Violeta was an artist, singer, poet, and musician. She sang Chilean folk songs that represented her country and she also sang about her life. She had a horrible upbringing and her life never really got better. Her father was a drunk and died which left Violeta on her own. She seemed to suffer with depression as well which contributed to her decision to commit suicide. Her art was a way for her to try and cope with the hardships in her life but that wasn't enough. She was an amazing artist and her songs are so emotional and deep. Violeta was a rebel and did not like to listen to authority. She did her own thing and did not live in a conservative setting. She escaped the realities of her time by being practically a nomad and never staying in one place. She lived in different countries and left Chile instead of dealing with the hardships in her country.
Victor Jara:
He was a singer and was very political. He sang about better times and not having hatred. He worked at the Technical University in Chile and gave talks about how horrible civil wars were. He was against violence and included his ideals into his songs. He had a family and lived in Santiago. Him and his family were in Santiago on September 11th and Victor was killed by the military men because they recognized his face and hated him because of his political ideals. He was a symbol for the people and his students and helped them keep their hope while they were imprisoned.
Los Prisioneros:
They are a rock band and one of the pioneers of Spanish rock. They changed the music of Chile from folk songs of Victor Jara and Violeta Parra to the rock/punk music and mainstream music. Their songs were political and talked about social problems in Chile. During Pinochet's reign, the music was banned because of its political messages and young people used it to protest Pinochet's rule. The band broke apart many times and added new members. They played their last concert in 2006 but their music continues to be popular.
Ana Tijoux:
She is a hip hop singer who is very politically involved. She was born in France to Chilean parents who fled Chile because of Pinochet at the time. They were imprisoned and escaped to France. Her parents taught her about Chile and politics from a young age. She thinks politics allows people to reflect on the world and she thinks of it as a good thing. Her music talks about a lot of political subjects including education equality. She uses her music as a communication method because she believes it's better than writing.
Each of these artists are important to Chilean culture because they respect and love Chile. They have so much passion for their country and they want it to improve. That's what their music is about. Envisioning a better more accepting Chile. They want the best for their people and to be proud of where they are from.
Questions: Why was Violeta Parra so poor? I thought she got really famous and her paintings were in the Louvre but she struggled throught the whole film with money? Did she never make any money?
What gets me about Victor Jara was that his hands were broken in the stadium and then he was assasinated because he refused to stop singing. This shows how powerful protest music is since authorities had to kill him so the captured protesters wouldn't rise up against them.
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