After the assassination of Víctor Jara in September 1973, his wife Joan Turner and his daughters, Manuela and Amanda, travelled to London and found, on arrival, various displays of solidarity with Chile in which they sought to make public the denunciation of the human rights violations committed during the dictatorship. Joan participated during the following years in many events, concerts and tributes to Víctor Jara, organised by people in countries such as Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, Italy and the United States, among others. The book “Un canto inconcluso” (An Unfinished Song), originally published in English in 1983, bears witness to Joan’s memories and her husband’s biography, representing this period in which the figure and legacy of Víctor Jara spread around the world as a symbol of the struggles for human rights.
After Joan’s return to Chile, the continuity of the struggles and demands for justice reinforced and gave continuity to Victor’s legacy in Chilean society. Through the creation of the Víctor Jara Foundation in 1993 and various events held both in towns and in the Víctor Jara Stadium (ex-Chile Stadium), the role of arts and culture has represented an important part of the work to project the work and figure of Jara also to the new generations.
AUTHOR OF THE TEXT
Javier Osorio
Bibliography:
– Víctor, un canto inconcluso. Víctor Jara Foundation, Santiago, 2020. First edition in 1993.
– Víctor, An Unfinished Song. Jonathan Cape, London, 1983.
