Patricio bunster y joan jara biography
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“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.”
– Che Guevara
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Joan Alison Turner, wife of the legendary Chilean människor singer Víctor Jara, was born on 20 July 1927 in north London.
A dancer, choreographer, lecturer, political activist, and later head of the Jara Foundation, Joan came from a left-leaning social-democratic family and would later become internationally known as a vocal and indefatigable defender of human rights.
Born between two world wars and growing up in a north London in which bombings by the Nazi Luftwaffe were daily occurrences, Joan spend her childhood between school, home and bomb shelters. Her older brothers where recruited into the British army during the war, which left an indelible mark on them, and her own memories of the time were underscored by the drone of warplanes and the sound of falling missiles.
From early childhood, Joan had been inclined towards dance – a form of artistic expression that she wen
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AN UNFINISHED SONG
Born Joan Alice Turner Roberts in London, her father was an antiques dealer. Her mother was the secretary of Labour MP Fenner Brockway.
During the war, her parents took her to a performance of Ballet Jooss, a modern dance company. Joan was so impressed that she decided she wanted to become a ballet dancer.
She applied to the Ballet Jooss and was accepted. They taught her all the skills and Joan became a very accomplished dancer. She even starred alongside Yul Brynner in the stage utgåva of ‘The King and I’.
She had the stage name of Joan Turner.
On tour in Germany, she met the Chilean dancer and choreographer Patricio Bunster. They married and decided to move to Chile.
They had a daughter called Manuela and lived in the capital city of Santiago.
Together, they created the ‘Ballet Popular’, with the intention of taking dance around the country and away from the capital – spreading the word.
Joan also danced with the Santiago B
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Joan Jara
British-Chilean dancer and activist (1927–2023)
Joan Jara | |
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Jara in 2012 | |
| Born | Joan Alison Turner (1927-07-20)20 July 1927 London, England |
| Died | 12 November 2023(2023-11-12) (aged 96) Santiago, Chile |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, political activist |
| Spouses | Patricio Bunster (m. 1950; div. 1960)Víctor Jara (m. 1960; died 1973) |
| Children | 2 |
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Turner and the second or maternal family name is Roberts.
Joan Alison Turner Roberts (born Joan Alison Turner, 20 July 1927 – 12 November 2023), known as Joan Jara or Joan de Jara was a British-Chilean dancer, activist, and widow of Chilean icon, democratic socialist, actor, dramaturg, theatre director, poet, dancer and esteemed folk songwriter Víctor Jara.[1] After his death, she dedicated herself to