Katayoun Vaziri, One chair and a guitar and a rectangle, 2012.
“The people, united, will never be defeated.” These words have echoed in streets from Santiago to New York to Tehran, in the many languages of people in revolt worldwide. In the fourth episode of I Ran into Iran, we explore the roots of the slogan in Chile, where citizens chanted “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” to express national unity before the U.S.-backed overthrow of Salvador Allende’s socialist government in 1973. We are joined by guests Jorge Coulon, who transformed the slogan into an international anthem with the band Inti Illimani, and Sohrab Mahdavi, founder and editor of the Farsi-English cultural magazine Tehran Avenue, who explains how the song traveled to Iran during the country’s 1979 revolution.
Music Credits: “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” © Quilapayun, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” © Inti Illimani, “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” © Charlie Haden, “Awit ng Tagumpay” © Ysmael Bernal, “Объединённый народ” © ВИА За и Против, “Rabid Dog” © Shahin Najafi, “Barpakhiz” © Ali Nadimi
