La Violeta Eterna (and Terremotos!)
Finally, a chance to talk about what I really want to talk about: Violeta Parra.
I knew nothing of this woman prior to yesterday. Nothing. But we visited the museum dedicated to her, and I quickly began to view this Chilean badass as an inspiration. Learning about her was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Born in rural Chile in 1917, Violeta Parra was one of 10 children of a music professor father and a seamstress mother. Though she never finished school, she would eventually become a successful singer-songwriter, poet, musician, artist, and activist. Though composing and even playing instruments was traditionally a male’s job, she fearlessly taught herself guittarón (a complex guitar with 25 strings, some so small you can’t even see them, called “diablitos”) and wrote her own lyrics. She would later pioneer the genre “Nueva Canción,” which combined traditional folkloric music with political and social themes. Her most famous and recognized song is “Gracias a la Vida.”