Geographies of Eden: the trovadoresque poetry of Violeta Parra

Abstract

The trascendence of Violeta Parra's poetic legacy invites to consider its nature once more, a legacy many times distorted or unattended. The story of the reception itself is a controversial one. Nevertheless her defence of the most genuine of Chilean musical and popular songs is of particular importance -in a moment during which it languishes before foreign cultural models many times more powerful-, in a task close to the one his brother Nicanor developed on the poetic level. The profound lyric tone of Violeta Parra's poetic production invites a textual analysis beyond its musical component. She offers a new refreshing reading of traditional topics -which she assumes in order to give them universal meaning without loosing its popular roots. In particular, the representation of Eden intertwines al her poetic production and highlights its originality.