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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.