Robb Johnson & Mauricio Venegas

¡VICTOR!

The Life, Songs and Legacy of Victor Jara

A celebration of the life and songs of Chilean revolutionary folk artiste,
protest singer and songwriter

Victor Jara

A martyr of the Pinochet coup d'état in 1973, Jara met an untimely death in the infamous Santiago football stadium. Chilean exile Mauricio Venegas (voice, guitar, pan-pipes, kena, charango, percussion) joins England's Robb Johnson (voice, guitar) in a creative project which is based on a man who inspired them both.

Jara's songs are sung in their original Spanish and in English translation, with additional original songs by Robb and Mauricio.

TRADITIONAL
TAPS
ARTS PROJECTS		Supported bySouthern Arts

FUNDED BY
Hampshire County Council

May be heard:

Sidmouth Folk Festival
3 August 1999

May 2000 (details tbc)

Availability:

Oct-Nov 1999
Feb-Mar 2000
Summer 2000

 Contact:

TAPS
taps@dmac.co.uk
South Hill Park
Bracknell
Berks RG12 7PA
Tel 01344 302008
Fax 01344 411427

Previews:
  • The Ark, South Ealing Road, Ealing, London.
    8pm July 19 1999
    Advance Bookings only 0958 236103

  • Fo'c'sle Folk Club
    Southampton, UK
    30 July 1999
Concert:

  • for any size space or audience
  • acoustic or PA
 Workshops:

  • practical and/or discussion
  • creative songwriting
  • music and song as a power for change
  • living history

The Historical background to Victor Jara and his times

It is difficult to write about the old South America in terms which can be understood in the West. The 'normality' there (which even now supporters of Pinochet see as a golden age), was as fascist and repressive as anything found in Europe at the height of Nazi power. Society there was, and is even now, as polarised into the rich and the poor as that of mediæval Europe but with fewer moral scruples restraining man's inhumanity to man. It is too easy to dismiss Allende and his supporters, like Victor Jara and the popular song movement, as Marxist extremists. The downfall of corrupt Soviet Communism ought to have removed the paranoia surrounding populist political movements, but at the time many people who knew nothing of the real situation were easily persuaded that the future of the world was at stake (shades of the Tolpuddle Martyrs!). In fact Allende was a moderate, chosen as the best chance of keeping the Country united (unrealisable at the time, as it turned out). Naturally the rich and powerful wanted (and want) to maintain their privilege and were (and are) prepared to destabilise the economy for as long and as far as required, to create the chaos which would allow them to seize power. This was engineered with artificially created shortages and street hooliganism by vigilante groups recruited from or for those previously in power or their privileged supporters. In this they were aided and abetted by the CIA as has subsequently been admitted under the American Freedom of Information legislation. Peace and a fledgling democracy are still, in all of South America, fragile and unstable and as liable to go backwards as forwards. It was in this atmosphere that singer and folklorist Victor Jara and his wife gathered a huge group of popular songsters and musicians around them which acted as a focus for the populist Chilean political movement starting in the sixties. More of this background may be found in the book Victor: An Unfinished Song, by Joan Jara, Victor's English wife, published by Bloomsbury Press at £7.99 paperback in the UK which is to be a feature film starring and with a screenplay by Emma Thompson.
Trevor Gilson
14 May 1999
These views are not those of TAPS or of its Officials. They are the personal opinions of  Trevor Gilson.

Description and quotes from reviews of the book:

Republished to mark the 25th anniversary of the coup in Chile and with a new epilogue by Joan Jara, VICTOR: AN UNFINISHED SONG is to be a feature film starring and with a screenplay by Emma Thompson.

In this powerfully affecting memoir, Joan Jara, English wife of the legendary Chilean folksinger Victor Jara; who was murdered by the military in 1973, vividly describes their meeting and life together. She relives the tumultuous years during which they worked in what became the popular song movement and the euphoria they shared as part of the massive social upheaval that brought Salvador Allende to power. As Victor's compañera and herself a participant in the struggle, Joan Jara writes with a fierce, partisan passion and with extraordinary courage. It is a story full of hope and music and joy and laughter as of bitter disappointment and agony. But most of all it is a story written with a shining honesty, warmth and directness, as life-giving as Victor Jara's own beautiful songs.

'A moving, unforgettable book. Victor Jara was murdered because he sang of his people, and for them. His unfinished song of the poor continues to enrich the living'
Spectator

'As long as we sing his songs, as long as his courage can inspire us to greater courage, Victor Jara will never die'
Pete Seeger

Allende Gossens, Salvador (1908-73)

President of Chile (1970-73), born in Santiago, and educated as a physician at the University of Chile. He joined the Socialist party when it was founded in 1933, was elected to Congress in 1937, and served as minister of health from 1939 to 1942. In 1945 Allende was elected to the Senate, where he remained active for 25 years. During that period he was three times the presidential candidate of his party. Running his fourth race in 1970, supported by a leftist coalition, he won a narrow plurality. As president, Allende set out to revamp Chilean society, nationalizing industries and enterprises, but met with resistance from the right and dissatisfaction from the radical left. As inflation soared, powerful U.S. interests exploited the situation to stir up the middle class. Chaos resulted, and in a military coup on September 11, 1973, Allende lost his life. "Allende Gossens, Salvador," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto (1915- )

Military dictator of Chile (1973-1990), born in Santiago, and educated at Chile's military academy. Rising steadily through army ranks, he was appointed brigadier general during the administration of Eduardo Frei Montalva. Under President Salvador Allende he became commander of the Santiago garrison, and in 1972 he was made commander in chief of the army. Pinochet was one of the leaders of the United States-supported coup that deposed Allende in 1973, the first time the Chilean army had intervened in civil affairs. By 1974 Pinochet had emerged as head of state. He quickly curtailed political activity, and his regime was condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 1977 for its practice of torturing detainees. Pinochet was confirmed in office for an eight-year term in 1980. After an assassination attempt on him in 1986, Pinochet dealt even more harshly with dissidents. A plebiscite in October 1988 denied him the right to continue as president beyond March 1990, although he retained his post as army commander. "Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

[General Pinochet is currently (May 1999) a prisoner in the UK where his lawyers are fighting to prevent his extradition to Spain to stand trial for human rights abuses].

Back to Robb Johnson Index

Other TAPS dates, linked events and projects:

3 July Mediæval fayre in the grounds of Wherwell Priory, featuring the Andover Museum Loft Singers and Broughton Mummers & Longswords.

10 July The Earl of Southampton Fair, Titchfield Abbey Nr Fareham, 10.30am-8pm, featuring Roots Progress musicians, Woodfidley, Titchfield Mummers and other local performers and school groups. Strolling Players, storytellers and dancers plus 'How Now' from Oregon, USA complete the performance.

27 July Two of TAPS performers lead workshops for Funnybone's Kids Free Fun Festival in conjunction with Chase Day Camp. Every Tuesday through August sees other performers running workshops for children in the same location.

My Village - Your Village linking Theale Green in West Berkshire with Bakoteh in the Gambia. A CD is planned for July 1999.

July-September 1999 The Boka Halat tour (a joint project between TAPS and the African and Caribbean Music Circuit):

Contact TAPS direct for further details of all these projects or to be put on the mailing list.

Submitted by Trevor Gilson on behalf of TAPS and Robb Johnson, 16 May 1999, revised 29 June.