Cantos Cautivos
Zamba of my Hope (Zamba de mi esperanza)
- Music piece by:Luis H. Profili
- Testimony by:Edgardo Carabantes Olivares
- Experience in:
Horacio Carabantes Olivares, my brother, was locked up in January 1975 at the Maipo regiment of Valparaíso, with a large group of male and female prisoners, all arrested by the DINA(National Intelligence Directorate) Secret police of Pinochet’s dictatorship between 1974 and 1977..
One day an officer approached the group and asked, in a confrontational tone, who could sing. Horacio, who had sung with a gorgeous voice since childhood, replied saying: I can sing.
The officer commanded him to do so. So my brother raised his voice and sang 'Zamba de mi esperanza' ('Zamba of my Hope').
A month later, on 20 February 1975, Horacio along with other inmates – male and female – disappeared from Villa Grimaldi, in Santiago, after being passed around different clandestine detention centres. He had recently turned 22 years old.
Some of the survivors have told this story, stressing the significance of that action by Horacio, who in the midst of interrogation and torture did not lose his nerve but took the opportunity to give his comrades a sign of hope.
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Published on: 07 November 2016
that dawned like a longing
dream, dream of my soul
that sometimes dies unblossomed.
Zamba, for you I sing
because your song strews love
gentle touch of your handkerchief
wrapping around my heart.
Star, you that gazed
you that listened to my soul
star, let me sing
let me love the way I know.
Time that passes
like life, never to return
time is killing me
and your love will, will be.
Sunk in horizons
I am a dust cloud adrift in the wind
zamba, do not leave me
without your song I cannot go on living.
Star, you that gazed
you that listened to my soul
star, let me sing
let me love the way I know.
Related testimonies:
- Lament for the Death of Augusto the Dog (Lamento a la muerte del perro Augusto) Sergio Vesely, Campamento de Prisioneros Melinka, Puchuncaví, 1975
Augusto the dog (not to be confused with the journalist Augusto Olivares, affectionately nicknamed 'Augusto the Dog', who was murdered in the Presidential Palace on
11 September 1973 ), was the mascot of the political prisoners held at the Ritoque concentration camp, and accompanied his master when the military junta decided to close that prison and transfer the inmates to the neighbouring Puchuncaví concentration camp. - Ode to Joy (Himno a la alegría) Luis Madariaga, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1974 - 1976
In prison, we would sing the 'Ode to Joy' when a comrade was released or sent to exile.
- Today Was Visitors’ Day (Hoy fue día de visitas) Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
Visitors’ day was an exceptional day that broke the monotonous routine of all the other days of the week.
- Song of a Middle-Class Man (Canción de un hombre medio) Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
In our political discussions, we always spoke disdainfully of the middle class. In the view of the Marxist ideologues in prison, that sector of society supported the dictatorship and it was necessary to reverse that trend.
- How Can I Describe This to You? (Cómo hacer para darte una idea) Sergio Vesely, Cárcel de Valparaíso, 1976
This is one of two songs I wrote in prison for my beloved Graciela. In the song I tried to draw her closer to me, describing my everyday world and my experience of life as a captive.
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