Victor Jara: Chile Continues Its Search For Truth And Justice. When Will Ours Begin?

(From The Latin-American Herald Tribune):

Chile Exhumes Singer Victor Jara, Slain Under Pinochet

"SANTIAGO – Chilean police and medical examiners on Thursday exhumed the body of singer-songwriter Victor Jara, who was killed just days after the September 1973 coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The procedure, ordered by Judge Juan Eduardo Fuentes, who is heading the probe of Jara’s death, could clarify key aspects of the case and it is hoped it will serve to corroborate or refute the declaration of army veteran Jose Adolfo Paredes Marquez, the only person ever arrested for the crime."

"Paredes, 54, confessed to being one of the soldiers who on several occasions shot the popular singer, but later he retracted his statements, said he was innocent of the crime and said that Jara was murdered by another officer with a single shot to the chest. This version differs from the circumstances of Jara’s death, as determined by coroners, who found that the singer was tortured and shot 44 times all over his body."

".... Fuentes has already charged several people in connection with the slaying of Jara, who was a prominent supporter of the Socialist government toppled by Pinochet. Among the defendants is retired army Col. Mario Manriquez Bravo, who commanded the detention and torture camp set up at Santiago’s Chile stadium in the wake of the putsch, the site where Jara was killed. Jara’s murder became a symbol of the atrocities committed by the 1973-1990 military regime, which is blamed for more than 3,000 deaths. Chile stadium was renamed for Victor Jara in 2003."

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=336574&CategoryId=14094
Also see, at this blog, http://nabnyc.blogspot.com/2009/01/victor-jara-desalambrar.html

Te Recuerdo Amanda is one of Victor Jara's most popular songs.

It tells the story of a young girl in Chile named Amanda who used to go every day to the factory where her sweetheart, Manuel worked, to see him for just five minutes on his break. Somebody, the narrator telling the story, talks about seeing Amanda every day running up the wet streets to the factory, the rain in her hair and a big smile on her face, so she could see her sweetheart for those five minutes until the factory siren went off, and Manuel had to go back to work. One day when she went to the factory, Manuel as well as many of the other young men had left, gone to the mountains to fight against the repressive government. But they were all slaughtered. So when the factory siren sounded after that, many of the young men never returned -- including Manuel.

Te recuerdo Amanda
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fabrica
donde trabajaba Manuel

La sonrisa ancha,
la lluvia en el pelo,
no importaba nada
ibas a encontrarte con el,

con el, con el, con el, con el
Son cinco minutos
la vida es eterna,
en cinco minutos

Suena la sirena,
de vuelta al trabajo
y tu caminando
lo iluminas todo

los cinco minutos
te hacen florecer

Te recuerdo Amanda
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fabrica
donde trabajaba Manuel

La sonrisa ancha
la lluvia en el pelo
no importaba nada,
ibas a encontrarte con el

con el, con el, con el, con el
Que partió a la sierra
que nunca hizo daño,
que partió a la sierra

y en cinco minutos,
quedó destrozado
Suenan las sirenas
de vuelta al trabajo

muchos no volvieron
tampoco Manuel

Te recuerdo Amanda,
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fábrica,
donde trabajaba Manuel

(English)

I remember you Amanda
in the wet streets
running to the factory
where Manuel was employed

With your big smile,
the rain in your hair
nothing mattered to you
you were going to meet with him

With him, with him, with him, with him
it was just five minutes
but life is eternal
in five minutes

then the factory siren would sound
back to work
and you, walking again,
would illuminate everything.

Those five minutes
had made you blossom like a flower.

I remember Amanda
in the wet streets
running to the factory
where Manuel was employed

With your big smile,
the rain in your hair
nothing mattered to you
you were going to meet with him

With him, with him, with him, with him
who left for the Sierra,
who never hurt anyone,
who left for the sierra,

and in five minutes,
was slaughtered.

The factory siren sounds,
back to work
but many will never return
including Manuel

I remember you Amanda,
the wet streets,
running to the factory
where Manuel worked.