The Zine UK

“Those in power can kill one, two, or three roses, but they will never be able to stop the coming of spring” - Lula da Silva (via Pablo Neruda.)

We are often accused of being leftie-luvvies, here at TheZineUK. Well, we can’t say that’s NOT true, can we? Especially since we took an early weekend adventure along to beloved Wales to see our good friend's at R*E*P*E*A*T present an evening marking the 50th year since the Chilean Military Coup that saw the CIA-backed overthrow and assassination of Marxist president Salvador Allende, the murder and disappearances of thousands of Chilean people and the rise of dictator Pinochet.

The pilgrimage across the River Severn was particularly poignant for us at TheZineUK as the event felt almost like an obvious continuation. Caff and I met at a Patrick Jones' gig at 229 in London many moons ago, his works had got me through both drama school and National Youth Theatre auditions, we both have such a beautiful shared symbiosis with R*E*P*E*A*T and then there was our shared love, support and unending thankfulness for guest speaker Jeremy Corbyn.

But it was Jose Cifuentes, who stole our attention. Hosting the event, he had a personal connection to Chile. Having come to Wales as a refugee via the Poblacion Arturo Prat, a Chilean shanty town made famous by Victor Jara who was there at around the same time. Jose spoke between speakers of missing family, of broken dreams, of the feeling of hope of a new government ripped away in the most devastating way in a matter of hours. Jose spoke of not only the pride and thanks he felt in the Welsh people for taking him and many others like him in ‘as their own’, but of also how we must endeavour to take that same heart, that same openness and apply it to the refugees of today.

Jose Cifuentes - Activist. Survivor. Inspiration.

A recording to a silent and affected audience played of Allende’s ‘Last Speech’, delivered when he was being besieged in the Presidential Palace on September 11th:

“Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers! These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.”

Hours later, he would be dead, allegedly by his own hand, and the beginning of the 17 years long military dictatorship of Pinochet would begin.

On this stage, we had local Welsh politicos such as the Children’s Commissoner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes, who just happens to be Jose’s daughter and living proof of the value of refugees, and the huge amount they can provide to the country.

Jeremy Corbyn appeared by Zoom, having been thwarted by train issues at Paddington Station. It’s tempting to go on a rant here about the privatisation of the railway, but I’ll save that for after a few pints at the pub.
Jeremy, a man always on the right side of history, spoke of his time in Chile in 1969, watching the emergence of Allende’s Popular Unity Collation. Corbyn spoke of the inspirational strength of the left collation parties, The Communist Party and The Socialist Party coming together. He spoke of how he was struck by how much music played a part in inspiring the people, of Victor Jara and of hope - then he spoke of coming back home and hearing news of it all going wrong as the CIA and bourgeois forces within Chile circled around, of the aerial bombings, the arrests of anyone perceived to be a communist with McCarthyist favour. How he told Jack Straw that the UK’s support and sympathies were misplaced, and was ultimately proven right.

But Jeremy as always ended by offering hope. By pointing out the huge contributions of Chilean refugees in this country, in the fact that 50 years later, a small theatre in Wales can sell out an event on revolution, protest music and challenging fascism in all its forms.

Speaking of Victor Jara, Dafydd Iwan of (un)official Welsh anthem ‘Yma o Hyd’ fame, treated us to tribute songs to Victor Jara, Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land, and more all delivered in lyrical Welsh and sewn together between songs with charisma and heartwarming charm.

Dafydd offering the sage advice to young musicians everywhere: “You should write songs about two types of people, Thatcher and Victor Jara.”

Poblacion50, a film which aimed to bring Victor Jara’s songs to life with footage from the Poblacion and conversations with those who had met and been impacted by the musician left no dry eye in the house.

Patrick Jones, the golden thread of the ZineUK Tapestry, introduced by the inimitable Richard Rose of R*E*P*E*A*T, read from both Fuse and -as poetry -a song from Even In Exile, the album he released with the Manic’s James Dean Bradfield on stage.

He explained how he had come across Victor Jara’s album in a charity shop for £2, having no idea of his story. How he went back home and listened - and knew then that he had to write something about this. How he read Joan Jara’s book on her husband and the feeling grew stronger. It’s not hard to see why. Victor played music to inspire and to comfort his people until the very end. He played guitar until Pinochet’s guards broke his fingers to stop him, and then he sang, he sang trapped in a stadium where thousands had been rounded up. He sang until he couldn’t anymore, and then Joan had found his body, broken hands and neck, filled with 44 bullets. Victor Jara is the power of music and spirit personified. You do have to write about that. We need to be reminded of it.

As Patrick read, no one in the audience were lost on the fact that from poem to song, the words were as powerful and relevant today, as they’ve ever been.

As music played on in the theatre, led by Jose, several Chilean’s stood up holding pictures of their loved ones who had been missing since that day in 1973. “Where are they?” they asked, with a painful cry. It’s one that echoed around Chile itself, with only 310 of those considered ‘forcibly disappeared’ by the Pinochet dictatorship, found and identified, there is an estimated around 1400 people still missing.

..But not to end on a sad note. What ‘They Can Kill All The Flowers…’ showed Caff and I on Friday night, was that through it all, music holds people together. 50 years on, James Dean Bradfield and Patrick Jones can have a top 10 album celebrating the protest music of Victor Jara - from Bob Vylan to the Weather Underground, this tradition continues.. and ultimately…

Something must grow.

Volcano Theatre - #MusicTouristBoard approved.

So…Leftie-luvvies? Well if it's showcasing emerging artists who use their platforms for activism or dissecting policies that perpetuate inequality, The Zine UK remains a steadfast ally to those seeking substantive change, on this rocking pebble. 4Real.

Further reading:

Washington Bullets - Vijay Prashad (Also an epic Clash song)
An Unfinished Song - Joan Jara
Revolutionary Dreams - From Chile to Wales - Jose Cifuentes
Fuse - Patrick Jones