«Como nací pat’e perro»

The article deals with the multifaceted Chilean artist Violeta Parra (1917-1967), whose life and works are an example of a restless, nomadic and unconventional character. It traces her existential and aesthetic nomadism at the levels of biography and of artistic practice as well as in performance, which synthesizes the former aspects. It also focuses on the hybrid and cross-border nature of her artistic practice, assuming that her ability to escape from cultural, ethnic and social divisions – by stretching and reinventing categories like ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ – makes Parra’s legacy extremely relevant and appealing to the new generations