Gracias a la Vida (album)
Encyclopedia
Gracias a la Vida or Here's to Life: Joan Baez sings in Spanish was a 1974 studio album
released by Joan Baez
. The album was performed mainly in the Spanish language
(just one song in Catalan language
). Baez stated at the time that she released the album as a "message of hope to the Chileans suffering under Augusto Pinochet
", in the wake of the death of Salvador Allende
. (Baez is known for her criticism of US foreign policy in Latin America
, and has toured and worked on behalf of improving human rights
in the region.) Songs include selections by Chilean composers Victor Jara
(who was tortured and killed in the aftermath of the 1973 coup d'état) and Violeta Parra
, who composed the title song.
A more upbeat version of "Dida" appears on Baez' Diamonds & Rust
, released the following year.
Countries represented in the track listing range from Mexico and Cuba to Chile and Spain. The album was moderately successful in the U.S. but extremely so in Latin America.
The album has a dedication: "This record is dedicated to my father who gave me my Latin name and whatever optimism about life I may claim to have."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
released by Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
. The album was performed mainly in the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(just one song in Catalan language
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
). Baez stated at the time that she released the album as a "message of hope to the Chileans suffering under Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
", in the wake of the death of Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
. (Baez is known for her criticism of US foreign policy in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and has toured and worked on behalf of improving human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in the region.) Songs include selections by Chilean composers Victor Jara
Víctor Jara
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
(who was tortured and killed in the aftermath of the 1973 coup d'état) and Violeta Parra
Violeta Parra
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...
, who composed the title song.
A more upbeat version of "Dida" appears on Baez' Diamonds & Rust
Diamonds & Rust
Diamonds & Rust is a 1975 album by Joan Baez. Baez is often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, and on this album she covered songs by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, and Jackson Browne...
, released the following year.
Countries represented in the track listing range from Mexico and Cuba to Chile and Spain. The album was moderately successful in the U.S. but extremely so in Latin America.
The album has a dedication: "This record is dedicated to my father who gave me my Latin name and whatever optimism about life I may claim to have."
Track listing
- "Gracias a la VidaGracias a la Vida"Gracias a la vida" is the name of a song composed and first performed by Chilean musician Violeta Parra, one of the artists who set the basis for the movement known as Nueva Canción...
" (Here's to Life) (Violeta ParraVioleta ParraVioleta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...
) - "Llego Con Tres Heridas" (I Come With Three Wounds) (from a poem by Miguel HernándezMiguel HernándezMiguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
, musicalized by Joan Manuel SerratJoan Manuel SerratJoan Manuel Serrat i Teresa is a Catalan Spanish singer-songwriter.Serrat is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages...
) - "La LloronaLa LloronaLa Llorona is a widespread legend in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Central America. Although several variations exist, the basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of Maria killing her children by drowning them, in order to be with the man that she loved. When the man rejects her, she kills...
" (The Weeping Woman) (traditional) - "El Preso Número Nueve" (Prisoner Number Nine) (H. Cantoral)
- "GuantanameraGuantanamera"Guantanamera" is perhaps the best known Cuban song and that country's most noted patriotic song.-Music:The music for the song is sometimes attributed to José Fernández Diaz, known as Joseíto Fernández, who claimed to have written it at various dates , and who used it regularly in one of his radio...
" (J. Martí, adapted by H. Angulo, Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
) - "Te Recuerdo Amanda" (I Remember You Amanda) (Víctor JaraVíctor JaraVíctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
) - "DidaDidaDida can refer to:*Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, former Brazilian football player famous in the 1950s and 1960s*Andre Amade, Brazilian mixed martial artist*Dida , real name Nélson de Jesus Silva, Brazilian goalkeeper...
" (Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
) - "Cucurrucucú Paloma" (T. Méndez)
- "Paso Río" (I Pass A River) (traditional)
- "El Rossinyol" (The Nightingale) (traditional Catalan)
- "De ColoresDe Colores"De Colores" is a traditional folk song that is well known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The song was brought to the Americas from Spain during the 16th century. In modern times, the song frequently appears in collections of children's songs...
" (In Colors) (traditional) - "Las Madres Cansadas" (All The Weary Mothers Of The Earth) (Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
) - "No Nos Moverán" (We Shall Not Be Moved) (traditional)
- "Esquinazo Del Guerrillero" (Guerilla's Serenade) (F. Alegría/R. Alarcón)
Personnel
- Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
: Lead vocal, acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
& classical guitarClassical guitarThe classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
. - Tommy TedescoTommy TedescoThomas J. Tedesco was an American master session musician and renowned jazz and bebop guitarist.Tedesco's credits include the iconic brand-burning accompaniment theme from television's Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Vic Mizzy's iconic theme from Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Batman, and Elvis Presley's '68...
- Lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
. - Jim Hughart: Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. - Lalo Lindgron: HarpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. - Tom ScottTom Scott (musician)Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
: FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
& woodwind, string arrangement. - MariachiMariachiMariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
Uclatlan (4,8) - RondallaRondallaThe rondalla is an ensemble of stringed instruments played with the plectrum or pick and generally known as plectrum instruments. It originated in Medieval Spain, especially in Catalunya, Aragon, Murcia, and Valencia...
Amerindia (13) - Edgar LustgartenEdgar LustgartenEdgar Marcus Lustgarten was a British broadcaster and noted crime writer.His books included crime fiction, but most were accounts of true-life criminal cases. The legal justice system and courtroom procedures were his main interests and his writings reflect this...
: CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. - Milt HollandMilt HollandMilt Holland was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnic musicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene who pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music, traveling extensively on those continents to collect instruments and to...
: Percussion. - Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
- Vocal improvisationImprovisationImprovisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
(7) - Jackie Ward Singers, Sally Stevens, Andrea Willis: Backing vocals (12).