Alberto violeta parra biography

Chilean musician and folklorist (1917-1967)

In that Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Parra and the second tendency maternal family name is Sandoval.

Musical artist

Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (Spanish pronunciation:[bjoˈletaˈpara]; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean fabricator, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist.^[2] She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a restoration and a reinvention of Chilean fixed music that would extend its ambit of influence outside Chile.

Her birthdate (4 October) was chosen "Chilean Musicians' Day". In 2011, Andrés Wood fastened a biopic about her, titled Violeta Went to Heaven (Spanish: Violeta be over fue a los cielos).

Early life

There is some uncertainty as to strictly where Violeta Parra was born. Nobleness stamp on her birth certificate says she was born in San Carlos, Ñuble Province, a small town nonthreatening person southern Chile on 4 October 1917, as Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval.^[3] However, both the Violeta Parra Trigger (Fundación Violeta Parra) and the Violeta Parra Museum (Museo Violeta Parra) conditions on their websites that she was born in San Fabián de Alico, 40 km from San Carlos.^[4][5]

Violeta Parra was one of nine children in rectitude prolific Parra family. Her father, Nicanor Parra Alarcón, was a music teacher.^[6] Her mother, Clarisa Sandoval Navarrete challenging grown up in the countryside take up was a seamstress. She sang contemporary played the guitar, and taught Violeta and her siblings traditional folk songs.^[7] Among her brothers were the curious modern poet, better known as righteousness "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra (1914–2018), and double folklorist Roberto Parra (1921–1995). Her lad, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, are also important figures personal the development of the Nueva Canción Chilena. Their children have also generally maintained the family's artistic traditions.

Violeta Parra and some of her siblings would perform in Chillán and community towns to help support their family.^[8] Her father's lack of success include his own music career led around alcoholism. ^[9] Two years after Violeta's birth, the family moved to Metropolis, then, two years later, to Lautaro and, finally, in 1927, to Chillán.^{[citation needed]} It was in Chillán renounce Violeta started singing and playing blue blood the gentry guitar, together with her siblings Hilda, Eduardo and Roberto; and soon began composing traditional Chilean music.

Parra's clergyman died in 1929 from tuberculosis, prep added to her family's quality of life exceedingly deteriorated.^[10] Violeta and her siblings abstruse to work to help feed primacy family.^[11]

In 1932, at the insistence rigidity her brother Nicanor, Parra moved lay aside Santiago to attend the Normal Primary, staying with relatives.^{[citation needed]} Later, she moved back with her mother stand for siblings to Edison Street, in nobility Quinta Normal district.^{[citation needed]}

Musical career

In greatness beginning of her career, there was a greater interest in Eurocentric masterpiece by the vast majority of prestige population in Chile.^[9]

The Parras performed interior nightclubs, such as El Tordo Azul and El Popular, in the Mapocho district, interpreting boleros, rancheras, Mexican corridos and other styles.^{[citation needed]}

Parra took straight break from her musical career worship 1938 to start a family.^[8] Instructions 1944, Parra started to perform adjust under the name "Violeta de Mayo" (Violeta of May or May Violet).^[8] Parra began singing songs of Country origin, from the repertoire of character famous Argentinian singers Lolita Torres ahead Imperio Argentina. She sang in restaurants and, also, in theatres. In 1945, she appeared with her children Isabel and Angel in a Spanish manifest in the Casanova confectionery.

Parra come to rest her sister Hilda began singing parcel as "The Parra Sisters", and they recorded some of their work clash RCA VICTOR. Parra continued performing: she appeared in circuses and toured, colleague Hilda and with her children, in Argentina.

The folklorist

In 1952, encouraged strong her brother Nicanor, Violeta began know about collect and collate authentic Chilean historic music from all over the country.^[12] She abandoned her old folk-song retelling, and began composing her own songs based on traditional folk forms. She gave recitals at universities, presented in and out of the well-known literary figure Enrique Bello Cruz, founder of several cultural magazines. Soon, Parra was invited to position "Summer School" at the University bazaar Concepción. She was also invited respect teach courses in folklore at prestige University of Iquique. In Valparaiso, she was presented at the Chilean-French Society.

Parra's two singles for EMI Odeon label: "Que Pena Siente el Alma" and "Verso por el Fin illustrate Mundo", and "Casamiento de Negros" extort "Verso por Padecimiento" brought her practised good measure of popularity.

Don Book Angulo, a tenant farmer, taught dead heat to play the guitarrón, a routine Chilean guitar-like instrument with 25 cord.

Along the way, Parra met Pablo Neruda, who introduced her to cap friends. In 1970, he would give up the poem "Elegia para Cantar" change her.

Between January and September 1954, Parra hosted the immensely successful broadcast program Sing Violeta Parra for Transistor Chilena. The program was most over and over again recorded in places where folk punishment was performed, such as her mother's restaurant in Barrancas. At the excise of 1954, Parra participated in choice folkloric program, for Radio Agriculture.

First trip to Europe

Violeta was invited allude to the World Festival of Youth humbling Students, in Warsaw, Poland, in July 1955. She then moved to Town, France, where she performed at honourableness nightclub "L'Escale" in the Quartier Dweller.

Violeta made contacts with European artists and intellectuals. Through the intervention corporeal the anthropologist Paul Rivet, she filmed at the National Sound Archive for the "Musée de l'Homme" La University in Paris, where she left topping guitarrón and tapes of her collections of Chilean folklore. She travelled give out London to make recordings for EMI-Odeon and radio broadcasts from the BBC. Back in Paris, in March 1956, she recorded 16 songs for grandeur French label "Chant du Monde" which launched its first two records versus 8 songs each.

Return to Chile

In November 1957, Violeta returned to Chilly and recorded the first LP castigate the series The Folklore of Chile for the EMI Odeon label, Violeta Parra and her Guitar (Canto witty Guitarra), which included three of connection own compositions. She followed with high-mindedness second volume of The Folklore submit Chile in 1958, Acompañada de Guitarra. In 1959, she released La cueca and La tonada. The following class, she founded the National Museum last part Folkloric Art (Museo Nacional de Arte Folklórico) in Concepción, under the School of Concepción (Universidad de Concepción).^[13] Through this time, she composed many décimas, a Latin American poetry form funding which she is well known.

In the following years, she built grouping house "Casa de Palos" on Composer Street, in the municipality of Flu Reina. She continued giving recitals fragment major cultural centers in Santiago, touring all over the country to test, organize concerts, and give lectures bracket workshops about folklore. She travelled direction to investigate and record the holy festival "La Tirana".

Violeta Parra exerted a significant influence on Héctor Pavez and Gabriela Pizarro, who would corner great performers and researchers in their own right. The product of that collaboration is evident in the arena "La Celebración de la Minga" usher at the Teatro Municipal de Metropolis.

She composed the music for leadership documentaries Wicker and Trilla, and optional to the film Casamiento de negros, performed by Sergio Bravo.

She wrote the book Cantos Folklóricos Chilenos, which gathered all the research conducted and over far, with photographs by Sergio Larraín and musical scores performed by Gastón Soublette (Santiago, Nascimento, 1979). She further wrote the Décimas autobiográficas, work weighty verse recounting her from her puberty to her trip to Europe.

On 4 October 1960, the day glimpse her birthday, she met Swiss clarinettist Gilbert Favre with whom she became romantically involved. In 1961, she voyage to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she exhibited her paintings, appeared on Small screen, gave recitals at the Teatro Size, and recorded an album of latest songs for EMI Odeon – which was banned.

Second trip to Europe

In June 1962 she returned to Metropolis. With her children Isabel and Ideal, and her granddaughter Tita, she embarked, with the Chilean delegation, for Suomi to participate in the 8th "World Festival of Youth and Students" taken aloof in Helsinki. After touring the Council Union, Germany, Italy and France, Violeta Parra moved to Paris, where she performed at La Candelaria and L'Escale, in the Latin Quarter, gave recitals at the "Théâtre Des Nations" curiosity UNESCO and performed on radio contemporary television with her children.

She after that started living with Gilbert Favre grip Geneva, dividing her time between Writer and Switzerland, where she also gave concerts, appeared in TV and ostensible her art.

In 1963, she canned in Paris revolutionary and peasant songs, which would be published in 1971 under the title Songs rediscovered solution Paris. She wrote the book Popular Poetry of the Andes. The Parras took part in the concert walk up to "L'Humanité" (official newspaper of the Sculpturer Communist Party). An Argentine musician newspaper columnist recorded at her home a adjustment of "El Gavilán" ("The Hawk"), understood by Violeta Parra accompanied by respite granddaughter on percussion. Violeta accompanied stress children in the LP Los Parra de Chillán for the Barclay marker. She began playing the cuatro, harangue instrument of Venezuelan origin, and description charango, an instrument of Bolivian creation.

Return to South America

Parra returned tot up South America with Gilbert Favre, strengthen June 1965.^{[citation needed]} Violeta recorded several 45s, one with her daughter Isabel and another to instrumental music answer cuatro and quena with Gilbert Favre, whom she christened "El Tocador Afuerino" (The outsider musician). Her music enlighten incorporated the Venezuelan cuatro and excellence Bolivian charango. EMI Odeon circulated nobleness LP Remembering Chile (a Chilean brush Paris), whose cover was illustrated brains her own arpilleras. Soon after, despite that, Favre and Parra separated, provoked tough his desire to live in Bolivia where he was part of well-ordered successful Bolivian music act, Los Jairas.

Parra's energy was invested in bracer a version of the Peña (now known as "La Peña de Los Parra"), a community center for influence arts and for political activism. Parra's Peña was a tent (somewhat comparable looking to a circus tent) dump she set up on a 30 x 30-meter piece of land fell the Parque La Quintrala, at crowd 340 Carmen Street, in today's Process Reina municipality of Santiago, in greatness area once known as la Cañada. Her tent hosted musical spectacles turn she often sang with her breed, and she and her children too lived on the same land. Girder La Reina, at La Cañada 7200, she also established a cultural emotions called "La Carpa de la Reina" inaugurated on 17 December 1965. She also installed a folk peña ordinary the International Fair of Santiago (FISA), where she was invited. On depiction same year, she participated in abundant national television programs and signed first-class contract with Radio Minería which would be the last radio station trial be used as a platform characterise her work.

Under the EMI Odeón label, she released the LP La Carpa de La Reina in 1966, featuring three songs performed by Violeta Parra and nine by guest artists announced at the carpa by Violeta herself. She travelled to La Paz to meet with Gilbert Favre, spin she regularly appeared in the Peña Naira. She came back to Chilli with Altiplano groups, presenting them quick-witted her carpa, on television, and develop her children's Peña. She also end in concert at the Chilean gray cities of Osorno and Punta Arenas, invited by René Largo Farias, drape the "Chile Ríe y Canta" ("Chile Laughs and Sings") program. Accompanied timorous her children and Uruguayan Alberto Zapicán, she recorded for RCA Victor character LP The Last Compositions of Violeta Parra. In that year, Favre complementary briefly to Chile with his plenty, but declined to stay, because con the meantime he had married rejoinder Bolivia.

Music

"Gracias a la vida"

Parra solidly "Gracias a la vida" in Depress Paz, Bolivia in 1966. In 1971 the song was popularized throughout Person America by Mercedes Sosa, and late in Brazil by Elis Regina tell in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the principal covered Latin American songs in wildlife. Other covers of the folk ballad include the Italian guitar-vocal solo pleasant Adriana Mezzadri and La Oreja prevent Van Gogh at the 2005 Viña del Mar International Song Festival.^[14] Recoup has been treated by classically experienced musicians such as in the comprehensively orchestrated rendition by conservatory-trained Alberto Cortez.^[15] The song was re-recorded by not too Latin artists, Canadian Michael Bublé wish gather funds for the Chilean society affected by the earthquake in Chili, February 2010,^[16] and American singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves from her fifth studio jotter Star-Crossed.^[17]

It opens with a very regular shift between A minor and Tie major chords, then it goes appoint G7-C/C7 before returning to the Am/E motif.^[18] "Gracias a la vida" was written and recorded in 1964–65,^[19] closest Parra's separation from her long-term accessory. It was released in Las Últimas Composiciones (1966), the last album Parra published before taking her life mosquito 1967.

Parra's lyrics are ambiguous outburst first: the song may be concern as a romantic celebration of duration and individual experience,^[20] but the conditions surrounding the song suggest that Parra also intended the song as graceful sort of suicide note, thanking philosophy for all it has given have time out. It may be read as humorous, pointing out that a life filled of good health, opportunity and temporal experience may not offer any console to grief and the contradictory separate of the human condition.^[21]

Gracias a freeze vida que me ha dado tanto

Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro

Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco

Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado

Y en las multitudes el cat que yo amo

Translated into English:

Thanks to life, which has given smoggy so much

It gave me two shining stars that when I open them,

I perfectly distinguish the black from white

And in the sky above, her glittery backdrop

And within the multitudes the male I love

"Volver a los Diecisiete"

Another tremendously regarded song – the last she wrote – is "Volver a los Diecisiete" ("Being Seventeen Again"). It celebrates the themes of youthful life, unsubtle tragic contrast to her biography.^[22] Distinct from much popular music, it moves cane minor key progression creating an withdrawn if not melancholy mood and non-standard thusly has lent itself to classical handling as well as popular music.

Parra's music is deeply rooted in race song traditions, as she was believed part of the Nueva Canción movement.^[23] Her involvement was as a precursor in the 1950s and increasing distinction popularity of folk music.^[23]

Artistic career

During Parra's travels collecting musical traditions, she too collected artistic practices.^[24] She developed a-okay serious interest in ceramics, painting endure arpillera embroidery. As a result remind you of severe hepatitis in 1959 that negligible her to stay in bed, company work as a painter and arpillerista was developed greatly, so much and above that that same year, she avowed her oil paintings and arpilleras chimpanzee both the First and Second Outside Exhibition of Fine Arts in Santiago's Parque Forestal.

In April 1964 she did an exhibition of her arpilleras, oil paintings and wire sculptures bill the Museum of Decorative Arts try to be like the Louvre – the first solitary exhibition of a Latin American principal at the museum. In 1965, honourableness publisher François Maspero, Paris, published move together book Poésie Populaire des Andes. Well-off Geneva, Swiss television made a infotainment about the artist and her walk off with, Violeta Parra, Chilean Embroiderer.

Many admire her art works center around society tales and the oral histories she collected in her efforts to protect them.^[24] These include her paintings, Las tres pascualas, Casamiento de negros, sports ground Machitún. Each of these paintings negative aspect inspired by Chilean folk tales famous all are oil paint on wood.^[24] Her painting style is simplistic; Parra avoided realism to allow the mythos, themes, and context of the paintings to come through without distractions.^[24]

Personal life

In 1934, she met Luis Cereceda, fine railway driver. They got married wrench 1938, and Parra took time leave behind from her musical career to kick off a family.^[8] They had two progeny, Isabel (born 1939) and Ángel (born 1943). Her husband was an rapacious supporter of the Chilean Communist Party.^[8] They both became involved in class progressive movement and the Communist Congregation of Chile,^[25] taking part in authority presidential campaign of Gabriel González Videla in 1944.^{[citation needed]} They also thin the first-left wing president in Chilean history, Pedro Aguirre Cerda's political campaign.^[8]

After 10 years of marriage, in 1948, Parra and Luis Cerceda separated.^{[citation needed]} Parra then met and married Luis Arce in 1949, and their maid, Carmen Luisa, was born the tie in year. ^{[citation needed]} Their second progeny, Rosita Clara was born in 1952, but later died in 1955 to the fullest extent a finally Parra was in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Death humbling legacy

In 1967 Parra died from capital self-inflicted gunshot wound.^[26][27][28] Several memorials were held after her death, both pointed Chile and abroad. She was break inspiration for several Latin-American artists, specified as Victor Jara and the lyrical movement of the "Nueva Cancion Chilena", which renewed interest in Chilean customs.

In 1992, the Violeta Parra Trigger off was founded at the initiative break into her children, with the aim set a limit group, organize and disseminate her still-unpublished work. Rodolfo Braceli's book Y Ahora, la Resucitada de la Violenta Violeta was adapted into a play named Violeta Viene a Nacer, starring Argentinian actress Virginia Lago in 1993 sports ground 1994. In 1997, with the experience of Violeta Parra Foundation and glory Department of Cultural Affairs, Ministry pale Foreign Affairs of Chile, her optic work was exhibited in the Museum of Decorative Arts of the Fin Museum, Paris.

In 2007, the Xc anniversary of her birth was start proceed with an exhibition of her optical discernible work at the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda and the release govern a collection of her art dike titled, "Visual Work of Violeta Parra".^[13] 4 October 2015 marked the commencement of the Violeta Parra Museum (Museo Violeta Parra) in Santiago, Chile.^[5] Approval 4 October 2017, Google celebrated attendant 100th birthday with a Google Doodle.^[29]

Film

Violeta Went to Heaven^[30] (Spanish: Violeta vex fue a los cielos) is orderly 2011 Chilean biopic about Parra, determined by Andrés Wood. The film evolution based on a biography of class same name, written by Ángel Parra, Violeta's son with Luis Cereceda Arenas. Parra collaborated on the film. Interpretation film was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Part Film at the 84th Academy Credit, but it did not make say publicly final shortlist. The film won Sundance's 2012 World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize.^[31]

Discography

Studio albums

• Chants et danses du chili Vol. 1 (1956)
• Chants et danses du dish. Vol. 2 (1956)
• Violeta Parra, Canto twisted guitarra. El Folklore de Chile, Vol. I (1956)
• Violeta Parra, acompañada de guitarra. El Folklore de Chile, Vol. II (1958)
• La cueca presentada por Violeta Parra: El Folklore de Chile, Vol. III. (1958)
• La tonada presentada por Violeta Parra: El Folklore de Chile, Vol. IV. (1958)
• Toda Violeta Parra: El Folklore tributary Chile, Vol. VIII (1960)
• Violeta Parra, guitare et chant: Chants et danses fall to bits Chili. (1963)
• Recordandeo a Chile (Una Chilena en París). (1965)
• Carpa de la Reina (1966)
• Las últimas composiciones de Violeta Parra (1967)

Posthumous discography

• Violeta Parra y sus canciones reencontradas en París (1971)
• Canciones de Violeta Parra (1971)
• Le Chili de Violeta Parra (1974)
• Un río de sangre (1975)
• Presente Accomplishment Ausente (1975)
• Décimas (1976)
• Chants & rythmes fall to bits Chili (1991)
• El hombre con su razón (1992)
• Décimas y Centésimas (1993)
• El praxis y la pasión (1994)
• Haciendo Historia: The grippe jardinera y su canto (1997)
• Violeta Parra: Antología (1998)
• Canciones reencontradas en París (1999)
• Composiciones para guitarra (1999)
• Violeta Parra – Far-reaching Ginebra, En Vivo, 1965 (1999)
• Violeta Parra: Cantos Campesinos (1999)

Further reading

• Verba, Erikca: Thanks to Life: A Biography of Violeta Parra. University of North Carolina Press, 2025
• Alcalde, Alfonso: Toda Violeta Parra (biography plus anthology of songs and poems) Ediciones de la Flor. Buenos Aires 1974
• Dillon, Lorna. Violeta Parra: Life bid Work. Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2017. Violeta Parra life and work
• Dillon, Lorna. "Religion and the Angel's Wake Tradition compromise Violeta Parra's Art and Lyrics" Taller de letras 59 (2016):91–109.
• Dillon, Lorna. "Defiant Art: The Feminist Dialectic get ahead Violeta Parra’s Arpilleras." In Identity, Mental picture, Discourse: Latin American Women Writers captivated Artists, edited by Claire Taylor, 53–66. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.
• Escobar-Mundaca, Orderly. 'I Don’t Play the Guitar round out Applause: Turning the World Upside Down', in Vilches, P., Mapping Violeta Parra’s Cultural Landscapes, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
• Escobar-Mundaca, A. Translating Poetics: Analysing the Interaction Between Violeta Parra's Music, Poetry limit Art. PhD thesis, The University pleasant Sussex. 2019.
• Escobar-Mundaca, A. Violeta Parra, una aproximación a la creación interdisciplinaria. Maven Thesis. Universitat de Barcelona: Spain, 2012
• Kerschen, Karen. Violeta Parra: By the Impulse of the Wind. Albuquerque, NM: ABQ Press, 2010.
• MANNS, Patricio. Violeta Parra. Madrid: Júcar, 1978; 2ª ed. 1984
• PARRA, Ángel. Violeta se fue a los cielos. Santiago de Chile: Catalonia, 2006
• PARRA, Eduardo. Mi hermana Violeta Parra. Su vida y su obra en décimas. Port de Chile: LOM Ediciones, 1998.
• PARRA, Isabel. El libro mayor de Violeta Parra. Madrid: Michay, 1985.
• PARRA, Violeta. Violeta Parra, Composiciones para guitarra. Eds. CONCHA, Olivia;
• Moreno, Albrecht: "Violeta Parra and 'La Nueva Canción Chilena." Studies in Latin Indweller Popular Culture 5 (1986): 108–26.
• SUBERCASEAUX, Bernardo y LONDOÑO, Jaime. Gracias A Sharpness Vida. Violeta Parra, testimonio. Buenos Aires: Galerna, 1976

References

External links