Artists will take part in a concert next Thursday at the NCH, Dublin, to commemorate the life of Chilean musician Victor Jara.
"It's a celebration of what he stood for," said writer and actor Donal O'Kelly. "When they killed him, they cut off his hands. That was a signal to artists to be careful. One of the symbols he used was the power people have in their hands . . . it's really good that we commemorate him in an upbeat, celebratory way and what he stood for."
Many of the people who support the Latin America Solidarity Centre came together this week at a reception at the Havana Tapas Bar, on Camden Market, in Dublin, to hear details of the fundraising concert, An Unfinished Song.
Jara, who was a national hero in his native country, campaigned for social justice before he was murdered during the Chilean coup 30 years ago.
Playwright Frank McGuinness, who turned 50 this summer, has just finished writing a play about a reunion of friends who are that age. He says Victor Jara and Chile "is a very important cause to remember".
Playwright Mannix Flynn said: "Now that we have a foothold in the capitalist world, to be able to give a helping hand is what it is all about. It's desperately needed. You can very easily forget."
Others at the reception were singer Noel O'Grady, Italian composer and pianist Antoni O'Breskey, theatrical agent Theresa Nolan and writer Rose Doyle, whose novel, Gambling with Darkness, has just been published by Hodder and Staughton.