Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (October 14, 1917 - February 5, 1967) was a notable Chilean folklorist and visual artist. She set the basis for "New Song", La Nueva Canción chilena, a renewal and a reinvention of Chilean folk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile. Parra was born in San Carlos, province of Ñuble, a small town in southern Chile. She was involved in the progressive movement and the Socialist Party of Chile. She established the first Peña, (now known as La Peña de Los Parra). A Peña is a community center for the arts and for political activism. The word is Spanish for "stone". During the government of Salvador Allende there were Peñas mushrooming all over Chile. These were subsequently banned by the military regime that toppled the Allende government, making exiles and political prisoners out of whole sectors of the Chilean artistic and intellectual community. Nevertheless, there are still many Peñas operating throughout Chile, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Australia. They continue to serve the expat communities that fled Chile after the CIA-backed coup on September 11, 1973 that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected socialist administration.
Violeta Parra is a member of the prolific Parra family. Her brother is the notable modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra. Her son, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, were also important figures in the development of Nueva Canción Chilena. Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic traditions.
Violeta Parra committed suicide in 1967.
Her most renowned song, Gracias A la Vida (Grateful to Life), was popularized in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.
