El veintiocho de septiembre/September 28th

¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Victor Jara! (1932-1973)

A Chilean singer, poet, and activist, Jara is one of the main figures of the Nueva Canción Chilena movement, which used music as a form of social activism. Jara was born in Lonquén, near Santiago, into a poor family. His father encouraged the children to work to help support the family rather than go to school. By the time Jara was 6, his father had turned to drinking and become violent. He abandoned the family that year. Jara's mother, on the other hand, insisted that her children get an education. She taught herself to play the guitar and piano and also sang traditional folk songs at weddings and funerals. She died when Jara was only 15, and he was left to mostly fend for himself. He earned a theater scholarship to the University of Santiago, and in 1957 he met Violeta Parra, a revolutionary folk singer in Chile who had a huge influence on him. He released his first folk album, Canto a lo humano, in 1966. His songs were a combination of traditional folk music and left wing political activism. Jara supported the socialist movement led by Salvador Allende, who was elected in 1970. When the Chilean right wing staged a coup d'etat in September of 1973 and installed Augusto Pinochet as dictator, Jara was arrested along with thousands of others believed to be members of leftist groups. They were taken to Chile Stadium. There, Jara was tortured and murdered. His wife Joan fled the country and lived in exile until 1984, when democracy was restored. She now lives in Chile and runs the Victor Jara Foundation in order to keep the memory of her husband and his values alive. 42 years after Jara was killed, Chilean military officers were charged with Jara's murder by a jury in Florida (Barrientos, one of the perpetrators, lived in Florida). Jara's body was exhumed for evidence for the trial, and he was reburied in Chile after a massive funeral. The stadium where he was killed has been renamed Victor Jara Stadium., and Rolling Stone Magazine named him one of the Top 15 Protest Artists of All Time. On September 12, 2013, for the 40th anniversary of Jara's death, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Wrecking Ball Tour stopped in Chile and paid tribite to Jara by covering his song Manifiesto, which Springsteen sang in Spanish. He also made a short speech in Spanish before the song, calling Victor Jara a great inspiration (click HERE).

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.