Don Palabraz

Victor Jara, a Chilean legend in Latin America for his popular folk music, was finally given the funeral and procession he deserved thirty-six years ago on Saturday. As one of the most symbolic victims of the repression wrought by General Augusto Pinochet, Jara was buried in secret in the days following the September 11th, 1973 coup in Chile. His funeral was kept to a few members of his family. Newspaper mentions were minimal and censored as if Jara had died of natural causes.

As current investigations into his murder continue, the remains of the beloved singer/poet were exhumed earlier this summer. A three-day wake came to a close on Saturday as a mass procession re-buried Victor Jara. The above video offers an inspiring snapshot as to the continued relevance of his songs decades later. With flags adorning his image, the people united in the streets sang the verses of “El Martillo”  – a spanish language interpretaion of Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer.”

This was the mass appreciation that should have been afforded a complete human being such as Jara thirty-six years ago.