Every year musicians gather to pay tribute to the legendary folk singer Victor Jara murdered during a military coup in Chile in 1973. How a Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past *****, Youtube 13.44, Retro Report 2019
‘He was completely committed to trying to make the world a better place. And he actually gave his life for that.’ ibid. Jara’s widow
In the 1960s Jara and other artists used their music to advocate for political and social change and workers’ rights. ibid.
Over the next 17 years of military rule under General Augusto Pinochet an estimated 27,000 were tortured and over 3,000 were killed or disappeared. ibid.
In 2015 a Chilean judge charged 9 army officers with Jara’s murder and ordered them to stand trial. ibid.
[Nando]: I think it was Roberto or Gustavo’s face. Diego was there too on the periphery. There are voices were saying, ‘Nando, can you hear me?’ Storyville: Stranded! The Andes Plane Crash Survivors aka Cannibals in the A, BBC 2008
The impact had broken up the plane. How arbitary it was! Why had some people been destroyed while others had escaped with just a black eye? ibid. survivor
We had to do things I don’t think any animal is capable of, like eating its own species. And we had to debase ourselves as far as any human being is capable of. ibid.
The thoughtlessness of 19-year-olds on their first flight! ibid.
We could see the mountains rushing past us as we fell. ibid.
Instead of a final crash at the end the plane comes to a stop. ibid.
The joy of being alive was greater than any suffering. ibid.
When the plane suddenly came to a stop on the glacier, my folks smashed into the seat and died there. ibid.
After four days, I knew we were doomed. ibid.
I remember we were exhausted and dizzy from the lack of food. You felt nauseous. ibid.
Now it was a matter of life or death. Death was lying still and watching everyone gradually fading away. ibid.
And once you’ve done it, and you’re on the other side. ibid
I’d gone through the barrier of normality and I was ready to give my life. ibid.
Eight died in the avalanche. ibid.
I had a reaction against this God. I just couldn’t understand how He could have killed all of them. ibid.
The group had to be united or we would never win out. ibid.
We would show ourselves to the world in all our nakedness. ibid.