The complexity of Colombia's armed conflict has historically involved a mix
of regional domination by leftist guerrillas or right wing paramilitaries, drug
trafficking, personal revenges, and economic and political interests. Amidst
this, a "supporter" was defined by the power invested in the size of the gun
carried by whoever happened to control a region. In the late 1990's rural towns
in the northern coast were targeted in a plan for regional domination by illegal
paramilitary groups. They wanted to "clean", that is violently erradicate the
historical presence of guerrilla's and petty crime through the consolidation of
an apparatus of terror. Today Colombia is closely watching the demobilization
of most of these paramilitary groups. I have wanted to work through the silence
that these years imprinted in the lives of people, creating a testimony of
what it means to continue living with the haunting of events of terror.
Living in the theatres of memory (Colombia)
by Juan Orrantia
The town is bright and calm. Six years have passed since
the massacre -what constitutes “normalcy” here? There is no monument,
and when people speak of the massacre their eyes are lost, blinded by images
we can not see. Time is supposed to heal, and people are supposed to overcome:
o-ver-come (v). 1. to struggle successfully against a difficulty or disadvantage.
