Victor Jara

From modest rural beginnings in the Chilean countryside, Victor Jara went on to become one of his country's most outspoken and beloved voices for peace and justice until his murder by the dictatorial Pinochet regime in 1973.

Jara spent his early years studying accounting and later joined the seminary for a brief period, but his first musical formation was his mother Amanda, who played the guitar and sang Chilean folk songs to her children. Disenchanted with the theological doctrine, Jara entered the University of Chile's School of Theater and took up acting and directing, and upon completing his degree began his association with singer/poet Violeta Parra as he immersed himself in singing and politics.

He began his recording and performing career in 1966 and became an activist for the oppressed peoples of his homeland. He and Violeta Parra were among the creators of Chile's nueva canción movement, and were supportive of Salvador Allende's progressive politics, often playing in support of his campaign.

Upon the subsequent military overthrow and assassination of Allende as president, Jara was taken prisoner along with many others, then tortured and shot in front of thousands of spectators in the Stadium of Chile. Despite this horrific end, Jara's music became a beacon for all countries and individuals seeking an end to political corruption and injustice, and his music would live on in the voices of his Latin American and international brothers and sisters. —Rebeca Mauleon