#320 / Gracias A La Vida

  

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Above, I am presenting a picture of Violeta Parra, "a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and visual artist," quoting the way Wikipedia identifies her. 

The picture comes from an obituary published in The New York Times on October 13, 2025. Parra, who was born in 1917, died in 1967, and if you think that The Times may be a little late in getting around to providing her obituary, allow me to say that The Times clearly agrees. I was surprised to open up my paper on October 13th, now more than a month ago, and to see this obituary, but I then discovered The Times' explanation, online: 

This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times.

Violeta Parra was, truly, "remarkable." I encourage you to read her obituary, if The Times' paywall will let you pass. For those who live in Santa Cruz County, I will once again point out that a Santa Cruz County Library Card will provide you with free access to The Times. I read that newspaper every day, and I encourage anyone reading this blog posting to get into that same habit!

In lieu of reading her obituary, if you are not able to do that, please listen to what I think may be Parra's most famous song. Listen, and then "go and do likewise." Let us give thanks, every day, for the wonderful gift of life: 

oooOOOooo

Thanks to Life

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two beams of light, that when opened,
Can perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the sky above, her starry backdrop,
And from within the multitude the one that I love.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me an ear that, in all of its width
Records— night and day—crickets and canaries,
Hammers and turbines and bricks and storms,
And the tender voice of my beloved.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me sound and the alphabet.
With them the words that I think and declare:
"Mother," "Friend," "Brother" and the light shining.
The route of the soul from which comes love.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me the ability to walk with my tired feet.
With them I have traversed cities and puddles
Valleys and deserts, mountains and plains.
And your house, your street and your patio.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me a heart, that causes my frame to shudder,
When I see the fruit of the human brain,
When I see good so far from bad,
When I see within the clarity of your eyes...

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me laughter and it gave me longing.
With them I distinguish happiness and pain—
The two materials from which my songs are formed,
And your song, as well, which is the same song.
And everyone's song, which is my very song.

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Image Credit:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/obituaries/violeta-parra-overlooked.html