Markers

Nombre commemorates the men and women of Chile who disappeared during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 – 1990). During that time anyone suspect of political dissident was at risk of kidnapping by the government, torture, and possibly death. Over 3,000 Chileans have now been documented as “disappeared.” Nombre honors the victims of Pinochet’s regime as each name is recorded with ink that has been infused with seeds of Copihue, the national flower of Chile. Various myths of the indigenous Mapuche people recount the origin of this sacred plant. According to one legend, the flower derives its deep red hue from the blood spilled during an epic Mapuche civil war. Upon climbing the trees of the battle site, the survivors found the forest carpeted with their dead kinsmen, their blood seeping into the soil. From this arose the red blossom of the Copihue.

In light of Chile’s recent history of the civil unrest and murder that reigned during the time of Pinochet, the legend of the Copihue takes on special significance. The flower sorrowfully speaks to the hatred and fear that destroys national kinsmanship, as well as to the hope of beauty that may arise from remembrance and healing. So it is, with the blood of Chile, that I honor los desaparecidos.