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Gracias a la vida

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For the Joan Baez album, see Gracias a la Vida (album).
"Gracias a la Vida"
Song by Violeta Parra
from the album Las últimas composiciones
Recorded1966
GenreFolk
Nueva Canción Chilena
Length4:38
LabelRCA Victor
Las últimas composiciones chronology
"Gracias a la Vida" "El albertio"

"Gracias a la vida" (Spanish for "Thanks to life") is a song written, composed and performed by Chilean Violeta Parra, one of the artists who was part of the movement and musical genre known as the Nueva Canción Chilena. Parra composed "Gracias a la vida" in La Paz in 1966.[1] It was included on Las Últimas Composiciones, the last album Parra published before committing suicide in 1967. The song is one of Parra's most renowned. It is performed throughout the world and remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.

Critical reception

The song "Gracias a la vida" was considered as a "humanist hymn" by Marisol García,[2] a journalist specialized in Chilean popular music and creator of the website "popular music",[3] In 2009 the former president Michelle Bachelet expressed her "affection and admiration" for Mercedes Sosa and "Gracias a la vida" with the following phrase: «As you know today, "Gracias a la vida" is a song of ours, but also a universal one. Note that there are many artists from many countries who have recorded it and made it famous and one of those voices, perhaps the most vigorous in Latin America, is that of Mercedes Sosa».[4] In 2013 was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame[5]

Covers

The 1971 version performed by Mercedes Sosa and included in her album Homenaje a Violeta Parra spread the song within the Spanish-speaking world. Joan Baez popularized the song in the United States in 1974 by including it on her album of the same name, and continued to perform the song in concert in various countries.[6] American singer Kacey Musgraves also covered the song as the final track to her fifth studio album, Star-Crossed. In 1976, the Brazilian singer Elis Regina recorded the music for the album Falso Brilhante, considered one of the best in MPB (Brazilian Popular Music), and was very successful, helping to promote Latin music in Brazil and in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Artists for Chile version

"Gracias a la Vida"
Single by Artists for Chile
ReleasedMay 12, 2010
GenrePop
Length4:31
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Violeta Parra
Producer(s)Humberto Gatica

"Gracias a la Vida" was recorded by the supergroup Artists for Chile, also called Voces Unidas por Chile, in 2010. The single was released one week before another charity single for the event, "Que Cante la Vida", performed by various artists too including Alex Ubago, Belinda, Carlos Baute, Aleks Syntek, Luis Fonsi, among others.

The project by Beto Cuevas, former vocalist of the group La Ley, consisted of recording a version of "Gracias a la Vida" to help the victims of the 2010 earthquake,[7] was produced by the Chilean compatriot Humberto Gatica,[8] they also included artists such as: Colombians Shakira and Juanes, Dominican Juan Luis Guerra, Mexican Fernando Olvera (Fher) Spanish Alejandro Sanz and Miguel Bosé, Italian Laura Pausini, and Canadian Michael Bublé.[6]

"We are committed to the Chilean people, which is facing a big problem" said the former vocalist of Maná in a video with statements of all participating artists and images of the tragedy. Bosé said in its segment "Anything that has to be done for that country, I will always do it." Laura Pausini, referring to the earthquake in the area of Abruzzo said "Last year, my land, Italy, experienced a similar tragedy to which Chile is experiencing".[8]

Warner Music edit the song internationally in both physical and digital format, being May 4, 2010, the predestined date where it was going to be published. The profits from their sale went to Habitat for Humanity, which works to provide housing to families in need in various countries, including Chile.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Testimonios de Violeta Parra en La Paz" (PDF). Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  2. ^ García, Marisol. "Violeta Parra". MusicaPopular.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Marisol García: "Yo busco escribir de cosas que nadie se toma en serio"". Somos Ruidosa (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Cooperativa.cl (2 October 2009). "Michelle Bachelet expresó "cariño y admiración" por Mercedes Sosa". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Latin GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". Latin Grammy Award. Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Press, Europa (5 February 2017). "Las 5 mejores interpretaciones de 'Gracias a la vida'". www.notimerica.com (in Spanish). Spain. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ Ritmoson (13 March 2010). "Graba Beto Cuevas tema a favor de Chile" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c EMOL (April 15, 2010). "Con voz de Shakira se completa grabación de "Gracias a la vida" para damnificados de Chile" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-03-24.
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