I always liked The Band of Gypsys album by Jimi Hendrix, notwithstanding the fact that I was always very lukewarm towards Buddy Miles, and that was primarily because I saw him live once and he performed his one major hit, Them Changes, three times. Nevertheless, I was saddened to hear that he had passed away this week. I was also surprised to hear that his was the voice of the old California Raisins commercials. Rest in peace.
I was deeply saddened to hear that Patricia Verdugo had died more than a month ago (hat tip to Tomas Dinges). She was one of the most compelling chroniclers of Augusto Pinochet's reign of terror, her most famous work being Los Zarpazos del Puma (translated into English as Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death), documenting the helicopter tour of Sergio Arellano Stark, who traveled via Puma helicopter to several locations in Chile immediately after the 1973 coup, leaving a trail of some 75 executed political prisoners and numerous others tortured.
It was personal for her as well. Her father was tortured to death through a form of torture known as the submarino and his body was tossed into the Rio Mapocho along with numerous other victims of Pinochet. It's truly tragic that she did so young, but her body of work was invaluable in setting the historical record straight on what Pinochet knew, when he knew and what really happened. She will be missed.
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