Venceremos Victor Jara! Your voice is still being heard; and the murderers of you have been damned by history!

            The scenes from the 2004 Chilean movie “Machuca”

With the fascist coup of Pinochet with CIA’s support in September 11, 1973, Victor Jara has been arrested with many civilian and was put into the National Stadium of Chile. While he was in there, due to the torture his hands have been broken and chopped. As the reports of Vladimir Chernyshev who was Pravda reporter conveyed, Victor Jara was singing “Venceremos” which was the popular song of “Unidad Popular” even while he was torturing. And Jara’s chopped hands were hung to the stadium for intimidating to the other prisoners.

And another journalist, Chilean journalist Miguel Cabezas, has described the events in National Stadium at that day for America’s University review.

…Volleys of machine gun fire periodically emptied into the crowd and bodies rolled down the inclines. Prisoners who hadn’t eaten or drunk in days vomited on the dead bodies of their comrades.

Victor wandered around trying to calm them and rouse their spirits. He went down to the arena and approached one of the doors where new prisoners entered. Here he ran into the prison camp commander who “made tiny gestures of someone playing a guitar”. Victor nodded his head candidly and the commander called four soldiers to hold Victor and ordered a table be put in the centre of the arena so everyone could see what was to follow.

“They took Victor to the table and ordered him to put his hands on it. In the hands of the officer rose, swiftly, an axe. With a single stroke he severed the fingers on Victor’s left hand, and with another stoke, the fingers of the right.

“A collective outcry from 6,000 prisoners was heard. These 12,000 eyes then watched the same officer throw himself over the fallen body of singer and actor Victor Jara and begin to hit him while shouting: ‘Now sing, you motherfucker, now sing.’

“Jara received more blows but raised himself and walked to where the arena and bleachers met. There was a deep silence. And then his voice was heard crying: ‘All right comrades, let’s do the senor commandante the favour.’ He steadied himself for a moment and then lifting his bleeding hands began to sing with an unsteady voice the anthem of Unidad Popular. And everybody sang with him.”

A volley was fired and Jara fell dead.

…

According to some sources he was murdered in September 15, the others says in September 16. After 43 years, we are still listening Venceremos from Victor Jara. Thanks him for he left amazing-bright trace on us!

The quotes were taken from “The life and death of Victor Jara – a classic feature from the vaults”