''Canto libre'' is the fifth studio album by Chilean singer-songwriter

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, rang ...

, released in 1970 by

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

. In this album, he had the support of

Inti-Illimani Inti-Illimani (; from Quechuan ''Inti'' and Aymara ''Illimani)'' are an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The band was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in C ...

and

Patricio Castillo Patricio Castillo may refer to: * Patricio Castillo (actor, born 1974), Spanish-Chilean voice actor, singer and songwriter * Patricio Castillo (actor, born 1940) (1940–2021), Chilean-born Mexican actor * Patricio Castillo (folk musician) Patri ...

Background and recording

In 1969, he had released ''

Pongo en tus manos abiertas ''Pongo en tus manos abiertas'' ("I Put Into Your Open Hands") is the fourth studio album by Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara, released in June 1969. It was the third album released by the Jota Jota record label (later known as DICAP), establ ...

'', an album that «begins the protest work in full swing and with it intensely promotes

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

's presidential candidacy. Along with other singers he is part of the group called "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 ...

".» In the recording of this album, Victor had the accompaniment of

, and Chilean group

, that he met in 1967 while he was directing ''La remolienda''.

Artwork

Rubén Nouzeilles was in charge of the artistic direction. For the cover of the album "he insisted that the cover be the close-up of a rickety padlocked door, so that when the cover was opened a dove seemed to fly out of the interior."

Release

''Canto libre'' was released in 1970 by

. In Spain, it was released in 1978 by Movieplay, and by Fonomusic in 1986 and 1994. In 1981, it was released by Pläne in Germany, and in 1993, it was re-issued by Monitor Records label in Chile.

Reception

Australian newspaper ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' felt that the album "is a very bright piece of music usinu primitive folk music instruments of Latin America." arwulf arwulf wrote in

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

that "Jara sang beautifully, always expressing his thoughts and viewpoints with unflinching honesty, playing his guitar alone or surrounded by folk musicians from nations and cultures all over Latin America." He also added that "Jara's egalitarian discipline of cultural solidarity is manifest at various points in this collection" and "Victor Jara's spirit transcends all language barriers. Like his voice and the instrumentation, the poetry is tremendously moving".

Track listing

#"Inga" - (

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian folk) #"Canción del arbol del olvido" (Song of the tree of forgetfulness) - (A. Ginastero - F. Silva Valdez) #"La pala" (The hoe) - (Victor Jara) #"Lamento borincano (

Borinquen Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

lament) - (R. Hernández) #"Ventolera" (Windstorm) (Instrumental) - (Victor Jara) #"El tinku" - (

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n tonada) #"Angelita Huenuman" - (Victor Jara) #"Corrido de

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''. ; ;

" (Ballad of Pancho Villa) - (Mexican folk) #"Caminando, caminando" (Walking, walking) - (Victor Jara) #"Quién mató a Carmencita" - (Who killed Carmencita) - (Victor Jara) #"Canto libre" - (Free song) - (Victor Jara)

Legacy

In September 2018, ''Mil Guitarras para Victor Jara'' was held, in which songs from the album such as "Angelita Huenuman", "Ingá", "La Pala" and its homonymous song were interpreted. The album title was used in various tributes to Victor and Chilean music. In December 9, 2018, a free event was held at

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its namesake is the Estación Central railway station located in the commune. Demographics According to the ...

named after the title of the album, ''Canto Libre: una avenida para Victor Jara''. In 2020, a tribute to Chilean music was entitled "La ruta del canto libre" and held in the

General Cemetery ''General Cemetery'' (Spanish: ''Cementerio general'') is a 2013 Peruvian supernatural horror film directed by Dorian Fernandez Moris. Written by Javier Velasquez, the plot is based on urban legends in the city's main cemetery. The film stars Air ...

. The event honored

Rolando Alarcón Rolando Alarcón Soto (August 5, 1929 – February 4, 1973) was a Chilean singer-songwriter and teacher, who was one of the main figures of the movement Nueva canción chilena. He was the artistic director of Cuncumén, one of the most important ...

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 ...

, Eduardo "Gato" Alquinta, Sergio Ortega,

Roberto Parra Roberto Parra Mateo (born 6 April 1976 in Socuéllamos, Ciudad Real) is a Spanish middle distance runner. He specialized in the 800 and 1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the forem ...

and Jara. In 2022, it was made again, on this occasion he honored Nino Garcia, Willy Oddo from

Quilapayún Quilapayún () are a folk music group from Chile and among the longest lasting and most influential ambassadors of the ''Nueva Canción Chilena'' movement and genre. Formed during the mid-1960s, the group became inseparable with the revolution th ...

, Richard Rojas, Ester Gonzalez from Duo Lonqui.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canto Libre 1970 albums Víctor Jara albums Spanish-language albums Odeon Records albums Albums produced by Víctor Jara Folk albums by Chilean artists