Cultural Resilience: Chile’s Artistic Response to the Pinochet Regime
The cultural landscape of Chile came under siege during the brutal coup led by Pinochet and his generals. This was an unprecedented period in Chilean history, as a significant portion of cultural workers had rallied behind Salvador Allende’s democratic socialism. The regime aimed to eradicate this perceived “evil.”
In the immediate aftermath of the coup, cultural centers, galleries, theaters, cinemas, painting workshops, and concert halls in Santiago were forcibly shuttered. Left-wing institutions of all types met the same fate, with many of their members detained and held at the National Stadium, the regime’s initial concentration camp, where they suffered torture and, tragically, often death.
The crackdown extended to universities, resulting in purges, and the state publishing house Quimantú, known for publishing world literature at affordable prices, was expropriated, with most of its books subjected to burning. Moreover, photographs, posters, records, artworks, and films were consigned to flames.
Chile stood apart from other Latin American nations where democracy was quashed, as culture became a prime target for the coup plotters. On the 50th anniversary of the uprising against President Salvador Allende, it is essential to remember the resistance movements that emerged during this tumultuous period.
Merely two weeks after the coup, signs of dissent began to surface. Hundreds of Chileans accompanied the coffin of the renowned poet Pablo Neruda to the cemetery, defying heavily armed soldiers. They defiantly sang the anthem of the Unidad Popular movement: “The people united will never be defeated!” This marked the initial public act of resistance against the oppressive regime, an act of courage amid the violence gripping the nation.
Although the massive street demonstrations that once characterized the People’s Unity Government had dwindled due to terror and curfews, the people continued to channel their political vitality into artistic creativity. They engaged in theater, pantomime, poetry readings, and even revived the art of burlap, where women in slums depicted their harsh social realities through fabric pictures.
Despite the suppression, some freedom endured within the Catholic Church, as the military leaders, especially Pinochet, often publicly displayed their faith. In December 1975, Catholic organizations organized a cultural evening to support needy children. This event marked an unofficial but significant mass gathering, featuring folklore ensembles, poets, and actors. Regime-friendly press downplayed it, and further continuations were forbidden.
Chileans displayed remarkable ingenuity in subverting the enforced silence. They established small art galleries, chamber music ensembles, and literary clubs, all while taking the risk of censorship, bans, or destruction. However, they persisted, carving out niches for artistic expression.
Chilean theater faced challenges as well. The traditional Ictus theater initially explored allusive interpretations of classics and later thrived with comedies infused with critical commentary. When cultural and political conditions improved in the early 1980s, theater productions like “Accomplished Facts” and “The Raw, the Cooked, the Rotten” addressed social realities and waited years for performances.
Film, being an expensive mass medium, made a resurgence only toward the end of the dictatorship. Critical films like “Latent Image” and an election spot known as “Franja del NO” significantly contributed to Pinochet’s defeat in the 1988 referendum.
Chilean cinema survived in exile, with many filmmakers forced to emigrate, finding new opportunities abroad thanks to international solidarity. In exile, they continued to create, with Patricio Guzmán’s “La Batalla de Chile” serving as a classic testament to this era.
In the first decade of exile, 178 dissident films across genres were produced—an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of cinematography. With remarkable creativity, Chilean culture played a pivotal role in overcoming dictatorship, laying the foundation for its resurgence in a democratic era.