Silence, sound, rhythm, performance and storytelling: The lyricism of Chile's Violeta Parra.

This article examines the multifaceted artistry and sociopolitical significance of Chilean singer-songwriter and folklorist Violeta Parra (1917–1967), focusing on her integration of sound, rhythm, performance, and storytelling. It highlights Parra's role as a cultural custodian who used her music, poetry, dance, and visual arts to represent and give voice to Chile's rural, working-class, and Indigenous populations, addressing social injustices through the Nueva Canción Chilena ("The Chilean New Song") movement. The study emphasizes her innovative "translating poetics" approach, wherein she fused traditional folk forms with political messaging, creating performative sound-texts that engaged audiences intimately and fostered collective memory and social awareness. Parra's legacy is framed as a pioneering interdisciplinary practice that preserved Chilean cultural identity while inspiring subsequent generations of artists and activists.