“Family, Memory, and Political Violence in Argentina: the Lizaso Family through its Members” (2008)

Undergraduates: Carina Cortese, none none none

Faculty Advisor: Julie Fishell
Department: Dramatic Art

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The clandestine execution of Carlos Lizaso by the Argentine government in 1956 propelled the Lizaso family, particularly his brothers Jorge and Miguel, into an involved political struggle against the corrupt military dictatorship during La Guerra Sucia from 1976 to 1983. Along with Miguel, Jorge helped found the influential revolutionary organization known as Los Montoneros in Buenos Aires. To this day, much of their activity is unknown but it is suspected that Jorge and Miguel were at the forefront of many significant acts of political protest including President Pedro Aramburu’s kidnapping in 1970 and underground meetings with Argentina’s iconic and controversial president, Juan Domingo Perón. _x000D_
Over the course of the La Guerra Sucia, the Lizaso family—my mother’s family— lost nine of its members, including Jorge and Miguel, to military murders; only two escaped to exile. These losses are representative of Argentina’s suffering as an entire generation was lost to the years of military dictatorships and popular revolutions. The stories of these thousands of people disappeared with them._x000D_
My project documents the knowledge of Jorge and Miguel Lizaso’s only surviving nieces, Laura and Alejandra Voglino (my mother and aunt, respectively), with regards to our family’s involvement with the Montoneros faction through a series of extensive interviews. For my Honors Thesis next year, I will extend the project to include an investigation of Argentina Theater written about La Guerra Sucia and will personally contribute to the continuing artistic investigation of these events through the creation and production of a performance piece based on the interviews. _x000D_