Victor Jara
A singer and fighter for the people
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, Victor Jara, a song written and sung by Arlo Guthrie and A. Mitchell in 1976.
If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics. I’ve written the lyrics in italics. As with most everything, there are many ways to interpret things. I invite you to leave a question or comment at the end.
For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
The Song
(432 words)
Victor Jara was born in Chile in 1932. He grew up poor. His mother was a folk singer and his father was a farmer.
As an adult, Victor studied theater at university. Later, he worked as a stage director.
In 1957, he met a very important singer named Violetta Parra. She was one of the people who began a song movement called nueva canción (new song). This movement included singers and songwriters from Latin America who sang about local culture, events, and values.
Victor Jara started to play and write these songs. He wrote with tender lyrics that showed how much he cared for the people of Chile who were living in very difficult conditions, many of whom were living in poverty: He fought for the people of Chile / With his songs and his guitar / His hands were gentle, his hands were strong.
Victor Jara believed that with the right leadership, the country could improve the lives of the people. He supported a doctor who was running for president, Salvador Allende, who wanted to bring better education, health care, and higher living standards to the poor. Victor wrote a song, Venceremos (We Will Win/Overcome) and campaigned around the country to help Allende get elected. He campaigned for Allende working night and day / He sang, “Take hold of your brother’s hand, the future begins today”
Allende was elected in 1970. Then he did something that was not popular with the U.S. At the time, there were U.S. corporations that owned the copper mines in Chile. Allende thought that those mines and the profits they made should be used for the Chilean people. He nationalized the copper mines, bringing them under government control.
On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet launched a coup d’etat against the government - Then the generals seized Chile. He was supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The soldiers put many of Allende’s supporters into the football (soccer) stadium. One of them was Victor Jara. They arrested Victor then / They caged him in a stadium / With five-thousand frightened men. The soldiers beat Victor Jara and smashed his hands. They teased him and told him to sing for the other prisoners. He stood up and sang Venceremos. The guards shot and killed him.
Victor’s music and his message continue to this day. He is an icon for many people, a man who stood for equality of opportunity, an end to oppression, and a feeling of hope for the future.
In her book, Victor: an unfinished song, Joan Jara, Victor’s wife writes:
His murderers had misjudged the power of song.
VOCABULARY
living standards 生活水準
copper mine 銅山
nationalize 国有化する
arrest 逮捕した
tease からかう
Jara, Joan. Victor: an unfinished song. 1983. Jonathan Cape publishers, London.
"There’s no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom." —Paulo Freire
I’m glad you are sharing this courageous man’s story, and I’m also sad/angry to remember the culpability of the US government in the Pinochet coup.