Joan Jara, a British-born dancer and instructor dedicated to seeking justice for her husband, Victor Jara, a popular Chilean folk singer and songwriter who was killed during the military coup d’état that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to dictatorial power in 1973, passed away on Nov. 12 in Santiago, Chile. She was 96 years old.
Her death was announced by the Victor Jara Foundation, a human rights initiative that she established. Justice came for her in two ways over 40 years after her husband’s death: In a civil case filed by her and her two daughters that found Pedro Barrientos Núñez, a former Chilean Army lieutenant, liable for her husband’s death, and in legal proceedings in Chile that led to his arrest last month in Deltona, Fla., where he had been living for many years; he is expected to be extradited to Chile.
Mr. Jara, who was also a theater director and poet, sang about poverty and injustice. In “Manifiesto,” he sang in part: “My guitar is not for the rich no, nothing like that. My song is of the ladder we are building to reach the stars.”
Mr. Jara was a visible supporter of Salvador Allende, the Marxist who was elected president of Chile in 1970. On Sept. 11, 1973, Mr. and Ms. Jara were at home with their daughters when Mr. Allende’s speech was cut off and replaced with military marches. Right-wing military officers, supported by the C.I.A., had stormed the presidential palace and overthrown Mr. Allende, who was believed to have killed himself with an assault rifle that day. Mr. Jara drove to the State Technical University in Santiago, the capital, where he taught theater and was scheduled to sing at an appearance by Mr. Allende. That was the last time Ms. Jara would see him.