Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Will Fall in Love, April 10, 2005
I first learned about Violeta Parra when I read her poetry in Woman Who Has Sprouted Wings: Poems by Contemporary Latin American Women Poets. I was both struck with the poems and the circumstances of her life. Besides being a gifted writer, singer and musician, she painted and wove tapestries known in Chile as Arpilleras and was the first Latin American artist welcomed at the Louvre. A very accomplished woman, she nevertheless committed suicide in Santiago in 1967 at the age of 50.
When I found out she had CDs available I bought Las Ultimas Composiciones, an excellent collection of 14 songs ranging from sweet lyricism to driving resistance. It is the last recording issued in her lifetime and many of the songs include accompaniment by Alberto Zapican and Violeta's children, Isabel and Angel Parra. The version here of Gracias a la Vida is especially haunting. If you like Latin American folk music but have never heard of Violeta I think you will fall in love with her when you hear her songs.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection of a legend's work., October 12, 1998
This review is from: Ultimas Composiciones (Audio CD)
Violeta Parra was an amazing woman who nearly single-handedly launched a revolution in music, art and culture in Chile... and went on to inspire a political revolution as well. This CD, originally on disk, captures some of her last works. Bittersweet, sometimes angry, sometimes sorrowful, but alway masterful, it captures her sentiment not long before she committed suicide. This is a must-have for folk music lovers, Canciones Nuevas lovers, and lovers of political music. Victor Jara, Isabel and Angel Parra, Inti-Illimani, Rolando Alarcon, Quilapayun and many others owe Violeta so much. Listen and know why. I explain Canciones Nuevas to Americans "like Bob Dylan in Spanish." Except the music is so much better.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gracias a Violeta, August 11, 1999
This review is from: Ultimas Composiciones (Audio CD)
She was the Edith Piaf of Chile. A great record with examples of her strengths and her sentiments. If you like folk music and songs of rebellion you'll love the sound of Chile's songbird. A must for all who care to learn more of La Cultura Chileana.
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