Roberto Parra Sandoval

Luis Roberto Parra Sandoval[1] born on June 29, 1921[2] in Santiago de Chile, is the fifth child[3] of Rosa Clarisa Sandoval Navarrete and Nicanor Parra Alarcón.[4] He spent much of his childhood in the southern cities of Chillán and Lautaro and contributed to the family budget by working as a newspaper seller, tomb cleaner, shoe shiner and confetti seller in circuses.[3] In addition, he with his siblings Violeta, Eduardo and Hilda, they dedicated themselves to singing and carrying out various activities in squares, markets, circuses and various venues to help their family, touring cities such as Chillán and Parral.[1] After the death of his father Nicanor Parra in 1929, his family went to the capital of Santiago to seek better economic opportunities.[3]

At the age of fourteen, began to consolidate his profession as a guitarist, working as a musician in various circuses, cabarets and clubs in southern Chile. From 1935 to the late 50s he became known as an ambient musician, traveling from north to south to enliven provincial life.[3] In 1938 he formed the duo Los Hermanos Parra with Eduardo. During these times he worked in various trades such as: burner in the Valparaíso dam, guide, diarero, polisher, transporter of food for a prison inmate, welder, mechanic's assistant, carpenter and owner of a furniture store.

In improvised presentations in all kinds of nightclubs, he conceived a style that would become known under the name of "jazz guachaca", a style that takes inspiration from people such as the American pianist Charlie Kunz, the trombonist and arranger Tommy Dorsey and the gypsy-Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt. And that he also took various elements from the cueca, tango, bolero, corrido, Foxtrot and jazz.[3]

La Negra Ester

In September 1957, he arrived for the first time in the Chilean port of San Antonio, where he was hired to sing with the orchestra of the cabaret Luces del Puerto. In the boite Río de Janeiro, he met La Negra Ester, a prostitute and performer of the boite. They started a sentimental relationship that was immortalized in his book Décimas de la Negra Ester, a poetry book written in décimas. Andrés Pérez Araya, director of the theater company Gran Circo Teatro, later adapted La Negra Ester for the stage; the stage adaptation became a milestone in Chilean theater.[5]