Original article: Libro recupera nueva música de Víctor Jara en obra interrumpida por el golpe

New Music of Víctor Jara Uncovered in Unfinished Work, ‘Los Siete Estados’

«Los siete estados» is an incomplete piece. It was conceived as a large-format ballet by creator and director Patricio Bunster, who intended to premiere it in October 1973, featuring music from Víctor Jara and Peruvian composer Celso Garrido-Lecca. However, the military coup on September 11 interrupted the creative process and thwarted its public presentation.

As journalist Jorge Leiva details in his book «Víctor Jara. 150 Songs and a Poem», Patricio Bunster envisioned this work in the early 1960s and commissioned Jara to create an initial instrumental piece, which Jara titled «Doncella encantada». After a long hiatus, the choreographer reignited his initial drive and began preparing the production in 1971, once again collaborating with Víctor for the musical aspects, inviting Garrido-Lecca to jointly develop the project.

What is currently known about the work is largely fragmented: around 27 minutes of rehearsals from 1972 include not only Jara and Garrido-Lecca but also other Chilean musicians who were to be part of the final stage ensemble, like Inti Illimani. Indeed, the group extracted a musical piece from these rehearsals, discovered in the late 1990s, which they included in the album “Inti Illimani Interprets Víctor Jara” in 1999.

The reconstruction of this work, which has been scattered throughout the historiography of musical and scenic arts in Chile, is undertaken by researcher Félix Cárdenas, a scholar at the Institute of Music at the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and founder and director of the Orquesta Andina PUCV. His book, titled «Víctor Jara y los siete estados. Una obra inconclusa», was published by Ediciones PUCV and funded by the National Music Promotion Fund, Call 2025.

This research will be presented on Monday, September 14 at 12:00 PM at the Music Archive of the National Library in Santiago, followed by another presentation on Friday, September 25 at 12:00 PM at the Santiago Severin Library in Valparaíso. Both events are free to the public.

New Music from Víctor Jara

While Cárdenas notes that the rigorous research process began two years ago, its roots trace back to 1999, when Joan Jara provided a cassette containing 27 minutes of rehearsal fragments from the ballet «Los siete estados», which is now the same material that is publicly known. Twenty-five years after that event, the PUCV lecturer resumed working on the project, leading to the book’s imminent release, uncovering significant findings.

One of the most notable discoveries is the recovery of new music by Víctor Jara. Cárdenas accessed this material during the final phase of his research when Gonzalo Garrido-Lecca, son of Celso, found two tapes in Lima featuring pieces composed by the Chilean for «Los siete estados».

«It was an immense surprise. The tapes were brought to Chile, and we listened to them here with Horacio Durán from Inti Illimani. There are over 15 minutes of Víctor’s music that showcase the creative process with Celso Garrido-Lecca. It can be confidently stated that, more than 50 years after his death, we can hear new music from Víctor Jara, which fills me with joy as a researcher,» comments Félix Cárdenas. The new Jara music will be accessible via a QR code in the book.

«The truth is, thanks to Gonzalo Garrido-Lecca, we can have more conclusive information about the music beyond first-hand accounts. In fact, a few manuscripts of the musical section were recently found among his belongings,» Cárdenas continues.

In those 15 minutes of music, another discovery emerges: Jara performing «Canción del minero», a piece that, according to Cárdenas’s findings, belongs to the ballet «Los Siete Estados». This is entirely new information since Víctor only recorded this song live, with its studio recording occurring first by the group Cuncumén and later by Quilapayún. «No one had considered it part of ‘Los siete estados’; it had been viewed as an isolated piece. The lead dancer of the work confirmed to us from Germany that one of the scenes featured the image of the miner as a central theme. The evidence is quite conclusive,» adds Félix Cárdenas.

The collected material by Cárdenas suggests that more than an hour of music was recorded during the project’s development. «From what we gathered, the reason for recording the rehearsals was practical. Patricio Bunster needed the ballet to rehearse with music and always worried that the rhythm wasn’t progressing according to schedule,» states the academic and composer.

The research process relied on a broad array of sources aimed at piecing together the puzzle of the work: testimonies, photographs, institutional archives, recordings, and interviews with those who were part of the creative process, including Horacio Salinas, Horacio Durán, Jorge Coulon, Patricio Castillo, members of the Cuban group Manguaré, and dancers from the production.

«We know that Isabel Parra, Patricio Castillo, the Cuban group Manguaré, members of the Chile Symphony, and the National Ballet participated. While the Blops were invited, they ultimately did not take part in the production,» reveals the book’s author.

Master Celso Castillo-Lecca, who passed away in August 2025, was unable to be interviewed for the research. «Celso had Alzheimer’s for several years. However, in 2013, when we invited him to the Darwin Vargas Festival, I asked him a few questions about this, but he didn’t remember the process well, and he mentioned that much of that material had been lost. Nevertheless, after discussing with his son Gonzalo, we agreed that this story was so tragic that he preferred to speak little about it,» notes Félix Cárdenas.

Multidisciplinary Work

According to the director of the Orquesta Andina PUCV, the book expands knowledge about the interdisciplinary work of the singer-songwriter assassinated by the civil-military dictatorship: «Víctor deepened this piece with a section-based and creative work methodology that allowed him to create interdisciplinary spaces, a rarity for its time. Yet Víctor crossed boundaries several times. I believe it offers a continuity to the model of the Chilean cantata, proposing an interdisciplinary alliance.»

Cárdenas views that «the book opens some chapters while closing others. We know that part of the work ‘La remolienda’ relates to ‘Doncella encantada’, the first piece of ‘Los Siete Estados’. Patricio Castillo confirmed that, according to conversations he had with Víctor, ‘La partida’ was to be part of the ballet. Many more aspects emerged.»

Where there is no further information is on the structure of the ballet envisioned by Bunster. The late choreographer indicated in general terms that the work was «based on Chilean popular tales» and that «it told the story of a young girl who embarks on an adventure after the voice of a captive», as he stated in a 2003 book quoted by Jorge Leiva’s writings. Víctor Jara also mentioned in 1971 that the project was «based on the classic legend of the young man who must undergo seven trials to marry the youngest daughter of the king», indicating that these seven trials were «seven moments of contemporary Latin American reality». Regardless, the work integrated contemporary dance, popular music, electroacoustic experimentation, and collective creation.

«The choreographic aspect is the least known. When Joan introduced me to Patricio Bunster in 1999, I barely exchanged a few words with him, and we couldn’t delve deeper into the subject. Patricio was a very reserved person, and it was evident that this topic reminded him of the sad narrative where the work remained unfinished. Manuela Bunster, his daughter with Joan, also lacks substantial information, and research into all the archives left by the master is just beginning. We hope something surfaces,» Cárdenas expresses with optimism.

Nevertheless, Félix Cárdenas’s next project involves bringing the instrumental suite of the music found so far to the stage. «We hope to present this project in 2027 to share this music with the community. We are already on the path. This serves justice to a work that was truncated by the dictatorship and the tragic assassination of Víctor,» concludes the research author.

Presentations of «Víctor Jara y los siete estados»:

Monday, September 14, 12:00 PM

Music Archive, National Library, Santiago.

Friday, September 25, 12:00 PM

Santiago Severin Library, Valparaíso.