LANGE OF BOOK “THE TIME OF SILENCE. My grandfather’s letters during exile”

LANGE OF BOOK “THE time OF SILENCE. My grandfather’s letters during exile”

• Library, Faculty of Arts, University Academy of Christian Humanism, Serrano 150, Santiago.
• Thursday, May 8 – 6:30 p.m.

The historical memory of Chile, marked by the scars of exile during the civic-military dictatorship, adds a new and necessary perspective with the launch of “The time of silence. My grandfather’s letters during exile (Insilio)”, the first book of the designer and researcher Leticia Martínez Vergara.

The book, divided into three parts, enters the intimacy of a family separated by political circumstances, focusing its analysis on the correspondence exchanged between Hernán Martínez, grandfather of the author, and her son Juan, exiled in 1974. Throughout fourteen years, between 1974 and 1987, 86 letters became the communication bridge, in an era where the telephone calls were expensive.

These missives not only narrate the daily life and challenges of those who lived exile outside of Chile, but also, and fundamentally for Martínez’s proposal, give voice to the “insyl”, the interior banishment of those who remained in the country under the dictatorial regime.

The author explains that her interest arose from the desire to address exile from a less explored optics: that of family members who stayed.

“For me, exile is about two parts, those who left and those who stayed,” says Martínez. “I felt that the stories of the memory of exile, the voices of those who stayed, were not incorporated into these memory exercises, and I feel that, in my research proposal, they are important because they account for the magnitude of exile, as a violation of fundamental rights.”

These letters, according to the researcher, became an invaluable testimony, especially because his grandfather no longer lives. “His testimony is in these letters,” he says. For Martínez, this epistolary archive not only allowed him to understand the experience of the “insyl”, but also rebuild ties with his own history and with a Chile that he did not know directly during his 14 years out of the country. The letters revealed “not only terror, horror, but the daily life of the family, that family wealth, because we were far from all that. Then they also revinced me familiarly.”

The investigation that gives rise to “the time of silence” began in 2022 and is the culmination of the thesis with which Leticia Martínez obtained her degree in art. This work had already been recognized for its contribution to the understanding of this historical period, receiving an honorable mention in the contest “Make your thesis in culture” of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.

Launch

The presentation ceremony on Thursday, May 8 promises to be an emotional and reflective encounter. Headed by the author, Leticia Martínez Vergara, will feature the special participation of the actress and graduate in Theater, Karina Ramírez. In addition, the comments and analysis of the outstanding visual artist Catherine Gelcich and the doctor in Chilean and Spanish -American literature of the University of Chile, Milena Gallardo, will be added.

This event represents a unique opportunity to know firsthand a work that contributes significantly to the reconstruction of the memory of exile and insyl to Chile, offering an intimate and deep look through the testimonial power of epistolary writing.