"Volver a los Diecisiete" is a song written and performed by Violeta Parra. It was composed in 1962 but was not released until 1966 on her final album, Las últimas composiciones.^[1][2]

The song was reissued on multiple compilation albums, including The Songs of Violeta Parra (1997)^[3] and Antologia (2003).^[4] Banned from the musical repertoire during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, along with Gracias a la Vida, the lyrics of Volver a los Diecisiete have a poetic character and vindication for "the value of feeling above reason" with a rhetoric that seeks to describe "the purifying, ardent effects of achieved love."

Versions

The song has become a standard in the Latin American songbook and has been recorded and performed by numerous artists, including Mercedes Sosa,^[5] Milton Nascimento,^[6] Joan Manuel Serrat, Franco Simone, Víctor Manuel, Rosa León,^[7] Paloma San Basilio, Charly García, Caetano Veloso, Myriam Hernández, Chico Buarque, Zélia Duncan, Gal Costa, Marilia Andrés with Nacho Vegas,^[8] Zizi Possi,^[9] Claudia Acuña,^[10] Angel Parra,^[11] Nydia Caro,^[12] Rumillajta,^[13] Elise Witt,^[14] and Rozalén.^[15]

References