| Description: | In the early months of the Pinochet dictatorship up to 7,000 people were detained by the Junta. In this piece, arpillerista Victoria Diaz Caro brings us inside a Chilean prison to witness the poignant moment a political prisoner, arms outstretched, reunites with his family on visiting day. Nearby, a couple are absorbed in their all too brief moments of connection.
These vivid, life filled scenes sharply contrast with the shadowy military figures in the background, keeping a watchful eye on proceedings. Gala Torres, an arpillerista whose brother, Ruperto, was detained-disappeared described how during visits “Prison guards always monitored the visits and we weren’t allowed to talk much. We noticed the bruises, the signs of torture” (Agosín, M., (2008)Tapestries of hope, threads of love: The arpillera movement in Chile (second edition)).
Victoria and her sister, Viviana, both joined the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared in 1976 following the disappearance of their father. The sisters became heavily involved with activism denouncing the Pinochet dictatorship and demanding the truth about the disappeared, and continued this struggle even after the return to democracy in Chile.
Since Chile’s return to democracy, 38,254 people have been officially recognised as having been held as political prisoners during the dictatorship. For some of the many women coping with imprisonment of their loved ones, using their textile skills to craft arpilleras became a means of enabling them to live with conflict and its memory on a daily basis: the political events of their country and their daily lives became inseparable. |
