Víctor Jara

Víctor Jara (born September 28, 1932, Lonquén, Chile—died September 16, 1973, Santiago, Chile) was a Chilean folk singer, one of the pioneers of the nueva canción genre of politically charged popular songs. His political activism led to his torture and execution by the regime of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Jara was raised in poverty by a farmer father and a folk singer mother. He left school at age 15 to prepare for the priesthood but gave up his clerical studies to join the army, from which he was honourably discharged after a year of service. Jara then studied theatre at the University of Chile. Upon his graduation he began working as a stage director, a pursuit he continued even after his singing career took off.

Jara’s interest in folk music was sparked when in 1957 he met Violeta Parra, one of the founders of the nueva canción movement. He began playing folk songs with a decided leftist bent, and he released his self-titled debut album (also called Canto a lo humano [“Hymn to the Human”] in rereleases) in 1966. He followed with a number of well-received recordings, including Pongo en tus manos abiertas… (1969; “I Put into Your Open Hands…”), El derecho de vivir en paz (1971; “The Right to Live in Peace”), and La población (1972; “The Population”).

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The nueva canción songs gained prominence as Chile became a centre of political turmoil during the late 1960s and early ’70s, which included the election of socialist Pres. Salvador Allende in 1970 and his overthrow by Pinochet in 1973. Jara’s song “Venceremos” (“We Will Overcome”) was the theme song of Allende’s political party (the leftist Popular Unity) during his successful presidential campaign and became a leftist anthem throughout Chile. Jara’s fame soon transcended Chile, and his work was promoted by renowned American folk singers such as Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs (the last of whom met Jara in Chile and later organized a benefit concert in tribute to him and other victims of the coup after Jara’s death). Jara’s status as an icon of leftist Chilean politics and his connection with Allende put him squarely in Pinochet’s sights as the general was planning his coup. Soon after the coup began—on September 11, 1973—Jara was among the thousands of Popular Unity members and supporters arrested by Pinochet’s forces and held in a football (soccer) stadium. There he was beaten repeatedly. When his fingers were smashed by guards, and he was mockingly asked to play guitar and sing for his fellow prisoners, Jara responded by defiantly singing “Venceremos.” He was soon thereafter shot and killed by Pinochet’s forces.

In the wake of his death, Jara became a national icon in Chile, and he is still invoked in popular songs from that country and abroad. The stadium in which he was killed was renamed Víctor Jara Stadium in 2003. In 2012 eight retired Chilean army officers were charged with Jara’s murder. Six years later they were found guilty of kidnapping and killing Jara and another man. The defendants were sentenced to 18 years and one day in prison, and another suspect was sentenced to more than five years as an accessory to the crimes. One of those convicted of Jara’s murder was Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez, who had become a U.S. citizen after fleeing Chile in 1989. Chile’s attempts to extradite him were initially unsuccessful, though a 2016 civil trial in the United States found Barrientos liable for Jara’s death. In July 2023 Barrientos’s U.S. citizenship was revoked after a federal court determined that he lied about his military service. Three months later he was arrested.