Parra, Nicanor

Nicano Segundo Parra Sandoval was a Chilean, self-confessed "antipoet", artist, mathematician and physicist born in San Fabián de Alico, near Chillán in central Chile. His family was not wealthy in economic terms, but rich in artistic talent. His father was a schoolteacher and a musician; his mother was a seamstress and traditional weaver who liked to sing traditional songs. Nicanor was the oldest in a large family of artists and musicians. His sister Violeta Parra was an internationally renowned folk singer (known for the song Gracias a la vida, Thanks to Life) and the artistic talent continues to flourish also in the third generation.