Chilean singer Angel Parra dies in Paris aged 73

Noted Chilean singer and guitarist Angel Parra died in Paris on Saturday aged 73 after a three-year battle with cancer, the Chilean ambassador said.

“It’s a great loss for Chile and for art,” Marcia Covarrubias said. “Angel Parra lived in France for 40 years and it too became his country.”

Born in 1943 in Valparaiso to famous singer, composer, folklorist and songwriter Violeta Parra, the singer was “not only the member of a dynasty of incomparable creators” but was also a “charismatic and generous personality,” Covarrubias said.

Parra’s repertoire included a 2013 album Venceremos, a homage to former Chilean president Salvador Allende who committed suicide after being ousted in a CIA-sponsored military coup in 1973, and an acclaimed CD of his mother’s songs.