For Chileans blinded in police violence, making music has become one path to healing
October 10, 20225:01 AM ET
JOHN OTIS
The band Hacía la Victoria, Spanish for "Onward to Victory," after rehearsal in Santiago, Chile, on Aug. 31. All of the musicians in the band sustained serious eye injuries during clashes with police who used tear gas and shotguns against anti-government protesters in 2019. From left: Camilo Galvez, Vicente Pascal, Sergio Concha, Gustavo Gatica, Cesar Galloso, Andrés López, Miles Camus.
Paz Olivares Droguett for NPR
SANTIAGO, Chile — At a recording studio in downtown Santiago, musicians are noodling on guitars and adjusting the drum kit as they set up for a jam session that's part rehearsal, part therapy.
All 10 members of the band, called Hacía la Victoria, Spanish for "Onward to Victory," sustained serious eye injuries during clashes with police who used tear gas and shotguns against anti-government protesters in 2019.
The band's lyrics focus on police brutality as well as the musicians' pain, confusion and frustration over what happened to them. In one song, "Así fue," or "That's what happened," guitarist Sergio Concha recalls the day the demonstrations broke out, when he was hit in the left eye with a shotgun pellet while taking part in the protests.
While playing the song, he says, "It feels like going back to that moment, when all of Santiago was on fire, when there were barricades in the streets, when masked protesters fought the police, and when I was in the hospital with my eye patched."
More:
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/10/1126832045/chile-blinded-protesters-eye-injuries