Simulacrum and Post-Dictatorship Representation of Violence in Argentina: Translation and Critical Reading of Eduardo Pavlovsky’s Paso de Dos (original) (raw)
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Fugitive Song: The Performance of the Disappeared (Chile, 1973-1988)
Performing Migration: Aesthetic Practices and Politics in Media, Music, and Art
This paper deals with the question of political disappearance and forced migration as a stimulus for performative re-presentation. My argument rests on the idea that the loss of life or rights by violent repression does not necessarily amount to the non-appearance or complete effacement of an individual or group. On the contrary, I contend that political performance can be the direct consequence of such acts of politically motivated disappearance. I will argue that during Augusto Pinochet’s military rule in Chile from 1973 to 1988, much of the State-sponsored violence fuelled an anti-military protest culture that was creatively and powerfully orchestrated in song and chant. The power of song is here dependent upon the tragedy of loss and absence, which would suggest that the performance of disappearance can be read as a natural refusal to accept death and political destitution, exile and fugitiveness. The paper is composed as a critical fugue- that is, as a statement followed by a number of subsequent variations. The recurring theme in this text is that of the invisible fugitive as a new type of performative appearance that cannot be killed again. The aim of the fugitive’s song is thus to bring the dead back onto the political stage as though they were living. Here I draw inspiration from the song ‘El Aparecido’, by Victor Jara, which is arguably one of the most memorable anthems of the opposition movement during the Pinochet years. Key words: performance of disappearance, Chile, Pinochet, song, Victor Jara.
2018
To my childhood adventures locked away in boxes full of old archives and photographs, and to my husband's and children's memories which dwell in a library full of selfies, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. thank my family. I thank my mother for the years of dedication, support, and love. To my siblings. To my husband, Jorge. It has been a long journey and I could have never done it without you. To my children, Mia, Jonah, and Tali. The work presented before you is proof that all things are possible. You were the spring of my inspiration. The innocence of your divine countenances reassured me that there is beauty beyond the wraths of terror. I want to thank my many professors at the University of South Carolina, for welcoming me into the worlds of your fascination and inspiration-Cervantes, Bolaño, Guaman Poma-and took me into words I would have never visited without you, la Guerra civil española, el horror en México, la conquista española, y con José Martí y los excluidos del Puente de Brooklyn. Thank you Dr. María Mabrey, Dr. Diego Rivera-Hernández, Dr. Francisco Sánchez. Gracias Dr. Isis Sadek. I also want to thank, Dr. Rocío Zalba, and Dr. Andrew Rajca for the time you have taken to read and analyze my work. Finally, I want to especially give my thanks to Dr. Mercedes López-Rodriguez. I will always cherish your wise words and counsel. You once told me that all you ever wanted was to receive your Doctoral Degree and you enjoyed every minute of your opportunity to do so. Those words have resonated so deeply in me, that I have strived my best to complete one of my dreams. You have been a fountain of inspiration. I thank you for always making time to sit with me and inspire me to do my best.
The Argentine state terror (1976-1983) and its representation in a fantastic short story by Julio Cortázar 1 from 1977 form the centerpiece of the following analysis. The link between the fantastic and terror is not at all arbitrary, but is doubly motivated by the peculiarity that terror marks an aesthetically produced and psychologically effective political phenomenon which extends far beyond the framework of the post-9/11 concept of terrorism. An investigation of the interdependency of terror and fiction in an example drawn from Argentina will contribute to the topic of literature and terror insofar as the question will be raised of how terror is produced in the fantastic and in which ways the fantastic not only mimetically represents the psychological effects of terror, but also perpetuates them through narrative. I have selected Cortázar's short story Segunda vez (engl. Second Time Around 2), because we find here the special case of a short story, which appeared under the rubric of the 'fantastic', that alludes to a deeply disturbing, Kafkaesque event in a seedy government office that was simultaneously experienced thousands of times as 'real': the traceless disappearance of a person.