Biography
Parra was born in San Carlos, province of Ñuble, a small town in southern Chile on 4 October 1917. She was involved in the progressive movement and the Communist Party of Chile. She revived the Peña (now known as La Peña de Los Parra), a community center for the arts and for political activism. Some think she established the first 'peña' but according to the records of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, places such as these had been called that since 1936 (RAE).
Violeta Parra was a member of the prolific Parra family. Among her brothers were the notable modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra and fellow folklorist Roberto Parra. Her son, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, are also important figures in the development of the Nueva Canción Chilena. Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic traditions.
In 1967 Violeta Parra committed suicide. She had previously been romantically involved with Swiss flautist Gilbert Favre.
Read more about this topic: Violeta Parra
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“A biography is like a handshake down the years, that can become an arm-wrestle.”
—Richard Holmes (b. 1945)
“The best part of a writer’s biography is not the record of his adventures but the story of his style.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)