The Parras performed in nightclubs, such as El Tordo Azul and El Popular, in the Mapocho district, interpreting boleros, rancheras, Mexican corridos and other styles. In 1934, she met Luis Cereceda, a railway driver, whom she married four years later, and with whom she had two children, Isabel (born 1939) and Ángel (born 1943). Her husband was a militant communist. At his side, Parra became involved in the progressive movement and the Communist Party of Chile, taking part in the presidential campaign of Gabriel González Videla in 1944.