One of the blogs I read regularly is Memoriando, a documentary film blog based in Colombia. The blogger, who goes only by "Vica," has an unbelievable ability to track down documentaries -- mostly contemporary, but not always -- from all over the world. I am addicted to reading Memoriando, because I always discover films I've never heard of. Today's post is on an Uruguayan documentary, "Las manos en la tierra" ("Hands in the Earth"), directed by Virginia Martínez.
Martínez's documentary focuses on the disappeared of Uruguay's military dictatorship (1973-85), and, in the words of the synopsis on the official website, sees itself as "an arqueological thriller" that "marks a before and after in the history of the country." I cannot think of any other documentary on the case of the Uruguay, which tends to get overlooked when we speak of the Southern Cone dictatorships of the 70s and 80s.
Reading about this film reminds me of a conversation I once had with an Uruguayan friend who told me, almost as if she were embarrassed, "I mean, what happened in Uruguay is nothing like Chile or Argentina, but it was still bad."
I look forward to reading more about this film.
Thanks for pointing out Memoriando, looks good.
ReplyDeleteYour Uruguayan friend's comment was interesting and shows how you can't really just play the numbers game when talking about national traumas, I think...
Lillie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - I have always hated "hierarchies" of traumatic historical events. I think it sets a dangerous precedent.
Well, no other South American country did have almost 50% of it's population exiled (still about 25% remain abroad) and no other country in the world has had as many political prisoners per capita (all tortured to), so I think that what happened in Uruguay was actually quite bad and unique after all.
ReplyDeleteSammy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this valuable information with readers. I don't think anyone meant to suggest that what happened in Uruguay was not bad. Just the opposite! I think your comment indicates precisely why a film like "Las manos en la tierra" is so important.
Just the other day an article came out on Nixon's involvement in Uruguay in the early 70s. It is probably not that surprising, but here's the link:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/08/14/nixon_endorsed_death_threats_in_uruguay/