A song by one of General Pinochet's most well-known victims, Victor Jara

[Ken Burch]

Run time: 03:29 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmre8ggkcY   Posted on YouTube: November 13, 2006 By YouTube Member: yecolennon Views on YouTube: 410609   Posted on DU: December 11, 2006 By DU Member: Ken Burch Views on DU: 1158

 
As the General's ashes are carried towards the waste dumps of Santiago, and his soul towards the pit of Cold War Hell, let us listen to a man who symbolized all that Pinochet and his U.S. Republican friends tried to destroy on September 11, 1973. Victor's body was broken in the coup, but the songs and the dream live on.

El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido/Another World is Possible

[Ken Burch]

1. This was from a special on Peruvian television in the summer of 1973, a few weeks before the coup

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

2. Here is an English translation of the lyrics

I remember you Amanda
when the streets were wet,
running to the factory
where Manuel was working.
With your wide smile
and the rain in your hair,
nothing else mattered:
you were going to meet him.


Five minutes only,
all of your life
in five minutes.
The siren is sounding.
Time to go back to work.
And, as you walk,
you light up everything.
Those five minutes
have made you flower.
I remember you Amanda
when the streets were wet,
running to the factory
where Manuel was working.
With your wide smile
and the rain in your hair,
nothing else mattered:
you were going to meet him.


And he took to the mountains to fight.
He had never hurt a fly
but he took to the mountains
and in five minutes
it was all wiped out.
The siren is sounding.
Time to go back to work.
Many will not go back.
One of them is Manuel.
I remember you Amanda
when the streets were wet,
running to the factory
where Manuel was working.

[Warpy]

3. Thanks for this

I know his music from LPs and now CDs, but had never seen him perform.

He's still missed, 33 years later. Pinochet will be forgotten as soon as possible.

[bridgit]

4. k&r'd...

[pinto]

5. Thanks for the post.

[Ken Burch]

6. You're welcome.

Have to do what we can to keep the songs alive.

[wtmusic]

7. Thanks ken burch

I had never seen video of Jara before. Powerful.

[Ken Burch]

8. Tell your friends about Victor, his songs, and this history

The story of what was done to Chile must be brought to the attention of all.

[pnorman]

9. He was mentioned in some detail on AAR today.

Until then,I had never heard of him. Part of his "re-education" consisted of having his subversive hands "punished" (ie: smashed), before he was machined-gunned. Here's a good write-up on him: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/165363.stm

I just checked Amazon for his "Manifesto" CD (most of those songs had to be smuggled out of the country). It was $113.00!! There's probably a valid reason for that price, but I'll have to pass it up.

pnorman

[Ken Burch]

10. Check used record/CD stores in your area or online.

Also check import sources. There are almost certainly better deals than that.

[pnorman]

11. I'll do so, but I'm not too confident.

I'd be surprised to see it as low as half that price (still beyond what I could justify). There must be an unknown factor (beyond "supply & demand") that causes the price to be so high.

But THANKS for starting this thread! I didn't have a pen handy while listening, and my attempt to memorize his name failed. Google MIGHT have done the trick, but I saw this thread first.

pnorman
PS: I'm no great fan of what's (laughingly) known as "capitalism", but I regard "piracy" as an act of Civil Disobedience --- ie: to be engaged in ONLY when justified. So I don't think I'll look for it there. But just knowing that such a person existed, is a great uplift to the spirit. Thanks for the translation. I'll search on the web for more.

PPS: Here's one Google 'hit' so far: http://unionsong.com/u445.html There are the words and an MP3 fragment. I'll keep looking!

Son of PPS: The home-page of the above site is just LOADED with good songs: http://unionsong.com/songs.html