What love means…
11 December 2006

I’ve been doing some background research on la Nueva canción movement in Latin America for one of my classes, and I came across a quote that I really liked from Chilean poet, musician, and activist Victor Jara, thanks to wikipedia. He was asked what the word Love meant to him, and he responded:

Love of my home, my wife and my children.
Love for the earth that helps me live
Love for the education and of work.
Love of others who work for the common good.
Love of justice as the instrument that provides equilibrium for human dignity.
Love of peace in order to enjoy one’s life.
Love of freedom, but not the freedom acquired at the expense of other’s freedom, but rather the freedom of all.
Love of freedom to live and exist, for the existence of my children, in my home, in my town, my city, among neighboring people.
Love for freedom in the environment in which we are required to forge our destiny.
Love of freedom without yokes: neither ours nor foreign.

He said these lines four days before the September 11 (1973) coup in Chile, and eight days before he was tortured and murdered by Pinochet’s goons. I wanted to share these lines for two reasons. First, I thought it was fitting on the day of Pinochet’s death to celebrate the life of one of his victims. Second, these lines remind us what liberation really means – for everyone.

  Posted by Jenna Torres    Permalink    Filed under: Opinion | 

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