Tantawawas. Memoria Del Indoamericano - [alpaca - Colectivo 7 - Renacer]

In the Aymara language, Tantawawa means “bread baby” In the Andes, it is said that those who are not among us anymore come back in the shape of Tantawawas There is bread in the shape of children, bread in the shape of stairs, bread in the shape of animals, and even bread in the shape of bread There is bread in the shape of children, bread in the shape of stairs, bread in the shape of animals, and even bread in the shape of bread Flour, water, and yeast come together to form small masterpieces that feed the souls Along with their dreams to build a better future, thousands of Andean immigrants who now live in Buenos Aires, bring their hands to work, flavours to savour, and parties to dance In that way as well came the Ayamarcaiquilla Day of the Deceased, Day of the Dead, or Ayamarcaiquilla A time in which life and death embrace each other According to the Andean tradition of our American continent, during the first two days of November, the souls of the dead come back, anxious to meet their relatives, friends, and siblings again No matter the distance, the thousands of kilometers that separate them from their land, families prepare to receive their dead. They come to celebrate with us, 24 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000 so that we can keep their stories alive, their memory alive. For two days, life and dead embrace each other It presents Tantawawas. Memory of the Indoamericano No, not always. I had never participated That is why when my husband passed away… For nine months you see… I only went to church. No, not always… I go to the cemetery every 15 days I go on Mondays I go every year to the cemetery during All Saints Day. I always go I would always bring bread and flowers for the cemetery and… the only thing that I think about that day is to bring him lots of flowers, lots of bread, lots of fruit, all sorts of things... I did not know if the dead were comfortable, Or where they went… Fortunately, my neighbour knew and she gave me a hand I celebrated All Saints Day as I could. I don’t know much about customs… My family did not teach me much because when I was little my grandparents passed away We don’t know how to do it… I don’t know how to follow customs very well I did what I could… I don’t know if I did it right or wrong… We are taking this to the cemetery And I am going to leave it there Okay? Yes, yes, tes That is okay there, but further up, leaning against something ...leaning against something No, look, we will add one here No, only one needs to be there Let’s have two This seems to have a lot of egg... I was asked for a full tray of eggs... Yes, it seems to contain a lot of egg I came here eight years ago from Bolivia to work, to look for work, because in Bolivia it was not possible to make money, and we stayed here... We used to go back to Bolivia every year to see our children... I have not been to Bolivia in four years now When we first got here I went to a shop that my husband had been to before We arrived to that shop and we did not like it because it exploited us a lot We left and looked for a place to rent in the neighbourhood …I lived there for about five years After the crisis, I went to the Indo-American Park because the rent kept going up I could not afford the rent; I have two daughters, and they were growing up... and we could not live in a single four by four room That is why I decided to go to the Indo-American Park He was a good man. He took good care of his children... He always loved his children. He cared about his family... He was a man who worked hard and wanted to survive He used to always say: “we will have to make more money in order to leave because there is no future here for our two daughters Let’s wait two years and then we will leave”. Yes, he loved to play… soccer… basketball... He loved it... He always participated in the annual competitions... He liked basketball the most All the kids that play at the Tech school knew him They called him “Evo” when he played basketball with them The kids have fond memories of him. When I go to the field they tell me: -“Evo was my friend. It’s a shame that he died” They feel sorry... -Why did they call him Evo? Because of Evo Morales? -Yes, he had the same face as him. He said that they always called him Evo... We had thought to go this year And the 2012 we were going to go In order to spend New Years and Christmas there in Bolivia We don`t arrive neither to the 2011 Because he died... It is going to be a year since he died During the first days of December 2010, families occupied the lots of the Indo-American Park, located in the south of Buenos Aires city It is estimated that thirteen thousand people participated in the occupation The lack of housing in Buenos Aires reached about five hundred thousand citizens who lived in a critical situation They had issues related hygiene, access to work, education, and health The eviction from the Indo-American Park which was carried out by the Metropolitan and Federal police, other than having wounded many, also ended the lives of three immigrants: Rosemary Churapuña, Bernardo Salguiero, and Emilio Canaviri Álvarez In a news conference, the governor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, blamed immigrants from bordering countries for the occupation and complained about the “uncontrolled immigration” that Argentina was suffering The number of people who live in slums and settlements in the Federal Capital amount to a minimum of one hundred and fifty thousand, which corresponds to an increase of 50% since 2001 The take of the Indo-American Park not only uncovered the housing issue in the Federal Capital of Buenos Aires, but became a way to demand land and housing Families arrive to the cemetery of Bajo Flores to spend the day with the souls that come to visit, beginning November 1st This community celebration fills the cemetery with colours and sounds Each family carries its stories; the live tales and memories of those who are not here anymore They arrive to the graves accompanied by the souls of their dear ones, with a worldview about life and dead very different from that of the Western world The deceased have not left forever; they come back and are among us The feeling of loss, worry, and distress by the encounter, the celebration, and the belief that death is not the end After the vigil takes place at home, people bring flowers, wreaths, fruit, bread, pork, coca leaves, beer cases, and of course chicha Souls come back in the shape of tantawawas to be part of the assembly of the community table, the apthapi the apthapi That is why everyone takes turns to ch´allar (bless) the graves, where tarkas, sikus, and trumpets complete the celebration at the cemetery The day that we were at the cemetery... I don’t have family There are people who care about me That day, Emilio’s first cousin came with me, as well as his wife Yes, my bread is breaking That’s fine, Miss, what we are looking for is alcohol Alcoholic beverages are not allowed, nothing can be sold No, no, I am a new soul That’s fine, nobody is blaming you for anything No, I don’t have anything. It’s only bread It was exactly during those days, close to the end of the month, that I was told “You got the apartment” You can move in because the lady has already emptied it” It was perfect because I couldn’t be in the small house in which I lived anymore I didn’t know what to do: spend All Saints Day there take my stuff out and leave the place empty... I had to figure out how to do this It was around those dates that I got the apartment, and I had to move everything, including the table. Even a neighbour who did not know me offered her help and told me -“don’t move it that way. Move it this way” A friend that I have had for many years told me: “Eli, I will give you a hand”. And she came with her friend and they helped me And she came with her friend and they helped me with the table They came with me all the way to cemetery and stayed until the following day It made me remember when Emilio was alive. We would always go to the cemetery I imagined him by my side, enjoying himself. And the only thing I felt was anger I said “look, they had to kill you so that I would get an apartment. Y ou had to give your life so that I would get an apartment” And that thought still makes me cry. Sometimes I wake up at night and cry Sometimes I get very upset, but my daughters are sleeping and I cannot cry, or else I will traumatize them. And I say to myself: “They had to kill you so that I would get a roof. I wish you were here. If you were here, things would have be different” -Emilio Canaviri Álvarez... New soul -Marina, you go with the horse and you take the stairs I take the horse? You will go mounted on the horse I want the tantawawa to pray with it Okay, let’s try Okay, when we pray, I will pray for the horse But I have my fierrito here, I have to take out it now All I want is to live with dignity, s to live with dignity, reminiscing about Emilio And carry him in my heart He is always present, he is with me wherever I go. I always tell him: -“give me strength to go on living and to take care of your daughters” Juice! Juice! Orange juice! Juice! To be able to support my family and to be able to pay for the apartment I have a small business. I work in family houses, cleaning bathrooms for people I don’t get paid much, but it does not matter I sell on Sundays I sell at Bonorino and make juice Orange juice, sandwiches. I make all sorts of things for sale in order to support my family Suco de laranja, suco. Orange juice! Juice! Orange juice! Juice! want to study and I want to work. I want to have my own career in order to take care of my daughters with dignity and support them Yes, I will go to Plaza de Mayo to demand justice for my husband’s death Estou a pedindo justiça pelos três colegas I am asking for justice for the three companions, and for all the others who have been murdered after what happened at the Indo-American Park All I want is justice. I want the Nation’s government and the City’s government to act -Assassinaram três parceiros trabalhadores, just because they were asking for decent housing for their families Three families have lost their loved ones The children ask about their parents Today they don’t have anyone to protect them I am asking for justice for my husband’s death When they killed my husband, the authorities did not come to investigate the place where he was killed And I, armed with courage, showed to the media the bullet that killed my husband I want them to take accountability for Emilio’s death, because I don’t want it to stay unpunished I want them to take accountability and to do something about it I want justice for his death It has been almost two years and those responsible for it have not been found There is still no prisoners. Nothing here is still no prisoners. Nothing The investigation is not working I f I could I would tell the judge to take charge. To be responsible To put a hand on his heart and solve my problem Indo-me a Bolívia estaria a me escapar If I went back to Bolivia it would be like trying to escape from reality. What would I do in Bolivia: confront Emilio’s family and my own, both of which will discriminate against me? I will be in more pain if I go to Bolivia. I tell myself: “The best thing to do is to stay here” Because here is where reality is, not in Bolivia If I was to leave it would be like trying to escape from my own self And I have to face this. I must go on. I have to stay strong in order to raise my daughters the way I am supposed to Two years after the repression at the Indo-American Park, justice has been going around in circles about the *** of Rosemary Churapuña and Bernardo Salgueiro Os 45 polícias da The 45 policemen of Greater Buenos Aires and of the Federal city of Buenos Aires, who had benefitted in February 2012 from a stay related to the brutal eviction, have not yet been questioned The *** of Emilio Canaviri Àlvarez has not even been investigated The families of the victims continue to fight to find out the truth about the facts, so that those responsible for the murders are identified and punished, and the memory of those who died continues to be alive 269 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:06,000 Production 270 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,000 Research, production, and script 271 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:17,000 Camera: 272 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Editing 273 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,000 Direct Audio 274 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,000 Animation 275 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:42,000 Design 276 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:48,000 Voice off 277 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Musicalization an audio post-produccion 278 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Music 279 00:29:06,000 --> 00:28:54,000 (Toyos and percussions) 280 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:17,000 Images from the Archive 281 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:23,000 Cover photo 282 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,000 Special Thanks Marina (Neighbour who helped Eli in assembling the table) Amadeo (cousin who accompanied Eli during the Day of the Dead) Family and friends who helped Eli in assembling and at the cemetery 283 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:41,000 This documentary had the support of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires (CCEBA) for its production.