Music from Chile – Violetta Parra

Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She set the basis for “Chilean’ New Song”, the Nueva canción chilena, a renewal and a reinvention of Chilean folk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile. In 2011 Andrés Wood directed a biopic about her, titled Violeta Went to Heaven.

Here is her song “Gracias a la vida ”