OPEN AIR PERFORMANCE: “EL PUEBLO UNIDO, JAMÁS SERÁ VENCIDO!”
A Chilean orchestra gave an open-air performance of “El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!” (“The people united will never be defeated”) in Santiago.
The song was written in June 1973, only months before the violent coup by dictator Augusto Pinochet, who assumed power in September. The song was initially composed as an anthem for the socialist government of Salvador Allende, reflecting the spirit behind the mass mobilization of working-class people who in 1970 had elected Allende for the socialist transformation of Chile.
During Allende’s campaign “El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido” was a frequent slogan. After the U.S.-backed coup, the song became the anthem of the Chilean resistance against the Pinochet regime.
Over the last week in Chile, the lyrics have been heard loudly again throughout the country.