Víctor Jara  Víctor Jara, in full Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez 
 (born September 28, 1932—died September 16, 1973), Chilean
folksinger, one of the pioneers of the nueva canción genre of
politically charged popular songs. His political activism led to
his torture and execution by the regime of the Chilean dictator
Augusto Pinochet.  Jara was raised in poverty by a farmer father
and a folksinger mother. He left school at age 15 to prepare for
the priesthood but gave up his clerical studies to join the
army, from which he was honourably discharged after a year of
service. Jara then studied theatre at the University of Chile.
Upon his graduation he began working as a stage director, a
pursuit he continued even after his singing career took off.
Jara’s interest in folk music was sparked when in 1957 he met
Violeta Parra, one of the founders of the nueva canción
movement. He began playing folk songs with a decided leftist
bent, and he released his self-titled debut album (also called
Canto a lo humano [“Hymn to the