Víctor Jara / Sept 28, 1932 - Sept 16, 1973

One of Chilé's national heroes, Víctor Jara was a martyred nueva-canción folk singer and songwriter who was victim of the bloody US-funded Pinochet coup and horrific ensuing violence. He was murdered and his body thrown into the street.

This post honoring Jara on his birthday could also be considered a "fuck you" to the United States' continued program of destabilizing countries around the globe for the benefit of fat cats at the top of the stinking, rotting capitalist pile of garbage.

Growing up very poor, his violent father left the family but his mother encouraged education before she died in 1950. He studied theater and started singing in the mid-'50s and joined the Communist Party in the early '60s after visiting Cuba and the Soviet Union. He befriended Violetta Parra and Phil Ochs and his songs grew increasingly directly political, defending the poor and demanding justice.

He aligned himself with Salvador Allende and wrote songs based on Pablo Neruda's poetry. As someone looked at as a cultural leader and organizer, he was among thousands targeted by Pinochet's henchmen and was imprisoned in the national football stadium on Sept 11, '73 and was tortured before execution. Many of his master tapes were destroyed and his wife had to leave the country. Since then there have been countless tributes to him, film & stage works about him and hundreds of artists inspired by his life and work.




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