- 3 days ago
- Radio
- Duration 54:00
Picture a quilt where the patch work paints a scene. Add a hint of revolutionary messaging and you get an arpillera. When socialist President Salvador Allende was overthrown by the Chilean military led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet,the artform was popularized; a kind of lasting symbol of Allende’s values, especially regarding arts and culture. During the Pinochet dictatorship, arpilleras were a form of resistance to the regime. Montreal based, Chilean artist Carolina Echeverria remembers this period that shook her country. For the last year, she’s been working on a massive arpillera to commemorate 50 years since the coup d’état. The first panel of that quilt is done and currently touring South America. Younger generations of Chileans, living outside of the country, also have a relationship to that violent past. They are often the children of survivors of the coup or descendants of relatives who lost their lives fighting for democracy. Chilean-Canadian poet, Marcela Huerta is apart of that demographic. So last October, 50 years since the Pinochet coup d’etat, we invited Carolina and Marcela to reflect not only on that painful past, but how artists today are still inspired by Allende’s legacy.