Friday, August 16, 2013

Julia Ellis: Museo de la Memoria y "Como la cigarra"



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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