In 1957, he met Violeta Parra, a singer who had steered folk music in Chile away from the rote reproduction of rural materials toward modern song composition rooted in traditional forms, and who had established musical community centers called "peñas" to incorporate folk music into the everyday life of modern Chileans. Jara absorbed these lessons and began singing with a group called Cuncumén, with whom he continued his explorations of Chile's traditional music. He was deeply influenced by the folk music of Chile and other Latin American countries, and by artists such as Parra, Atahualpa Yupanqui, and the poet Pablo Neruda. In the 1960s, Jara started specializing in folk music and sang at Santiago's La Peña de Los Parra, owned by Ángel Parra. Through these activities, he became involved in the Nueva Canción movement of Latin American folk music. He released his first album, " Víctor Jara ", in 1966 also known as " Víctor Jara (Geograpía) " to distinguish it from the 1967 album of the same name, by the record company "Demon", being the only album released under this label, this album and it was Víctor Jara's first solo work, since he previously made several albums together with Cuncumén, the album would later be released under the titles "Canto a lo humano" and "Sus mejores canciones". Some songs from the album like " El arado ", " El Cigarrito", and " Paloma quiero contarte", these songs would be translated into some languages of European countries.