Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love

Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love tells the story of ordinary women living in terror and extreme poverty under General Pinochet's oppressive rule in Chile (19731989). These women defied the military dictatorship by embroidering their sorrow on scraps of cloth, using needles and thread as one of the boldest means of popular protest and resistance in Latin America. Thearpilleras they madepatchwork tapestries with scenes of everyday life and memorials to their disappeared relativeswere smuggled out of Chile and brought to the world the story of their fruitless searches in jails, morgues, government offices, and the tribunals of law for their husbands, brothers, and sons.

Marjorie Agosín, herself a native of and exile from Chile, has spent more than thirty years interviewing thearpilleristas and following their work. She knows their stories intimately and knows, too, that none of them has ever found a disappeared relative alive. Even though the dictatorship ended in 1989 and democracy returned to Chile, no full account of the detained and disappeared has ever been offered. Still, many women maintain hope and continue to makearpilleras, both in memory and as art.

This new edition of the book, updated for students, includes a reaction to the death of General Pinochet, a chronology of Chile, several new testimonies fromarpilleristas in their own words, and an introduction by Peter Kornbluh. It retains a section of full-color plates ofarpilleras, an afterword by Peter Winn, and a foreword by Isabel Allende. Students and interested readers will find thearpilleras beautiful, moving, and ultimately hopeful, and the testimonies a powerful way to learn about the history of contemporary Latin America and thearpillera movement in Chile.

Marjorie Agosín is professor of Spanish and the history of women in Latin American culture at Wellesley College. She is the author of numerous short stories, books of poetry, and novels.

Foreword
Chronology of Chile, 19412006
Introduction
Part I: Art as Witness
Chapter 1: The Texture of Memory
Chapter 2: Returning to the Shadows
Chapter 3: A Journey to the South
Chapter 4: Weaving My Story
Part II: Testimonies, 19731994
Chapter 5: Violeta Morales
Chapter 6: Valentina Bonne
Chapter 7: Anita Rojas
Chapter 8: Irma Muller
Chapter 9: Mother of Augustín A. Martínez Meza
Chapter 10: Doris Meniconi Lorca
Chapter 11: Gala Jesús Torres Aravena
Part III: Testimonies, 20052006
Chapter 12: Viviana Díaz Caro
Chapter 13: Gala Torres Aravena
Chapter 14: María Madariaga and Patricia Hidalgo
Chapter 15: Charo Henríquez
Chapter 16: Adriana Rojas
Afterword
Epilogue