- Violeta Parra
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Violeta Parra
Img_capt = Violeta Parra in the 1960s
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval
Born = birth date|1917|10|14|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1967|2|5|1917|10|14|mf=y
Origin = San Carlos, flagicon|ChileChile
Occupation =Vocalist ,Songwriter ,Plastic Arts
Instrument =Vocals ,Guitar ,Charango ,Cuatro ,Percussion
Genre = Folk,Singer-Songwriter ,Andean music ,Latin music ,Chilean music
Years_active = 1949-1965
Label = EMI-Odeon
AlerceWarner Music
Associated_acts =Víctor Jara ,Quilapayún ,
Inti-illimani ,Patricio Manns ,Illapu ,Ángel Parra ,Isabel Parra ,Roberto Parra ,Sergio Ortega ,Margot Loyola ,Pablo Neruda ,Nicanor Parra ,Soledad Bravo ,Daniel Viglietti ,Mercedes Sosa ,Joan Baez ,Holly Near ,Elis Regina ,Dean Reed ,Silvio Rodriguez URL = [http://www.violetaparra.scd.cl/ Official Website]
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (
October 14 ,1917 –February 5 ,1967 ) was a notableChilean folklorist and visual artist. She set the basis for "New Song," LaNueva Canción chilena, a renewal and a reinvention of Chileanfolk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile.Parra was born in San Carlos, province of
Ñuble , a small town in southernChile . She was involved in the progressive movement and theSocialist Party of Chile . She revived the "Peña ", (now known as "La Peña de Los Parra"). A "Peña" is a community center for the arts and for political activism. Some think she established the first 'peña' but according to the records of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, places such as these had been called that since 1936 (RAE ). During the government of PresidentSalvador Allende there were "Peñas" mushrooming all over Chile. These were subsequently banned by the military regime that toppled the Allende government, making exiles and political prisoners out of whole sectors of the Chilean artistic and intellectual community. Nevertheless, there are still many "Peñas" operating throughout Chile, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Australia. They continue to serve the expat communities that fled Chile after the coup on September 11, 1973 that overthrew PresidentSalvador Allende .Violeta Parra was a member of the prolific
Parra family . Her brother is the notable modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet",Nicanor Parra . Her son,Ángel Parra , and her daughter,Isabel Parra , were also important figures in the development of the "Nueva Canción Chilena". Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic traditions.Violeta Parra committed suicide with a gunshot to her head in 1967, because of her depression over the breakup of her relationship with
Gilbert Favre .Her most renowned song, "
Gracias a la Vida " (Thanks to Life), was popularized throughout Latin America byMercedes Sosa and later in the US byJoan Baez . It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.Further reading
*Moreno, Albrecht: "Violeta Parra and 'La Nueva Canción Chilena.'" Studies in Latin American Popular Culture 5 (1986): 108—26.
External links
* [http://www.violetaparra.scd.cl/ Violeta Parra]
* [http://www.nuevacancion.net/violeta/ Discography]
* [http://www.lajiribilla.cu/musica/grammy/issacgraciasalavida.rm Issac 2001 Triptych version of "Gracias A la Vida"]
* [http://www.sreyes.org/vpremember.htm Remembering Violeta Parra]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7943993 Violeta Parra's Gravesite]
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