Parra, Violeta (1917–1967)

A native of Chile, Violeta Parra is widely known as a folk artist who expressed the joys and concerns of the common people of both her native country and of all Latin America. One of the founders of the politically inflected Nueva Canción (New Song) movement, Parra's life and work as an artist were tied to issues of social justice. Though most famous as a composer and singer of folk music, she also painted, wrote poetry, sculpted, and wove arpilleras (folk tapestries). Her best-known song is “Gracias a la Vida” (“Thanks to Life”), which endures throughout the West as a beloved and poignant song.

Born to a schoolteacher father and a seamstress mother, Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was born on October 14, 1917, in the small town of San Carlos, in the southern province of Ñuble. The Parra family is noted throughout the region: Her brother Nicanor is a well-respected modern poet, and her son, Angel, and daughter, Isabel, are both respected musicians in their own right. As an artist, Parra performed throughout her native Chile as well in Europe, living in France for a while.

Though trained as a schoolteacher, Parra dedicated her life to her art. She started writing songs at an early age, initially performing at bars, small ballrooms, and circuses. In 1952, encouraged by her brother Nicanor, she traversed her native land as she recorded and then brought to wider appreciation the breadth of Chile's folk music. Termed Nueva Canción, her work with music synthesized Chilean folk traditions and Parra's growing concern for her compatriots' lived experiences.

Parra maintained ties with members of Chile's Socialist and Communist Parties, taking issue with the wealthy landowning elite of Chilean society, as well as with the church and the military, all of whom, in her view, bore some measure of responsibility for the social and economic plight of Chile's disenfranchised poor. She supported Salvador Allende's early bids for the Chilean presidency.

For reasons still unknown, she committed suicide at age 50, in February 1967.