Julia Ellis
Museo de la
Memoria
August 13,
2013
In Rosario, we visited the Museo de la Memoria (“Museum
of Memory”). The museum is open to the public as a place to comprehend a time
of extreme disregard of habeas corpus and persecution in the Dirty War, beginning
with the presidency of Isabel Peron, from 1976 to 1983. Its power directly impacted
even the lives of our tour guides, Daniel Viggiani and Susana Neira.
The city council democratically voted to create the
museum just 15 years ago, designating its location in the very building that
served as the headquarters for the military that plotted widespread Argentine political
persecution. The goal of the museum is to educate people about human rights and
the abuses of a terrible era in Argentinian political history. The central jail
has been renovated now to serve as a government training center and a venue for
democratic activities. We could see election leaders training poll workers that
day for Sunday’s provincial elections. (Note: The national election resulted in
President Cristina Fernandez’s government losing significant ground to opposing
parties. See Euronews
report.)
As we peered through the bars of former prison
cells, we were met with the stark realization of the building’s irony. Built to
house a police force to defend the people, the building became a place of
national terror. The ceilings dangled with the library cards of people who had
simply vanished. The tables where military personnel had once processed
prisoners were covered with historical essays about the times in which the
human soul has been compromised for power. The orange stucco walls both inside
and outside of the building were covered in expressive art, graffiti, and
colorful murals in memory of those who were lost. Ironically, the central plaza
within the building now serves as a skate park, a public amenity. Everything
about the building and plaza forms a statement on the importance of political
memory and democratic institutions.
The museum also serves as a leitmotif for the
concept of using art as a coping device. If nothing else, this incredibly
emotional visit for BCS served as a confirmation that what we do as singers can
be used as a tool for advocacy. One mural painted onto the exterior of the
building with the lyrics of “Como la cigarra”, a popular
song banned by Isabel Peron’s government. Written by Maria Elena Walsh at the
beginning of the Dirty War in 1972, the song signifies our survival of the
things that will otherwise kill us. BCS is now attempting to learn this song so
that we can bring home the message of the Argentine people who have suffered
needlessly.
A note on “Como la cigarra”: It was Julia’s idea to
have the chorus learn the song as a tribute to the Argentinians who disappeared
in the Dirty War.
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