Chileans on Balconies Cheer as Opera Singer Performs 'Peace' Song Amid Curfew

Opera singer Ayleen Jovita del Carmen Romero Zavala performed a touching rendition of El Derecho de Vivir en Paz (The Right to Live in Peace) by Victor Jara from her apartment window in Santiago, Chile, on October 21.

The performance came during the same week as mass protests and unrest escalated in the country. The government declared a state of emergency during the week of October 19 and imposed a 10 pm to 7 am curfew on Santiago and surrounding areas, which was lifted at midnight on October 26, despite continued political unrest.

The video shows cheering neighbors supporting the soprano from their respective balconies as she sang the tune, which has become a “national song of protest in Chile over the past decades,” according to Buzzfeed News.

Zavala performed the song during this curfew and encouraged other musicians to do the same in the caption of the video on Instagram.

“With this video, I wanted to show that our demonstration is peaceful and the government’s actions toward the people are violent. We sing and march for just and necessary demands for our city,” Zavala told Storyful. Credit: Ayleen Jovita del Carmen Romero Zavala via Storyful