Table of Contents

Foreword Chronology of Chile, 1941-2006 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, 1973-1994 Chapter 5: Violeta Morales Chapter 6: Valentina Bonne Chapter 7: Anita Rojas Chapter 8: Irma Muller Chapter 9: Mother of Augustin A. Martinez Meza Chapter 10: Doris Meniconi Lorca Chapter 11: Gala Jesus Torres Aravena Part III: Testimonies, 2005-2006 Chapter 12: Viviana Diaz Caro Chapter 13: Gala Torres Aravena Chapter 14: Maria Madariaga and Patricia Hidalgo Chapter 15: Charo Henriquez Chapter 16: Adriana Rojas Afterword Epilogue

About the Author

Marjorie Agosin 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.

Reviews

Agosin's poetic touch will engage undergraduate students in the humanities and social sciences as well as general readers. * Hispanic American Historical Review *
By interweaving bleak storytelling with powerful, colorful depictions of cloth figures standing against a message of 'No a la tortura' or chained together in protest against congressional policy, the complete and tragic story takes on physical and psychological dimensions. * ASG Notions *
To have these arpilleras reproduced in combination with Marjorie Agosin's compassionate and historical analysis in a new and updated edition is a gift to all those who continue in the struggle for human rights, social justice, and peace. It is also a vital testimonial to women's history, resistance, and culture in Chile and in all of Latin America. -- Bettina Aptheker, University of California, Santa Cruz
Hope and love, yes, but a fierce and tenacious witness as well, and an insistence on spare truth in the face of brute power: truth armored in a heartrending beauty. With grace and precision, poet Marjorie Agosin sings this suite of Latin American variations on the epics of Penelope's steadfast devotion and Antigone's defiant resolve. -- Lawrence Weschler, New York University; author of A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers
This book should be put in the hands of every student in America, North and South, so all can learn how a culture of fear turned Chile into a well of suffering under Pinochet. Marjorie Agosin's Tapestries of Hope is a shiva made of words, a sacred act of mourning and memory, at once beautiful and heartbreaking. By collecting the stories of the women in Chile who wove their sadness into works of art using the torn clothes of the disappeared, Agosin lets us grieve for those who are lost. At the same time, we join the brave makers of the arpilleras in defying the brutal torturers who attempted to erase the names of their loved ones from history. I thank Marjorie Agosin with all my heart for the gift of this book. It is a gift for all humanity, as great books always are. -- Ruth Behar, University of Michigan