September 3rd, 2008

向 Victor Jara 致敬

Naomi Klien 的 Shock Doctrine,不但讓我醒覺到經濟起飛背後令人震駭的事情 (不只是歷史,至今在世界不同角落仍不斷重演!),還讓我認識 Victor Jara 這個智利反極權政府的民歌手:

“In Santiago, the legendary left-wing folk singer Victor Jara was among those taken to the Chile Stadium…

First the soldiers broke both his hands so he could not play the guitar, then they shot him 44 times…

To make sure he could not inspire from beyond the grave, the regime ordered his master recordings destroyed.”

– from Part 2.4 Cleaning the Slate: Terror Does Its Work of “The Shock Doctrine”

圖: Víctor Jara 的墓碑左下寫著: “Till Victory!”

七八十年代,是香港的黃金起飛時期,但在南美洲多國,卻經歷了由美國推動,以震盪經濟療法進行的改革,實際上是以極殘暴的政治滅族行動 (political genocide),去清洗異見者,被處死 (不少是折磨致死)、暗殺、或人間蒸發的數以百萬計,而 Victor Jara 就是其中一人。當權者指被正法的都是威脅國家的邪惡人士,但其實很多都只是持有不同政見的平民、作家、藝術家、學生、音樂家等。正如 Victor Jara 的歌詞所言:he never harmed anyone, he was destroyed

可幸網上仍可以找到他的作品,nuevacancion還提供下載呢! 我亦在 Youtube 建立了一個 Victor Jara Playlist ,包括一些珍貴的電視錄影演出。

很喜歡他在1973年,被處決前一年,最後一張還未完成大碟中的一首歌: Manifiesto,MTV中更可以看到當時Pinochet暴政下的情況:

Yo no canto por cantar
ni por tener buena voz,
canto porque la guitarra
tiene sentido y razón.

I don’t sing for love of singing
or to show off my voice
but for the statements
made by my honest guitar

Tiene corazón de tierra
y alas de palomita,
es como el agua bendita
santigua glorias y penas.

for its heart is of earth
and like the dove it goes flying
tenderly as holy water
blessing the brave and the dying

Aquí se encajó mi canto
como dijera Violeta
guitarra trabajadora
con olor a primavera.

so my song has found a purpose
as Violetta Parra would say
yes, my guitar is a worker
shining and smelling of spring

Que no es guitarra de ricos
ni cosa que se parezca
mi canto es de los andamios
para alcanzar las estrellas,
que el canto tiene sentido
cuando palpita en las venas
del que morirá cantando
las verdades verdaderas,
no las lisonjas fugaces
ni las famas extranjeras
sino el canto de una lonja

my guitar is not for killers
greedy for money and power
but for the people who labour
so that future may flower
for a song takes on a meaning
when its own heartbeat is strong
sung by a man who will die singing
truthfully singing his song
I don’t sing for adulation
or so that strangers may weep
I sing for a far strip of country

hasta el fondo de la tierra.
Ahí donde llega todo
y donde todo comienza
canto que ha sido valiente
siempre será canción nueva.

narrow but endlessly deep
in the earth in which we begin
in the earth in which we end
brave songs will give birth
to a song which will always be new

另一首 ─ Te recuerdo Amanda (I remember you, Amanda),則是他最為人所知的作品:

Te recuerdo Amanda
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fabrica,
donde trabajaba Manuel

I remember you, Amanda
where the street was damp,
running to the factory where Manuel worked.

La sonrisa ancha,
la lluvia en el pelo,
no importaba nada
ibas a encontrarte con el,
con el, con el, con el, con el

A wide smile,
rain in your hair,
nothing ever mattered
when you were about to see him,
him, him, him, him

Son cinco minutos
la vida es eterna,
en cinco minutos

In five minutes
life is eternal,
in five minutes.

Suena la sirena,
de vuelta al trabajo
y tu caminando lo iluminas todo
los cinco minutos
te hacen florecer

The siren sounds
for the workers’ return
and your gait illuminates everything
those five minutes
made you bloom.

Te recuerdo Amanda
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fabrica,
donde trabajaba Manuel

I remember you, Amanda
where the street was damp,
running to the factory
where Manuel worked.

La sonrisa ancha,
la lluvia en el pelo
no importaba nada,
ibas a encontrarte con el,
con el, con el, con el, con el

A wide smile,
rain in your hair
nothing ever mattered
when you were about to see him,
him, him, him, him.

Que parti a la sierra
que nunca hizo dao,
que parti a la sierra
y en cinco minutos,
qued destrozado

He went for the sierras
he never harmed anyone
he left for the sierras
and in five minutes
he was destroyed.

Suenan las sirenas
de vuelta al trabajo
muchos no volvieron
tampoco Manuel

The siren rang
for the workers’ return
many never returned,
neither did Manuel.

Te recuerdo Amanda,
la calle mojada
corriendo a la fbrica, donde trabajaba Manuel.

I remember you, Amanda
where the street was damp,
running to the factory where Manuel worked.

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One comment

  1. James says:

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    September 18th, 2008 at 9:18 am

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