"Gracias a la vida": Violeta Went to Heaven and Came Back Wearing a K-Pop Miniskirt

Abstract:"Gracias a la vida" ("Thanks Be to Life"), composed by Chilean folk singer-songwriter Violeta Parra (1917–1967), is arguably the most recognizable Chilean song in folk and popular music. It has been covered by numerous artists in several languages and countries. This article focuses on the November 2, 2012, cover by Korean female pop duo Davichi (다비치), at a 20,000-capacity crammed Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile. Through my analysis of this performance, I offer a postcolonial reading on K-pop rise in Chile, in light of both Chile's and South Korea's neoliberal transformation. By focusing on this particular spectacle as a meta-reference of Parra's life and covers of her song, we can reflect on the ongoing ideological tensions across the Pacific. Employing theoretical frameworks provided by cultural theorist Nelly Richard and sociologist Tomás Moulián, I will address the topics of spectacle, solidarity, and consumerism in the context of Chilean and Korean cases of neoliberal post-dictatorial and post-colonial "neo-hegemonies."