Patricio Manns
Encyclopedia
Patricio Manns is a Chilean composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, author, writer, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

.

Infancy and youth

Patricio Manns was born in the rural town of Nacimiento
Nacimiento, Chile
Nacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....

, in the south of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 on 3 August 1937. He is the son of a primary school teacher and an agricultural engineer of German descent. Both of his parents played the piano: his father was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 aficionado but his mother studied classical piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

. His mother was also central in cultivating his interest in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

. In his youth he took up a broad range of occupations: from coal miner in Lota to reporter for the daily newspaper La patria in Concepción
Concepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...

. At the beginning of the 1960s he moved to Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

 where he continued his journalistic work.

Early music career

He was initiated in the field of music when he composed Bandido in 1959, which was recorded in Argentina in 1962 by the folk group Los Travadores del Norte and in Chile by Los Cuatro Cuartos. But it was with the composition "Arriba en la cordillera
Arriba en la Cordillera
"Arriba en la Cordillera" is a song by Chilean singer Patricio Manns, first released in 1965.The song is a Chilean folklore standard, and has been covered by bands and singers such as Montserrat Bustamante, Inti Illimani, and Los Miserables....

" (Up in the Cordillera
Cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, that runs along a coastline . It comes from the Spanish word cordilla, which is a diminutive of cuerda, or "cord"...

) in 1965 that he achieved national fame - especially when it was released in the album, Entre Mar y Cordillera (Between Sea and Cordillera) in 1966 which was a massive success.

Manns was a founding member, with Rolando Alarcón
Rolando Alarcón
Rolando Alarcón Soto was a teacher, folklorist, soloist and composer living in Chile. He became a national-known figure in his homecountry due to his work as a musician, and at his funeral, even the president, Salvador Allende, expressed his regrets....

 and the Parras (the children of Violeta Parra
Violeta Parra
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...

: Isabel and Ángel Parra
Ángel Parra
Ángel Cereceda Parra is a Chilean singer and songwriter, son of Violeta Parra, notable Chilean folklorist and brother of Isabel Parra. He travels abroad helping to maintain the Nueva Canción tradition in Chilean expatriate communities in Europe, North America, and Australia. His son -also named...

) of the Peña of Carmen 340 (later known as the Peña of the Parras), which was joined a few months afterwards by Víctor Jara. These peña
Peña
Peña, meaning "rocky outcrop" or "rocky summit" in the Spanish language , may refer to:-Mountains:*Peña Montañesa, a mountain in the Pre-Pyrenees, Aragon, Spain*Peña de los Enamorados, a mountain near Antequera, Andalusia, Spain...

s laid the groundwork and served as a crucible where progressive neo-folklore transformed itself into the "Nueva Canción Chilena" (NCC) (New Chilean Song) movement – a folkloric renaissance which led to a revolution in the popular music of the country. At the time of the military coup of September 11, 1973 - which toppled the democratically elected socialist government 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....

 - the NCC had acquired a nation-wide mass following with NCC artists touring the world as cultural ambassadors.

Manns would go on to actively participate in the extensive production of a series of travelling shows called Chile Rie y Canta (Chile Laughs and Sings) which were organised throughout Chile by René Largo Farías. In this early period of his career Manns also composed a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

: El Sueño Americano (The American Dream) (1965) which he recorded with the folk group Voces Andina – this was one of the first cantatas to be heard 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...

 that traced - via the amalgamation of distinctive rhythmic elements from different regions of the sub-continent – the historical birth of Latin America. Song XII of the cantata "América Novia Mia" ("America My Bride") has been recorded by himself and Inti-illimani
Inti-Illimani
Inti-Illimani is an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The group was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in Chile for their song Venceremos which became the anthem of the Popular Unity government of Salvador...

 several times. During this period he also recorded ¡El Folclore No Ha Muerto, Mierda! (Folklore Hasn't Died, Dammit!) (1968) with Silvia Urbina which revived folkloric forms which were disappearing under the influence of foreign musical trends that were being popularized in Chile.

From his multi-faceted role as singer, composer, writer and journalist he actively collaborated in the presidential campaigns of Dr. Salvador Allende in 1964 and in 1970, the latter being the campaign that led Salvador Allende to the presidency as the leader of the Unidad Popular government. During this time he recorded the album Patricio Manns (1971) which included one of his best known compositions "Valdivia en la niebla" (Valdivia
Valdivia, Chile
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...

 in the fog) and the prophetic "No Cierres los Ojos" ("Don't Close Your Eyes"). This recording, which was accompanied by Inti-illimani, the Symphony Orchestra of Chile and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, was arranged by Luis Advis
Luis Advis
Luis Advis Vitaglich was a Chilean professor of philosophy, and a noted composer of traditional and New Chilean music. He was officially recognized as a Fundamental Figure of Chilean Music in 2003.-Biography:...

.

Life in exile

The military coup of September 11, 1973 found him in Chile and it was only due to international diplomatic mediation that he was able to safely leave his country. Late in 1973, Manns settled in Cuba where he began a life in exile that was to last decades. During his period in the Caribbean island he composed and recorded together with the Symphony Orchestra of Cuba "Cuando Me Acuerdo de Mi País" ("When I Remember My Country") and other songs that were featured in his LP Canción sin Limites (Limitless Songs). He collaborated with Humberto Solás with the script for the movie La Cantata de Chile (Cantata of Chile) (1976) and also wrote the text for the musical work of Leo Brouwer
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...

 which the movie was named after.

From Cuba he travelled to France where he settled and formed the ensemble Karaxú in 1974 with which he continued to musically collaborate with Cuban artists. From exile Manns launched his "struggle against the 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...

 dictatorship" becoming a spokesman of the Chilean resistance with music productions such as Canción sin Limites (Limitless Songs) (1977) and perhaps with more vigour in Chansons de la Résistence Chilienne (Songs of the Chilean Resistance) (1974). In this stage of exile he met Alejandra Lastra (1979) to whom he composed the famous "Balada de los Amantes del Camino de Tavernay" ("Ballad of the Lovers of Tavernay Road") (1985) - Manns had moved and settled with his partner in Chemin de Tavernay in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 in the course of 1979.

As the musicologist Juan Pablo González has stated: "…in his 27 years of exile, Manns established with Horacio Salinas
Horacio Salinas
Horacio Salinas is a Chilean guitarist and composer. He is cofounder and musical director of the Chilean group Inti Illimani Historico. He has a huge repertory of compositions that involves folk, andean music, protest music, world music, fusion, Contemporary classical music and many latin american...

 one of the most fruitful creative collaborations in the history of Chilean music".

This collaboration began to take form in the works of Inti-illimani, in compositions such as "Retrato" ("Portrait") or "Vuelvo" ("I Return") – both from 1979. From this period of work with Salinas and Inti-illimani we find the grains of songs which with time would grow to become true emblems of the Latin America folk/popular music repertoire: such as "El Equipaje del Destierro" ("The Luggage of Exile"), "Palimpsesto" ("Palimpsest") (1981), "Cantiga de la Memoria Rota" ("Verses for a Shattered Memory") and "Samba Landó" (1985). Subsequently, other songs of this collaborative period included "Medianoche" ("Midnight"), "Arriesgare mi piel" ("I'll Risk My Skin") (1996) and "La Fiesta Eres Tú" ("You Are the Party") (1998).

In 1984 he moved to Trez Vella in Echenevex
Échenevex
Échenevex is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-Geography:Échenevex is located between the Jura mountains and the Lake Geneva region. It is situated at the foot of the mountains, just 3 km south of Gex.-Population:-References:*...

, close to the French-Swiss border. In this stage of exile Manns reached a high point in his creativity with the Concert of Trez Vella, a piece that was arranged by Alejandro Guarello and he recorded it with Inti-illimani in Rome 1985. This work with Inti-illimani appeared in his second album with Inti-Illimani: Con la Razón y la Fuerza (With Reason and Force) (1982) and La Muerte no Va Conmigo (Death Doesn’t Walk With Me) in 1986.

The re-encounter

After 17 years of exile Manns began his return to Chile in 1990, touring and performing throughout the country. The tour started on 23 August in the Teatro Teletón and on the 24th in the Estadio Chile (now renamed Estadio Víctor Jara
Estadio Víctor Jara
Estadio Víctor Jara is the name of the former Estadio Chile, or Chile Stadium, in Santiago, Chile. The multi-use sports complex was renamed as a memorial to folk singer Víctor Jara, who was killed there, during the Chilean coup of 1973. It has a total capacity for an audience of 4,500 persons...

). On TVN, he performed for the first time in Chile his emotionally charged "Cuando Me Acuerdo de Mi País" ("When I Remember My Country") before an anxious public in the studio and before a nationwide audience. From this tour of Chile, which included Santiago, Concepción, Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

 and Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...

, Manns would comment: "… for now I have accomplished the basic priority of setting foot in my country again". The second step, the definitive return was only to be in 2000, when he decided to return and settle in Chile in the area of Concón
Concón
Concón is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. It is known as the Gastronomical Capital of Chile and is a major tourist center known for its beaches, balnearios and night life.- Geography :...

.

Present and future

The creative and artistic collaboration between Manns and Horacio Salinas]continues with works interpreted by Inti-illimani such as "La Rosa de los Vientos" ("Rose of the Winds") (1999) and Cantares del Mito Americano (Songs on the American Myth) an unrecorded work that was performed in the Teatro Municipal of Viña del Mar in 2001. Horacio Salinas collaborated with Manns in the production of his first record as a soloist "Remos en el Agua" ("Oars on the Water") released in November 2003.
Manns also participated in Inti-Illimani's DVD Lugares Comunes (Common Places) recorded live in the Estadio Nacional de Chile. Manuel Meriño put music to Manns now famous poem "Vino del Mar" ("She Came from the Sea") dedicated to Marta Ugarte one of the victims of the Chilean military dictatorship, song which was recorded by Inti-Illimani's. Lugares Comunes (Common Places) in 2003.

During the four century celebration of the city of Nacimiento in December 2003, Manns was named an "illustrious son" of this city.

In September 2003 he launched his work Allende: la Dignidad Se Convierte en Costumbre (Allende: When Dignity Becomes a Custom) in the Estadio Nacional in homage to President Salvador Allende.

In 2005 he recorded with the Ulli Simon Ensemble in Germany; in 2006 he collaborated in composing songs for Inti-Illimani's CDs Pequeño Mundo (Small World) and Esencial (Essential). He also recorded a CD with Mexican rancheras and corridos for a musical production of the Banco del Estado (Chile's State Bank). He also recorded a CD of ballads and boleros titled Porque Te Amé (Because I Loved You) which was highly received in countries like Mexico and Peru.

Currently Manns lives in Central Chile where he has focused on the development of his literary career.

Music

The following is a selective discography of Patricio Manns:
  • 1965 - Entre Mar y Cordillera (Between Sea and Cordillera)
  • 1966 - El Sueño Americano (with Voces Andinas) (The American Dream)
  • 1967 - ¡El Folclore No Ha Muerto, Mierda! (with Silvia Urbina) (Folklore Ain't Dead, Dammit!)
  • 1968 - La Hora Final (The Final Hour)
  • 1971 - Patricio Manns
  • 1974 - Chants de la Résistance Populaire Chilienne (with Karaxú) (Songs of the Popular Chilean Resistance)
  • 1975 - Karaxú Live (live with Karaxú)
  • 1977 - Canción Sin Límites (with the EGREM Orchestra of Cuba) (Limitless Songs)
  • 1983 - Con la Razón y la Fuerza (with Inti Illimani) (With Reason and Force)
  • 1983 - Itinerario de un Retorno (live in Mexico) (Itinerary of a Return)
  • 1986 - Cuando Me Acuerdo de Mi País (compilation) (When I Remember My Country)
  • 1986 - La Muerte No Va Conmigo (with Inti Illimani) (Death Doesn’t Accompany Me)
  • 1990 - Patricio Manns en Chile (Live in Chile)
  • 1998 - Porque Te Amé (Because I Loved You)
  • 1999 - Arriba en la Cordillera
    Arriba en la Cordillera
    "Arriba en la Cordillera" is a song by Chilean singer Patricio Manns, first released in 1965.The song is a Chilean folklore standard, and has been covered by bands and singers such as Montserrat Bustamante, Inti Illimani, and Los Miserables....

    (compilation) (Above on the Cordilleras)
  • 2000 - América, Novia Mía (live) (America My Beloved)
  • 2003 - Allende: La Dignidad Se Convierte en Costumbre (Allende: When Dignity Becomes a Custom)
  • 2010 " La tierra entera", jazz musical arrangements by Gonzalo Palma.

Literature

Manns is one of the most prolific writers in Chile. His literary creations embrace various genres, from novels with historical themes to essays and plays and he has published more than 30 works. The unique structures of his textual constructs and the seamless conductive literary technique he uniquely employs have made him the subject of scholarly study in various European and Latin American schools of literature and universities.

Fiction

  • De noche sobre el rastro (1967)
  • Buenas noches los pastores (Goodnight shepherds) (1973)
  • Actas de Marusia
    Letters from Marusia
    Letters from Marusia is a 1976 Mexican film directed by Chilean Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Gian Maria Volonté...

    (1974)
  • Actas del alto Bío Bío (1985)
  • Actas de muerteputa (1988)
  • De repente los lugares desaparecen (Suddenly places disappear) (1991)
  • El corazón a contraluz (Cavelier seul in France) [1996]
  • Memorial de la noche (Night Memorial) (1998)
  • El desorden en un cuerno de niebla [1999]
  • A traveller's Literary Companion (2003) Several authors.
  • La vida privada de Emile Dubois (The private life of Emile Dubois) [2004]
  • Diversos instantes del reino (Diverse instants of the kingdom) 2006


Play

  • La lámpara en la tierra (The Lamp on Earth) (France 2000)
  • Los cuadernos de Melchor Santuario.

Poetry

  • Memorial de Bonampak
    Bonampak
    Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...

    (Bonampak Memorial) – [2003]Brosquil, Spain
  • Cantología (2004) Editorial Catalonia, Chile


Film

The 1975 movie Actas de Marusia directed by Miguel Littin
Miguel Littin
Miguel Ernesto Littín Cucumides is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides....

 was based on a novel by the same name that Manns published in 1974. The movie – which featured Gian Maria Volonté
Gian Maria Volontè
Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor. He is perhaps most famous outside of Italy for his roles as the main villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.-Early life:Volonté was born in Milan, and graduated in Rome in 1957...

 in the principal role - caused great controversy and unease among conservative circles in Chile at the time of its release. This movie won several awards and was also nominated for an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 in 1976 in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Awards and recognition

Manns is broadly recognized for his multi-faceted prolific career as a musician and literary figure. He is a founder of the movement of neo-folkloric popular music that emerged in Chile in the 1960s and constituted a fundamental nexus between the Nueva Canción
Nueva canción
Nueva canción is a movement and genre within Latin American and Iberian music of folk music, folk-inspired music and socially committed music...

 Chilena (New Chilean Song) movement and more current musical developments. As a literary figure he has developed in the field of poetry, as a non-fiction writer, in novels and in theatre. Manns has been awarded numerous prizes - both national and international – for recognition in his fields, among them are:
  • Premio Alerce (Alerce Prize) from the SECH (Society of Chilean Writers) organization and the University of Chile (1967)
  • Premio Municipal de Literatura (Municipal Literary Prize) (1973) (this prize was officially awarded 25 years later in 1998)
  • Guggenheim Fellowship
    Guggenheim Fellowship
    Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

    (1988)
  • Prix Rhône-Alpes: The French edition of his novel El Corazón a Contraluz, ‘Cavalier Seul’ was selected as one of the best novels published in France in 1996.
  • Premio del Consejo Nacional del Libro y la Lectura (2001) (for the anthology of short stories in his Corre Hasta los Arboles (Run to the trees) which was reedited by the Editorial Sudamericana as La Tumba del Zambullidor.
  • Premio Municipal de Literatura de Valparaíso (2003)
  • The Chilean Society of Writers (SCD) officially recognizes him as a Fundamental Figure of Chilean music (2006).

External links

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