Violeta Parra

Biography
Parra was born in San Carlos, uble Province, a small town in southern Chile on 4 October 1917.
She was involved in the progressive movement and the Communist Party of Chile. She revived the
Pea (now known as La Pea de Los Parra), a community center for the arts and for political
activism. Some have stated she established the rst 'pea', but as said by the RAE, places such as
these had been called that since 1936.
Violeta Parra was a member of the prolic Parra family. Among her brothers were the notable
modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra and fellow folklorist Roberto Parra.
Her son, ngel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, are also important gures in the development
of the Nueva Cancin Chilena. Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic
traditions.
In 1967 Violeta Parra committed suicide[1] by a gunshot to her head.[2] She had previously been
romantically involved with Swiss autist Gilbert Favre.
Gracias A La Vida
Her most renowned song, Gracias a la Vida (Thanks to Life), was popularized throughout Latin
America by Mercedes Sosa, in Brazil by Elis Regina and later in the US by Joan Baez. It remains
one of the most covered Latin American songs in history. Other notable covers of this tragic, but
widely beloved, folk anthem include the Italian guitar-vocal solo of Adriana Mezzadri and La Oreja
de Van Gogh at the 2005 Via del Mar International Song Festival.[3]
It has been treated by classically trained musicians such as in the fully orchestrated rendition by
conservatory-trained Alberto Cortez.[4]
The song has been re-recorded by several Latin artists and Canadian Michael Bubl to gather funds
for the Chilean people affected by the earthquake in Chile, February 2010.[5]
It opens with a very common shift between A minor and E major chords, then it goes to G7-C/C7
before returning to the Am/E motif.[6]
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"Gracias a la vida" was written and recorded following Parra's separation with her long-time partner
and shortly before she took her own life. Parra's lyricism is ambiguous; at face value, Parra's
lyricism may be read as a romantic celebration of life and individual experience, however the
circumstances surrounding the song suggest that Parra also intended the song as a sort of suicide
note, thanking life for all it has given her. It may even be read as ironic, pointing out that a life full
of good health, opportunity and worldly experience may not offer any consolation to grief and the
contradictory nature of the human condition.
The song opens with a simple strumming at a leisurely tempo and exploits the poetic beauty of the
Spanish language with consummate skill.
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo
Translated into English the lyrical sentiment and ambiguity is best conveyed by personifying life;
Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It gave me two bright stars that when I open them,
I perfectly distinguish the black from white
And in the sky above, her starry backdrop
And within the multitudes the man I love
And the closing refrain "Gracias a la vida",
Thank you life
Thank you life
Thank you life
Another highly regarded original, "Volver a los Diecisiete" ("Being Seventeen Again") similarly
celebrates the themes of youthful life, in tragic contrast to her biography. Unlike much popular
music, it moves through minor key progression creating an introspective if not melancholy mood
and thus has lent itself to classical treatment [7] as well as popular music. Despite its originality,
Parra's music was deeply rooted in folk song traditions, as is the case with Nueva Cancin in
general.[7]