Victor Jara

The facts of Victor Jara's tragic death are well-documented. Arrested in the aftermath of a military coup d'etat, Jara was one of many political prisoners led to the National Football Stadium where many were tortured, beaten and executed. Although his hands were broken or, as many have claimed, amputated, Jara continued to sing a song supporting the ousted Popular Unity Party. After receiving many brutal blows, Jara stopped singing only when a machine gun fired by a military officer took his life. In the nearly three decades since, Jara's songs and spirit have been celebrated by numerous politically-minded folksingers including Pete Seeger and Tom Paxton. Arlo Guthrie set Adrian Mitchell's ballad, "Victor Jara," and recorded it on his album, Amigo. Undoubtedly, although Jara's heart may have been forcefully stilled, his music has lived on. The youngest of four children born to a ploughman (Manuel), and a semi-professional folk singer (Amanda), Jara grew up in severe poverty. Raised on a feudal-like farm, he lived on the bags of flour and occassional fruit which his father earned from his labors. By the age of six or seven, he was already accompanying his father to work in the fields. Family life was extremely difficult as his father increasingly began drinking to escape his woes. When a pot of boiling water fell on his sister, he joined his mother and moved to Santiago, the site of the only hospital equipped to treat his sister's burns. While in Santiago, his mother took a job at a food stand at an open market, but in March 1950, Jara received word that his mother had died from a stroke suffered while she was at work. For the next three years, he struggled through school while sleeping at the homes of friends. At the age of fifteen, Jara left school and entered the...