Victor Jara

Victor Jara（1938--1973）生于智利首都圣地亞哥附近安底斯山小村，父親是莊圍佃戶，維克拉從小體驗農(nóng)家艱辛。母親是南部英勇善戰(zhàn)的印第安部落馬普切人，以頑強的勞動堅持孩子應受教育，維克多洞察母親辛勞，從來是學校里最勤奮、最優(yōu)秀的學生。母親也是個鄉(xiāng)間歌手，會彈吉他，常受邀在婚喪典禮或收成季里即興演唱。后來，母親一如許多農(nóng)民一樣，為了擺脫窮困，帶了5個孩子到首都謀生，全家擠在貧民窟的破爛小屋，她不再唱歌，在集市賣小吃，幫人洗衣服，像奴隸般拼命作活，仍堅持讓孩子念書。那時維克多跟個家境較好的朋友學吉他，朋友帶一張民歌唱片來放，賣小吃的母親竟聽得悄悄流淚。維克多15歲那年，母親瘁死于小吃攤旁，由于勞累過度。?
維克多在醫(yī)院當門房，也當上某大學合唱團業(yè)余隊員，后來又參加一個業(yè)余啞劇團。1955年，考上智利大學戲劇系表演組，在3年學習過程中，每個假期皆赴母親故鄉(xiāng)南部紐布萊省跟農(nóng)民勞動，并習民歌，曬黑了皮膚，學會農(nóng)民語匯，記錄許多民歌，終其一生，維克多沒有一刻在感情上背叛過養(yǎng)育自己長大的底層人民，也沒有在實際生活里遠離過他們。?
50年代末，維克多即經(jīng)常參加比奧萊塔(民歌之母比奧萊塔．帕拉 Violeta Parra－－智利底層人民尊嚴的象征)召集的藝術家聚會，也時時單獨拜訪伊，就智利的民歌發(fā)展跟伊進行長時間的對話，比奧萊塔還親自為維克多譜寫歌曲，伊是維克多的導師，維克多不僅接受比奧萊塔的教誨，更承繼了比奧萊塔作為人民歌手的靈魂。?
1960年，維克多考進導演組，60年代是他在導演藝術上進步神速的10年，勤奮與天賦使他超越其它家庭條件優(yōu)越的同行，很快成為系上教員和戲研所的常任導演，導演過的劇目還成了保留性劇目，成就得到國內(nèi)外的佳評，多次獲獎并獲邀出國訪問。?
中產(chǎn)階級的門敞開了，但維克多跟比奧萊塔帕拉一樣選擇了比較艱辛的路子，就是找尋藝術真諦，而真諦蘊藏在大地的極深處。?
維克多渴望在劇場上全面展示智利民族文化的瑰寶，每排演一出戲，他都要去農(nóng)村、山區(qū)搜集語言、動作、音樂跟視覺材料，于是日益理解人民的生活、感情和思維方元。同時也從未放棄對演唱民歌和作曲的熱愛，吉他就如忠實的情人，不曾離開過左右。維克多沒學過樂理，也不會寫5線譜，他只能像農(nóng)民一樣靠聽力牢記旋律，用農(nóng)民的方式彈奏吉他，全憑非凡的直覺創(chuàng)作。后來進行較大規(guī)模的創(chuàng)作，則跟受過音樂專業(yè)的友人合作。維克多經(jīng)常帶學生利用周末到外地搜集民歌，學習民間舞蹈，他不要求學生準備田調的書面提綱，認為這種學院派有礙跟農(nóng)民達成理解。他跟學生會只帶一壺酒、一把吉他，于是一場社會、藝術田調成了洋溢尊重與友誼的對話。?
1973年皮諾切特發(fā)動軍事政變，阿連德總統(tǒng)遇害。Victor Jara不顧個人安危，堅持到智利國立理工大學參加集會并且對著眾人無懼地歌唱，隨后他被軍人政府逮捕并殘忍殺害。在逝前的若干天內(nèi)，Victor的雙手俱被打折，獨裁者就是用這樣血腥的方式啞去了民眾的高歌。一星期后聶魯達悲憤而死。這首詩是在Victor Jara遇害后，他的朋友民歌手菲爾.奧克斯舉辦的紀念音樂會上，英國詩人阿德里安.米切爾為他而寫。民歌手Arlo Guthrie當場坐在鋼琴邊譜曲，并當著臺下5000名觀眾的面，演唱了這首歌。
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.