“Julia Chuñil presente”: Manuel García Releases Protest Song Demanding Truth and Justice in Missing Mapuche Defender Case

Manuel García has released “Julia Chuñil presente,” a track dedicated to the Mapuche environmental defender who has been missing for 11 months. The tribute doubles as a denunciation, renewing calls for an effective search, transparency, truth, and justice.

Cristian

02/10/2025 12:19pm

The singer-songwriter Manuel García has released “Julia Chuñil presente”, a song dedicated to Mapuche environmental defender Julia Chuñil, who has been missing for 11 months. More than a tribute, it is a protest in song that spotlights the state’s unresolved debt to truth and justice.

The musician’s release arrives at a pivotal time: this week, the family’s attorney, Karina Riquelme, revealed the existence of audio recordings attributed to one of the suspects, reigniting political and public pressure.

The video — shared below — also lands as relatives, communities, and organizations insist that the institutional response has been insufficient and slow. García’s piece transforms Julia’s memory into a public act of solidarity and demand, putting back on the agenda the questions that remain unanswered: Where is Julia? What has been done — and with what results — to find her and hold those responsible to account?

In recent months, human rights organizations, community groups, and support networks have held vigils, symbolic roadblocks, and communications campaigns to keep the case in the public eye. García’s song is part of that fabric: art that accompanies and moves — while pressing institutions to act with diligence and with a protective approach toward environmental defenders.

With his voice and a guitar, García adds the language of art to a clear demand: conduct an effective search, make proceedings transparent, and secure truth and justice. The name Julia Chuñil will not be shelved — it is sung, lifted up, and kept present — until the truth comes to light.

See the post here:

-JULIA CHUÑIL PRESENTE-

Julia Chuñil salió
A buscar al camino
Animales perdidos
Con su cholito

Como el bosque la amaba
Le regaló unas flores
Y le cantaron lindo los ruiseñores
Como el río la amaba
Besó sus manos tiernas
Y le cantó canciones
Entre las piedras
Como un… pic.twitter.com/nMJreNXqSW

— Manuel García (@manugarpez) October 2, 2025