This piece was created during a workshop as part of a Chilean arpillera exhibition commissioned by Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo in Brazil, 2011.
Fátima, in her sixties when she created this piece, recalls a turbulent event in her home town of Recife, following the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état. This event culminated in the overthrow of President João Goulart, ushering in a military regime which lasted until 1985.
Through her stitching, she revisits what she witnessed as a nine year old: “Suddenly, around 9am, my parents closed … their little shop. Lorries loaded with military … ordered people to lock themselves and be silent. They surrounded the house of Mr. Popô, a neighbour who talked a lot with people in his home… Mr Popô disappeared…”
Reflecting on the arpillera workshop, facilitator Esther Vital Garcia recalls Fátima being fascinated with the power of arpilleras: “to connect her with her own past” and “to create spaces in which individual stories and experiences could be connected.” | 
