Victor Jara（1938--1973）生于智利首都圣地亚哥附近安底斯山小村，父亲是庄围佃户，维克拉从小体验农家艰辛。母亲是南部英勇善战的印第安部落马普切人，以顽强的劳动坚持孩子应受教育，维克多洞察母亲辛劳，从来是学校里最勤奋、最优秀的学生。母亲也是个乡间歌手，会弹吉他，常受邀在婚丧典礼或收成季里即兴演唱。后来，母亲一如许多农民一样，为了摆脱穷困，带了5个孩子到首都谋生，全家挤在贫民窟的破烂小屋，她不再唱歌，在集市卖小吃，帮人洗衣服，像奴隶般拼命作活，仍坚持让孩子念书。那时维克多跟个家境较好的朋友学吉他，朋友带一张民歌唱片来放，卖小吃的母亲竟听得悄悄流泪。维克多15岁那年，母亲瘁死于小吃摊旁，由于劳累过度。  　　维克多在医院当门房，也当上某大学合唱团业余队员，后来又参加一个业余哑剧团。1955年，考上智利大学戏剧系表演组，在3年学习过程中，每个假期皆赴母亲故乡南部纽布莱省跟农民劳动，并习民歌，晒黑了皮肤，学会农民语汇，记录许多民歌，终其一生，维克多没有一刻在感情上背叛过养育自己长大的底层人民，也没有在实际生活里远离过他们。  　　50年代末，维克多即经常参加比奥莱塔(民歌之母比奥莱塔．帕拉 Violeta Parra－－智利底层人民尊严的象征)召集的艺术家聚会，也时时单独拜访伊，就智利的民歌发展跟伊进行长时间的对话，比奥莱塔还亲自为维克多谱写歌曲，伊是维克多的导师，维克多不仅接受比奥莱塔的教诲，更承继了比奥莱塔作为人民歌手的灵魂。  　　1960年，维克多考进导演组，60年代是他在导演艺术上进步神速的10年，勤奋与天赋使他超越其它家庭条件优越的同行，很快成为系上教员和戏研所的常任导演，导演过的剧目还成了保留性剧目，成就得到国内外的佳评，多次获奖并获邀出国访问。  　　中产阶级的门敞开了，但维克多跟比奥莱塔帕拉一样选择了比较艰辛的路子，就是找寻艺术真谛，而真谛蕴藏在大地的极深处。  　　维克多渴望在剧场上全面展示智利民族文化的瑰宝，每排演一出戏，他都要去农村、山区搜集语言、动作、音乐跟视觉材料，于是日益理解人民的生活、感情和思维方元。同时也从未放弃对演唱民歌和作曲的热爱，吉他就如忠实的情人，不曾离开过左右。维克多没学过乐理，也不会写5线谱，他只能像农民一样靠听力牢记旋律，用农民的方式弹奏吉他，全凭非凡的直觉创作。后来进行较大规模的创作，则跟受过音乐专业的友人合作。维克多经常带学生利用周末到外地搜集民歌，学习民间舞蹈，他不要求学生准备田调的书面提纲，认为这种学院派有碍跟农民达成理解。他跟学生会只带一壶酒、一把吉他，于是一场社会、艺术田调成了洋溢尊重与友谊的对话。  　　1973年皮诺切特发动军事政变，阿连德总统遇害。Victor Jara不顾个人安危，坚持到智利国立理工大学参加集会并且对着众人无惧地歌唱，随后他被军人政府逮捕并残忍杀害。在逝前的若干天内，Victor的双手俱被打折，独裁者就是用这样血腥的方式哑去了民众的高歌。一星期后聂鲁达悲愤而死。这首诗是在Victor Jara遇害后，他的朋友民歌手菲尔.奥克斯举办的纪念音乐会上，英国诗人阿德里安.米切尔为他而写。民歌手Arlo Guthrie当场坐在钢琴边谱曲，并当着台下5000名观众的面，演唱了这首歌。 　　 　　by Craig Harris 　　The facts of Victor Jaras tragic death are well documented. Arrested in the aftermath of a military coup detat, Jara was one of many political prisoners and to the National Football Stadium where many were tortured, beaten and executed. Although his hands were broken, or, as many have claimed, amputated, Jara continued to sing a song supporting the ousted Popular Unity Party. After receiving many brutal blows, Jara stopped singing only when a machine gun fired by a military officer took his life. In the nearly three decades since, Jaras songs and spirit have been celebrated by numerous politically-minded folksingers including Pete Seeger and Tom Paxton. Arlo Guthrie set Adrian Mitchells ballad, Victor Jara, and recorded it on his album, Amigo. Jaras heart may have been forcefully stilled but his music has lived on. The youngest of four children born to a ploughman, Manuel, and a semi-professional folk singer, Amanda, Jara grew up in severe poverty. Raised on a feudel-like farm, he lived on the bags of flour and occassional fruit which his father earned from his labors. By the age of six or seven, he was already accompanying his father to work in the fields. Family life was extremely difficulty as his father increasingly began drinking to escape his woes. When a pot of boiling water fell on his sister, he joined his mother and moved to Santiago, the site of the only hospital equipped to treat his sisters burns. While in Santiago, his mother took a job at a food stand at an open market. In March 1950, Jara received word that his mother had died from a stroke suffered while she was at work. For the next three years, he struggled through school while sleeping at the homes of friends. Leaving school, at the age of fifteen, Jara entered the Redemptist Order in San Bernardo, a small village south of Santiago. His quest to become a priest, however, lasted only a year. In 1952, he left the seminary and enlisted in the Chilean army. The following year, he was dismissed with honors. Jaras interests in theater and music soon became the dominant force in his life. Enrolling in the school of theater at the University Of Chile, he studied acting. After completing his degree, he continued on to begin studies in theatrical directing. While at the school, he met his wife, Joan Turner, a teacher from Great Britain. A turning point in Jaras musical career came when he met Violeta Parra, a traditional folk singer and artist and the owner of a small cafe in Santiago. Taken under Parras wing, Jara began to sing more and moe in the cafe. In 1966, he released his debut self-titled album. Four years later, he left the theater to devote his full-time attention to music. From the beginning, Jara used his songwriting skills to supply a voice for Chiles working class and peasantry. Strongly supportive of the Communist Party, he was thrilled when Dr. Salvador Allende, the head of the Popular Unity Coalition, became the first Socialist to be elected president of a Latin American country. Under Allendes leadership, the Popular Unity Coalition planned to strengthen educational support, increase low-income and furnish free socialized medical care. Jaras dreams began to crumble, on September 11, 1973, when a military junta headed by Admiral Toribio Merino and Army General Augusto Pinochet, assisted by the United States via the Central Intelligence Agency, overthrew Allende and launched a brutal coup. Thousands of Popular Unity Coalition leaders and supporters were imprisoned with hundreds being subsequently executed. Jara was working at the State Technical University when it was surrounded by the military. Taken prisoner, he spent five days in a chilled, dirty, cell without adequate food or water, before being taken to the National Football Stadium. Although he was initially buried in a mass grave, his wife was permitted to provide him with a decent funeral and burial. She later left Chile in secret, taking many unreleased tapes of Jaras songs.