Good Memory.

January 17, 2003 9:17 AM

Good Memory. From Argentina, a 1967 school photograph with a story. From the introduction :- 'decided to hold a 25th reunion of my classmates from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires so that we could see each other again. I invited those I was able to find to my house, and proposed doing a portrait of each of them ... Later, a ceremony was organized, in memory of the students of the school who had disappeared or were murdered by state terrorism in the black years of the dictatorship. After twenty years, the school authorities accepted, for the flrst time, that the missing be officially recognized in the school's main hall. It was a historic occasion ... '
posted by plep (8 comments total)

Plep always comes up with awesome stuff. This reminded me of the film (Spanish) To Begin Again, in which a nobel winner for Poetry, teaching at Berkely, re-fisits his old friends In Spain. He had fled Spain, the place he loved, because of Franco and the fascist takeover of Spain. He reunites with his girldfriend and the scenes are super romantic as they evoke their past. Only late in the film do we learn that the poet/teacher is making one last visit because he in terminally ill with cancer.
thanks, Plep.
posted by Postroad at 9:49 AM on January 17, 2003

That audio of the roll-call with the living students calling out "Present" for their dead classmates is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever heard on the internet. Great post.
posted by Zootoon at 10:29 AM on January 17, 2003

Why am I unalbe to open the links? I ask, as I've come back thrice to do so.
posted by thomcatspike at 1:52 PM on January 17, 2003

Hmm, it worked a few hours ago, but now seems to be down...
posted by plep at 2:03 PM on January 17, 2003

Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch and it will be fixed soon. The whole of www.zonezero.com seems to be down - not just this site. Which is a shame, because there's some good stuff there...
posted by plep at 2:17 PM on January 17, 2003

The site is missing .. oh, the irony.. or is it.
posted by stbalbach at 2:26 PM on January 17, 2003

It seems to have 'reappeared' now ;).
posted by plep at 1:57 AM on January 18, 2003

Great link, Plep. Since I went to school in Argentina, it really strikes a chord with me.
posted by languagehat at 6:46 AM on January 18, 2003