"Gracias a la vida" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "''Thanks to life''") is a song written, composed and performed by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal and ...

, one of the artists who was part of the movement and musical genre known as the

Nueva Canción Chilena Nueva is the Spanish feminine form of the word for "new" and may refer to: * Isla Nueva, an uninhabited island in Chile * The Nueva School, a school in Hillsborough, California, USA. * Nueva (Llanes) Nueva is one of 28 parishes (administr ...

. Parra composed "Gracias a la vida" in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

in 1966. It was included on ''Las Últimas Composiciones'', the last album Parra published before committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in 1967. The song is one of Parra's most renowned. It is performed throughout the world and remains one of the most covered

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n songs in history.

Critical reception

The song "Gracias a la vida" was considered as a "humanist hymn" by Marisol García, a journalist specialized in Chilean popular music and creator of the website ''MusicaPopular''. In 2009 the former president

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

expressed her "affection and admiration" for

Mercedes Sosa Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...

and "Gracias a la vida" with the following phrase: «As you know today, "Gracias a la vida" is a song of ours, but also a universal one. Note that there are many artists from many countries who have recorded it and made it famous and one of those voices, perhaps the most vigorous in

, is that of

Mercedes Sosa Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...

». In 2013 was inducted into the

Latin Grammy Hall of Fame The Latin Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize "early recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that were released more than 25 years ago". LARAS is also the same organiza ...

Covers

The 1971 version performed by

Mercedes Sosa Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...

and included in her album ''Homenaje a Violeta Parra'' spread the song within the

Spanish-speaking Hispanophone and Hispanic refers to anything relating to the Spanish language (the Hispanosphere). In a cultural, rather than merely linguistic sense, the notion of "Hispanophone" goes further than the above definition. The Hispanic culture is th ...

world.

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

popularized the song in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1974 by including it on her album of the same name, and continued to perform the song in concert in various countries. Italian singer-songwriter

Gabriella Ferri Gabriella Ferri (18 September 1942 – 3 April 2004) was an Italian singer born in Rome. Ferri's career began in a Milan nightclub in 1963. By 1965, she had broken into the Rome singing scene by singing popular Roman songs, thereby becoming ...

covered the song in her 1974 album ''Remedios'', making it popular with the Italian public.

Voces Unidas por Chile version

In 2010, "Gracias a la Vida" was recorded by the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

''Voces Unidas por Chile''. It was produced by Chilean producer

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...

, and released in May 12, one week before another charity single for the event, " Que Cante la Vida", performed by various artists too including

Alex Ubago Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...

Belinda Belinda is a feminine given name of unknown origin, apparently coined from Italian ''bella'', meaning "beautiful". Alternatively it may be derived from the Old High German name ''Betlinde'', which possibly meant "bright serpent" or "bright linde ...

Carlos Baute Carlos Roberto Baute Jiménez (born March 8, 1974, in Caracas, Venezuela), best known simply as Carlos Baute, is a Venezuelan singer-songwriter and television host. His music is mostly in the Latin pop genre, with some ballads and Bachata. ...

Aleks Syntek Raúl Alejandro Escajadillo Peña (born 29 September 1969), known by his stage name, Aleks Syntek, is a Mexican singer and songwriter. He has earned nine nominations for the Latin Grammy Awards, a Grammy nomination, five nominations for the MT ...

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

, among others. The project by

Beto Cuevas Luis Alberto Cuevas Olmedo (born September 12, 1967), better known as Beto Cuevas (), is a Chilean-Canadian singer, song writer, plastic artist, painter, and actor. He is the lead singer for the Chilean band La Ley. In 2008 he launched his solo ...

, former vocalist of the group La Ley, consisted of recording a version of "Gracias a la Vida" to help the victims of the 2010 earthquake, was produced by the Chilean compatriot Humberto Gatica, they also included artists such as: Colombians

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

and

Juanes file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49108.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49211.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 19 ...

, Dominican

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born June 7, 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has wo ...

, Mexican

Fernando Olvera José Fernando Emilio "Fher" Olvera Sierra (born 8 December 1959) is a Mexican rock musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the secondary guitarist, composer, and lead singer for the Mexican rock band Maná, the most successful Latin Am ...

(Fher) Spanish

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. Sanz has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Awar ...

and

Miguel Bosé Luis Miguel González Bosé (born 3 April 1956), usually known as Miguel Bosé, is a Spanish pop new wave singer and actor. Early life Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of Italian actress Lucia Bosè (19 ...

, Italian

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

, and Canadian

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

. "We are committed to the Chilean people, which is facing a big problem" said the former vocalist of

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band. The band is considered one of the best-selling Latin music artists and the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. The group's current lineup consists o ...

in a video with statements of all participating artists and images of the tragedy. Bosé said in its segment "Anything that has to be done for that country, I will always do it."

, referring to the

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in the area of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

said "Last year, my land, Italy, experienced a similar tragedy to which Chile is experiencing".

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

edit the song internationally in both physical and digital format, being May 4, 2010, the predestined date where it was going to be published. The profits from their sale went to ''

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

'', which works to provide housing to families in need in various countries, including

References

External links

*
Gracias a la vida گراسیاس آلا ویدا (+ translation into twelve languages)Gracias a la vida
from

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's series "Soul Music" {{authority control Spanish-language songs Chilean folk songs Chilean songs 1966 songs Violeta Parra songs Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients RCA Victor singles Nueva canción