The murder of Argentinian musician Facundo Cabral
The folk singer and peace activist is mourned across Latin America after he was shot to death in Guatemala.
This story was originally covered by PRI's The World. For more, listen to the audio above.
On July 9, Latin American folk singer Facundo Cabral was shot and killed on the way to the airport in Guatemala. The 74-year-old, who was appointed United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1996, was on tour in Guatemala, and was planning to continue performing, with more concerts scheduled in Nicaragua.
Cabral had accepted a ride to the airport from Nicaraguan concert promoter, Henry Fariñas. The car was ambushed by cars on three sides, and was peppered with bullets. Cabral died in the vehicle, while the other two men in the car, his agent and Fariñas, were both injured. Guatemalan officials believe the gunmen had intended to kill the concert promoter, and misidentified their target.
Cabral wrote a large catalog of songs, many about social and political issues, and he was best known for his 1970, "No soy de aquí ni soy de allá" or "I am not from here, nor am I from there." He frequently opened live performances of the song with an extensive spoken section in which he discussed the meanings of freedom, peace, and love, and spoke about figures like Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and Walt Whitman.
In response to the killing, Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom declared three days of mourning, and politicians from countries including Argentina, Bolivia, and Columbia expressed their sadness about the death of the folk singer.
Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú's response to the murder: "In the 1970s, he [Cabral] said, 'I am not from here or there,' and today we dedicate this song to him, because he loved Guatemala. […] but finally today, we are repudiating a terrible crime in our country."
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