The tribute concert Gracias a la Vida: The Rebel Spirit of Chile’s Legendary Voice scheduled for Friday April 17, 2015 will celebrate the life and music of celebrated singer-songwriter Violeta Parra. The historic event takes place at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center.
The program includes three of Chile’s most important musical voices: the young singer-songwriter Colombina Parra, Andean folk masters Illapu, and the Chilean hip-hop performer Ana Tijoux.
Violeta Parra [1917-1967] has long been revered for her songs of struggle, defiance, and triumph, as well as for her work in the revival of Latin American folk traditions and instruments. Her work as a singer-songwriter and field musicologist nurtured the birth of the Nueva Canción Chilena (New Chilean Song) era, a back-to-roots, politically charged folk song movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, many of the acclaimed artists of the new Chilean pop cite her as a fundamental influence.
An example of Parra’s larger effect is her signature song, “Gracias a la vida” (Thanks to Life) which has become an international classic (and anthem), covered by a wide range of artists including Joan Baez, Mercedes Sosa, Plácido Domingo, and Michael Bublé.
Illapu, founded in Chile in 1971, are well known for their cultured interpretations of Andean folklore and rhythms. Illapu (“lightning bolt” in Chile’s indigenous Quechua language) rose to fame for their guitar-based songs featuring politically-pointed lyrics set against pan flutes and Andean rhythms. In 1981, upon returning to Chile after a tour, the military dictatorship refused to allow them back into the country. Thus began a prolonged exile for the group in France and Mexico. When they returned to Chile in 1988, at their first concert they were cheered on by a crowd of 100,000 supporters.
Colombina Parra is a rising alternative rock singer-songwriter who came of age in the Chilean grunge/alternative rock scene of the 1990s. The niece of Violeta, Colombina achieved widespread success in her own right through early video exposure on MTV Latin America. Her most recent CD, “Detrás del Vidrio” (Behind the Glass), was nominated for Best Pop Album in Chile in 2013.
Ana Tijoux first found acclaim as the female MC of the Chilean hiphop group Makiza. Born in France to Chilean parents who fled to Europe during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, Tijoux moved back to Chile as a teenager and found a home in the emerging hip-hop scene of Santiago. Her solo career has brought her success throughout Latin America. Tijoux garnered mainstream attention in the U.S. when her single “1977” was featured on the TV series Breaking Bad.
Gracias a la Vida: The Rebel Spirit of Chile’s Legendary Voice
Featuring Illapu + Colombina Parra + Ana Tijoux
Friday April 17 at 19:30 (7:30pm)
Pace University / Michael Schimmel Center
3 Spruce Street, New York, NY 10038
Tickets: All Seats $29
212-346-1715
http://schimmel.pace.edu/events/gracias-a-la-vida-the-rebel-spirit-of-violeta-parra
Other Concerts
Sat April 18, Chicago, Old Town School of Folk Music (Illapu + Colombina Parra)
Sat April 25, Los Angeles, Walt Disney Concert Hall (Illapu + Colombina Parra + Ana Tijoux + Francisca Valenzuela)
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
