Collettivo Victor Jara was an Italian left-wing political song collective named for Chilean singer-songwriter and communist activist Victor Jara, who was murdered by right-wing military forces in Santiago, Chile during the U.S.-backed 1973 military coup that overthrew Chile's Unidad Popular (UP) socialist coalition government.
This album, their first, was released in 1974 on Circolo Ottobre, a small record label affiliated with a community center of the same name in Mantua, Italy. The community center was founded and operated by members of the Italian autonomist communist organization Lotta Continua. The record was included with an issue of the community center's newsletter.
The reverse side of the sleeve includes liner notes. The first paragraph is translated below:
\"Victor Jara played and sang for the Chilean people against the capitalists: he used culture as a proletarian weapon, rather than as a luxury for people who think they are neutral. Victor Jara was assassinated inside the Santiago stadium by the Chilean military during the September 1973 coup. Before shooting him they cut off his fingers. We call ourselves the Victor Jara Collective with this intention in mind: we must use culture as a weapon in the class struggle. Our music is therefore composed in relation to specific political purposes, linked to particular moments; it is made according to the organizing work of students, workers, and neighborhood comrades. The songs are complementary to the political organizing carried out by the comrades of the revolutionary left-wing...\"
Enjoy comrades!
Tracklist:
Brescia '74 (0:00)
Ballata Dei Democratici (6:24)
Per Giovanni Marini (10:41)
Le \"Murate\" (13:32)
La Colpa È Del Diavolo (17:50)
Mi Piaci, Fanfani (22:37)
Santa Pazienza (28:22)
Ballata Dei Militari (31:12)
7 Colombe Bianche - Su Una Seicento (34:10)
Gli Eroi (37:28)
Il Dattilografo (41:42)
Text, Lyrics, Music, Arrangement, Production, and Cover Design by members of Collettivo Victor Jara: Davide Riondino, Chiara Riondino, Silvano Panichi, Massimo Fagioli, Daniele Trambusti, Francesco Craparotta, and Gaia Gualtieri.
