Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo and Other Reactions
From WolfWikis
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Background
On March 24, 1976 a regime took over the Argentine presidency by overthrowing Maria Estela Martínez de Perón in a military coup. As with anyone else who rises to power, the regime claimed they were providing order. They organized a police and military force called "grupos de tareas" (task teams) to kidnap leftists or anyone who disagreed with the government and send the to detention areas. Those who were sent to these detention areas were called "Desaparecidos," otherwise known as the disappeared. The relatives of the Desaparecidos had no idea as to where those taken to the detention areas were or if they were even still alive. Many times, the Desaparecidos were not alright. They were often beaten, raped, and exterminated.
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is an organization that was formed by the Argentine mothers of Desparecidos that, since 1977, still marches every Thursday in the Plaza de Mayo, right in front of the executive branch headquarters, the Casa Rosada, in protest of the dictatorship that caused the disappearances of their children. The mothers would go around from door to door asking for help. They would receive nothing from this. So they tried going to the police and the churches, only to be turned down again. So one woman by the name of Azucena Villaflor de Devicenti suggested, "If we do this on our own, we will not get anything. Why don't we go to the Plaza de Mayo and when we become a large group, Videla (then president) will have to meet with us ... " Plaza de Mayo was an historical location where many protests took place. On April 30th, 14 mothers of Desaparecidos gathered in the Plaza de Mayo in central Buenos Aires. Every Thursday from 3:30 to 4:00 they would stand in the plaza as many people walked by them. The police, however, demanded they walk, as there was a law that prohibited a group of more than three or more people from standing in one spot. The mothers would wear white hankerchiefs on their heads so as to be recognized. This eventually became their symbol. [[Image:
Hebe de Bonafini, one of the founders of the Association of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, said at the July 6th Conference in 1988 that The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo felt best in the Plaza because "in the Plaza we were all equal," "everyone had had their children taken away, the same happened to everyone, we had gone to the same places."[1]
Hebe de Bonafini goes on to say that "when the police saw that we were many, that we were 60 or 70, in those central banks in the Plaza, they told us 'well, you can't here, there is a state of siege, you can't be seated here, this is already a gathering, go, walk,' and they began to beat us with their hands and with their sticks... and the police made us walk, we weren't thinking of marching."[2]
They don't like to be considered as walking in a circle, because to them, that means that they are getting nowhere. They consider what they do as marching, since marching has an end-point, and that is what they are marching for, a specific goal.
Imagining Argentina
A film to depict this fearful time in Argentina would be Imagining Argentina. This is the fictional story of a man named Carlos Reuda (Antonio Banderas) whose wife Cecilia (Emma Thompson) is a leftest newspaper journalist. When she writes a story about children getting kidnapped by the government, she is taken and becomes one of the Desparecidos. While his wife is held in captivitiy, Carlos learns he has a special gift. He has the ability to see those who have been kidnapped and knows of their location and state. With this power Carlos is able to see his wife getting beaten. He sets on a quest to find her. The government learns of this and sends some thugs to kidnap, rape, and kill his daughter Teresa (Leticia Dolera). This movie is supposed to depict the cruelty of the military during this time period and envoke sympathy from the audience.
This movie has received various reviews. Many claim it is a powerful piece that will make the viewer reflect. This includes Argentines who experienced the "Dirty War." They say this film touches them and claim it is fairly accurate. Others say it is too based on fantasy to allow any emotional connection between the audience and the characters to occur. One of the main points they make is if the government is able to kidap all of these people, why are they unable to catch Carlos in his red sports car? Another argument is people get so caught up in the film in terms of lighting, acting, etc. they forget the central image.
Although there are other films out that depict this whole political movement in South America, Imagining Argentina is the most well known.
Links
- (English) Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo (24 Sept)
- Monseñor Graselli(24 Sept)
- (Spanish) Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo(24 Sept)
- (English) [1](24 Sept)
Videos
- The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Video)
- Mother of the Plaza de Mayo (Slideshow)
- Plaza de Mayo
- Imagining Argentina Trailer
- Protest Marches
- The Official Story (Clip)
Links
References
- (23 September) [2] This is where I found most of my information on the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
- Google Translate: This is where I was able to translate quotes
- (18 September) [3] This provided the criticisms of the film Imagining Argentina
- Youtube: All of the clips shown were from this website
- Wikipedia: Any other information I was lacking came from here
Translation
Nosotros solamente queremos saber dónde están nuestros hijos. Dínos un hueso. Angustia porque no sabemos si están enfermos si tienen frio, si tienen hambre. No sabemos nada. Y dice esperación señor, porque ya no paremos aqui en recurrir. Consulados, consulados, embajadas, ministerios, iglesias. Todas partes que nos han cerrado, todas partes que nos han cerrado las puertas. Por eso les rodamos a ustedes. Les rodamos a ustedes. Son nuestra última esperanza. Por favor ayúdennos. Ayúdenos por favor! Son nuestra última esperanza.
We only want to know where they are our children. Dínos a bone. Anguish because no
we know if they are ill if they have cold, if they are hungry. We do not know anything. And it says esperación
Sir, because no longer we stop here in resorting. Consulates, consulates, embassies, ministries,
churches. All parts that have closed to us, all parts that have closed us the doors. For that reason
we rolled to them to you. We rolled to them to you. They are our last hope. Please ayúdennos.
Ayúdenos please! They are our last hope