I am developing a new series of photographs inspired by my research on Latin American subcultures and the music scene during the dictatorship years in the aftermath of Operation Condor, a CIA lead initiative aimed to neutralize socialist agendas in South America by creating a web of cooperation among military regimes. Using archive images, magazines, and films, I focus on the connections that cultural producers, artists, and musicians had in Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia as an antithesis to Condor’s oppressive network of imperialist powers that nearly destroyed Latin America’s democracies in less than a decade. The late 70s and mid-80s are uniquely important to my project. There is a direct parallel between the socio-economic and geopolitical conditions then and today. Some of the analogous events include coming out of an unjustified war, high inflation, gas shortages, and an ideological battle with Russia. I am starting with the similarities to remark on the different responses that society, especially the youth, takes as an antidote to their lack of agency. Punk, theater troops, and artist collectives are more necessary than ever as I notice that current cultural producer take almost exclusively the form of internet influencers and social media one-liners; the community, in these cases are followers and not participants.

The title Garabatos can be translated to scrawl. However, colloquially, a ‘garabato’ is also an insult screamed on the streets or stadiums in Chile. I am interested in abstract gestures that are part of the collective lexicon, a desperate attempt to communicate, a motion of desire or a class code. Insults belong to subcultures and are an intricate part of national identity. Argentinians or Peruvian insults are hard to understand as Chilean, but also rich people insult differently than poor people. They are a magical amalgamation of pop culture, class, and geography is what makes an insult so rich and particular. I am not trying to address the history of profanity by any means; however, I think it is interesting to analyze the guttural social responses to unfairness and anger, primarily considering that at some point, most Latin American countries were experiencing a very similar set of rules and abuses emanating from the ideology created by the School of the America and sponsored by the CIA.