| Some thoughts on the Dirty War, Argentina ...... NEVER AGAIN This past March 24th 2006 Argentina remembered for the 30th time the date of a terrible turning point in our history, the military coup d'etat of 1976.
It was in the early morning hours of March 24th , 1976 when Jorge Rafael Videla (lieutenant general), Eduardo Emilio Massera (admiral) and Orlando R. Agosti (general brigadier) –in convenience with part of the civilian economic aristocracy- took over the government as head of the military Junta, and Jorge Rafael Videla became president by fact. The Army, the Navy and the Air Force would equally participate in what was known as National Reorganization Process (proceso de reorganizacion nacional). They were the face and hands of an atrocious social, political, economical and cultural Project. An excluding economy, a corrupt political class and a beaten society required over 30,000 political murders and disappearances to finally rise upon the ashes of a crashed social progressive program that was being thought, planned and executed in the Argentina of the 1960s-1970s. The political and economical counterparts of the dictatorship are often highlighted when analyzing those years of torture and extermination. Less studied though equally important are the cultural aspects of the social massacre. The political strategy of vanishing off the face of the earth a whole generation has had an immense impact on our culture and society. The idea and act of freedom and liberty -of thought and action- was something that had to be conquered once again after the return to democracy. The obstacles and social complexities were – and still are in several cases- an intangible of what was then recently built in terms of subjective and collective barriers resulting of fear and social ostracism. To understand where we stand today in terms of culture an society we should look at those past days in some detail. It’s known around the globe that the Junta acted both legally and illegally throughout those years in power. Among the firsts we can precise that, addressed thru laws and legislation, the objectives were broad; from banning all sorts of political actions and activity, to obliging all Argentine men to wear short hair, as well as shutting down all sorts of cultural poles –centers, bars, pubs, cafes, shows and schools-. Illegal actions were ample and covered actions such as kidnapping, torture, murder and appropriation of babies born when their mother was held in captivity, to persecutions of all kinds, burns of books, art and all sorts of cultural manifestations. The converging of both created a terrifying environment to live in, where everyone thought not twice but ten times what to do say or work on… We can look at some cases in detail to exemplify the idea. The well known Di Tella Insititute home to some of the best vanguard artists of the 60s and 70s was shut down; its artists were persecuted, forced to exile and censured. But if the Di Tella was in many ways explicitly subversive in its artistic conceptions, and that made the dictatorial government quite nervous, other creative places or gathering points were banned off the map alike. Such was the case for the Moderno bar, a place where consecrated plastic artists such as Vito Campanella and Charlie Squirru, got together for fun and philosophical discussions, which from day to night was shut down… Popular culture events and activities were also a main target for the new culture conception that was being carefully created at that time. Carnival, a tradition that can be traced back to the days of the Independence and that involves a satiric caricature of the everyday life status quo, a time of illusion and disguise, was considered extremely dangerous to a fragile culture as theirs due to the potential of subversion within the act of bright humor and tables that change. Once the Military Junta was in power it was forbidden and the national holiday was taken off the calendar of cultural events in every city and town throughout the country. The reader must keep in mind that not even the Brazilian dictatorship or the fascism in Italy did so. Laughter was banned off the people in Argentina by decree; only the cynical executioners kept on doing so. It was as if George Orwell or Aldus Huxley’s writings were taken literally by those in power and command, and people were forced to live in an ironic yet horrifying reality that exceeded fantasy to an unbelievable extent. Around the globe condemns raised from a rainbow of speakers, but they couldn’t stop it. Even US president Jimmy Carter took in his hands a Human Rights activism against the Argentine situation… Nonetheless, the so called subversives, meaning all those who were against the government in thought and action, all those who treasuring their freedom and imagination wished for a better present and trusted in the daily activism for a better future from wherever their reality was and took them, kept on working and developing. In exile outside the geographical frontiers or outside the social ones, shouting in silence, all of them together were murmuring at the same time in the darkness what would in 1983 become the sentence to those criminals in power: NEVER AGAIN! Culture is the soul of human kind, and as such, when harmed and injured takes a long time to recuperate. The wounds were deep, 30,000 souls were early taken away from us without any respect or reason but hatred. Many more were deadly hurt to the extent of remaining alive but without life, and without Justice there has been no new morning yet… But Argentina, its culture and society resurrected from the ashes and took upon the challenge of subverting the culture the dictatorship wanted to implement by turning again t its roots of love, creativity and passion for life. We’re still working on it, but there’s no question about the fact that the local Art and cultural world is once again beginning to shine within its truth of imagination and realization that life’s beautiful. Bob Frassinetti.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. |
