The Legends: Violeta Parra
Chilean singer and guitarist Violeta Parra (Oct. 4, 1917- Feb. 5, 1967) was a politically-minded performer dedicated to discovering and preserving her country’s fading roots music traditions.
Parra spent much of her career interviewing and recording aging musicians who had fled rural areas for the shantytowns of Santiago due to economic and political change. In the process, she preserved songs and memories that otherwise might have been lost forever.
Her efforts helped spearhead Nueva Cancion (“new song”), Chile’s own politically-charged folk revival later carried on by Parra’s son Angel and daughter Isabel. Her original and preserved songs reached a wider audience through the “Canta Violeta Parra” radio program that ran from 1953-1954 on a leftist radio station, offering culturally-rich programming on a medium then-dominated by escapist entertainment. She also helped keep folk traditions alive on the home front by running La Peña de los Parra, a performance space and community center that served a similar purpose as modern D.I.Y. performance and art spaces.
Among Parra’s best-known compositions is “Gracias a la Vida” from her 1966 album Las Ultimas Composiciones De Violeta Parra (RCA Victor). It’s one of the most covered Latin American songs of the past 50 years and was the title track for Joan Baez’s 1974 Spanish language album. Like many of her global folk music peers, Parra compiled a diverse catalog that blended heartfelt love songs (“Volver a los 17”) with socio-political allegories (“La Jardinera”).
In addition to her music, Parra was a multi-talented visual artist, creating paintings, sculptures, and tapestries inspired by Chilean folk traditions. In 1964, she became the first Latin American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Louvre. Yet it’s her dedication to preserving musical traditions swept aside by modernization that makes Parra a giant among 20th century folklorists and songwriters.
In 2014, Museo Violeta Parra was founded by the artist’s children Angel and Isabel Parra, in Santiago, Chile in order to preserve and share her work and legacy. More information can be found here.
Comments
Great Article!! Another great song by her is “Arriba Quemando el Sol” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2E9AXJozGw
Comment by Xaviera on October 26, 2016 at 4:32 pm[…] Along with its sociopolitical (and generational) implications, Dylan’s historic embrace of electric guitar is meaningful to Deerhoof on a musical level. With Mountain Moves, they detour from their avant-garde leanings into more traditional pop (though keep in mind “traditional” is a relative term!). The album features collaborations with guest musicians including Jenn Wasner, Awkwafina, Juana Molina, Matana Roberts, and Xenia Rubinos, among others. Along with twelve original tracks, it features three covers of iconic protest songs—the Staples Singers’ “Freedom Highway,” Bob Marley’s “Small Axe,” and “Gracias a la Vida” by Chilean folk artist Violeta Parra. […]
Pingback by She Shreds Magazine - Deerhoof Goes Politically-Fueled Pop on "Come Down Here and Say That" ft. Lætitia Sadier on August 4, 2017 at 6:47 amI like Violeta’s song called ” Que Pena Siente El Alma”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX7wJsfG2sU
Cool article. Greetings from Chile.
Comment by Fca on February 23, 2018 at 7:39 pm