Parada joined Quilapayún in 1968, which made the group into a sextet[1] - the formation which recorded the “Cantata Santa María de Iquique.
Upon joining the group he became the major solo voice of the ensemble (e.g. in “Dicen que la patria es…”, “Por que los pobres no tienen”, “Plegaria a un labrador”, “Vamos mujer”.
A fan of the “chanson française” he decided to reduce his activity as a student leader while the group was at its popularity peak during the Salvador Allende Government.
After exile his voice register underwent a change and he assumed a lower vocal range e.g. “Ronda del ausente”, “Luz negra”; “Complainte de Pablo Neruda” - inter alia.
[citation needed] During this period he earned a doctorate in anthropology from the Sorbonne in Paris, and when the activity of the band decreased he worked in the French Ministry of Culture.