La Población is the seventh studio album by Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara, released in 1972 by DICAP, and Odeon labels.

Composition

The album concept is "based on the history and life of Santiago's shantytown communities", and focuses on the poverty of the Chilean camps and workers. It also "gives a central role to children in the founding of this new popular urban space", "brilliantly described the set of practices and imaginaries that surrounded the emergence of the camps", and "has a correlation in the formal aspect of the album, where it is possible to listen to tunes, cuecas and marches, among other rhythms that account for the melodies that accompany different social identities." Seven tracks were written by Jara and the Chilean writer Alejandro Sieveking, who had met in 1956 and were classmates at the University of Chile until 1960. "Hermina de la Victoria" recounts the moments prior to the seizure of those lands in the community of Barrancas, Pudahuel on March 16, 1967. The other artists which collaborated on the album were, Isabel Parra, Bélgica Castro, Huamarí, Cantamaranto, Pato Solovera, Pedro Yáñez and Benko.

Release

La Población was released in 1972 by DICAP, and Odeon labels. It was reissued by Warner Records in 2001. In 2017, the album was reissued along with others by Jara such as Victor Jara (1966), Pongo en tus manos abiertas (1969), El derecho de vivir en paz (1971) and Manifiesto (1974).

Track listing

All songs are written by Víctor Jara and seven by Alejandro Sieveking.