
Category:1973 deaths
Category:1950s singers
Category:1960s singers
Category:1970s singers
Category:Academics
Category:Anti-fascists
Category:Assassinated Chilean people
Category:Chilean actors
Category:Chilean educators
Category:Chilean folk singers
Category:Chilean poets
Category:Chilean songwriters
Category:Chilean theatre directors
Category:Chilean Christians
Category:Chilean torture victims
Category:Deaths by firearm in Chile
Category:Former Roman Catholics
Category:Latin American folk singers
Category:Marxist humanists
Category:Murdered musicians
Category:Nueva canción musicians
Category:People from Chillán
Category:University of Chile alumni
Category:Chilean Marxists
Category:People murdered in Chile
Category:Communist Party of Chile politicians
