Víctor Heredia is an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 singer songwriter. Author of Taki Ongoy

Taki Ongoy

In 1986, Victor Heredia composed "Taki Ongoy", a conceptual work that recalls Taki Unquy, the political-religious milenarist movement against the invasion of the Spanish culture in South America .-Songs:...

, a symphonic work about Taki Unquy

Taki Unquy

Taki Unquy was an indigenous movement of complex dimensions which arose in the Peruvian Andes during the 16th century in opposition to the recent Spanish invasion...

, a millenarian

Millenarianism

Millenarianism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society, after which all things will be changed, based on a one-thousand-year cycle. The term is more generically used to refer to any belief centered around 1000 year intervals...

 movement against the Spanish conquest.

Biography

He was born in the neighborhood of Monserrat, in the city of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, though he grew up in Paso del Rey

Paso del Rey

Paso del Rey is a city located 35,5 km from Buenos Aires, in Moreno, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.Paso del Rey takes its name from the estancia owned by Senator Amancio Jacinto Alcorta: Estancia Paso del Rey....

 a city in the Moreno

Moreno Partido

Moreno Partido is a partido of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, within the Gran Buenos Aires urban agglomerate. It has an area of 186 square kilometres, and a population of 462,242...

 area of Greater Buenos Aires

Greater Buenos Aires

Greater Buenos Aires is the generic denomination to refer to the megalopolis comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative...

. His paternal family is of French origin, whereas his maternal grandmother was of Capayán

Capayán

The Capayanes were an indigenous people nowadays extinct that lived in Argentine territory.-Description:Their geographical area was partly of the provinces of La Rioja, Catamarca, San Juan, from the mountainous zone understood to be between the limit of La Rioja with Catamarca on Colorado river and...

 ethnic origin, born in the Calchaquí Valleys

Calchaquí Valleys

The Calchaquí Valley is an area in the northwestern region of Argentina which crosses the provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán and Salta. It is best known for its contrast of colours and its unique geography that ranges from the mountain desert to the subtropical forest.There are a number of valleys...

, in the province of Catamarca. When he was very young, he won the revelation prize in the Cosquín Festival

Cosquín Festival

The Cosquín Folk Festival is one of the most important folk music festivals of Argentina, and most important in Latin America....

.

His concern for the social problems in Latin America and 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...

 is evident in his work. He has recorded with renowned artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa, León Gieco, Milton Nascimento, el Cuarteto Zupay [the Zupay Quartet] , Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés amongst others.

He was banned during the military Argentine dictatorship, which started in 1976. This dictatorship left thousands of missing persons

Dirty War

The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...

 including his sister, Maria Cristina. Heredia collaborates closely with organizations that denounce the crimes of the dictatorship, such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo

Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation with the aim of finding the babies stolen during the era of the Argentine dictatorship known as the "Dirty War" . Its president is Estela Barnes de Carlotto....

, and also with organizations of indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

.

His works include Todavía Cantamos [Still We Sing], Sobreviviendo [Surviving], El viejo Matías [The old man Matías], Dulce Daniela [Sweet Daniela], and the well-known Razón de vivir [Reason to live]. His albums include Taki Ongoy

Taki Ongoy

In 1986, Victor Heredia composed "Taki Ongoy", a conceptual work that recalls Taki Unquy, the political-religious milenarist movement against the invasion of the Spanish culture in South America .-Songs:...

, a conceptual work composed in 1986 in homage to Taki Ongoy

Taki Unquy

Taki Unquy was an indigenous movement of complex dimensions which arose in the Peruvian Andes during the 16th century in opposition to the recent Spanish invasion...

, an indigenous movement that arose in the sixteenth century (1560 - 1572) in opposition to the Spanish invasion. The album remembers this movement and the fight of the American peoples for their freedom.

Discography

• Shouting Hopes, 1968 (Gritando Esperanzas,)
• Víctor Heredia, 1969
• The Old man Matías, 1970 (El Viejo Matías)
• Wherefrom I Am, 1971 (De Donde Soy)
• Reasons, 1973 (Razones)
• Víctor Heredia Canta a Pablo Neruda
  Pablo Neruda
  Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
  
  , 1974
• Drink from my pitcher, 1975 (Bebe En Mi Cántaro)
• Pass of the King, 1976 (Paso Del Rey)
• When I Say Woman, 1977 (Cuando Yo Digo Mujer)
• That Beautiful Song, 1978
• Already Lo Ves, Dawns, 1981
• Opened doors, 1982
• Recital, 1982
• Víctor Heredia Canta Paul Neruda (new Version), 1983
• Those Soldaditos Of Lead, 1983
• Only I want the life, 1984
• Courage! , 1985
• Taki Ongoy
  Taki Ongoy
  In 1986, Victor Heredia composed "Taki Ongoy", a conceptual work that recalls Taki Unquy, the political-religious milenarist movement against the invasion of the Spanish culture in South America .-Songs:...
  
  , 1986
• A Day of Grace, 1987
• Memory, 1988
• Letter Of A Shipwrecked person, 1991
• Meanwhile, 1992
• Syndrome Of Love, 1994
• Víctor Heredia En vivo In The Back-room, 1995
• Of Love and Of Blood, 1996
• Brands, 1998
• RCA Club - Víctor Heredia, 1998
• Live Heredia 1 and 2, 2000
• Then, 2001
• Phoenix, 2003
• Tenderly Friends, 2005
• Citizen, 2008