Teatro a Mil Presents Drama in Chile About Children Stolen During Dictatorship

The irregular adoptions of children during the dictatorship is the subject of the play Ütruf Tripay–Desarraigo (Uprooting), one of the offerings at the International Theater Festival Teatro a Mil, which continues its sessions today in Chile.

The work, by the company KIMVNTeatro and directed by Paula González Seguel, proposes a critical and contemporary look at one of the most painful and least redressed episodes in the country's recent history.

Between 1973 and 1990, thousands of minors, especially indigenous children of Mapuche, Aymara, and Diaguita origin, were kidnapped to be given up for irregular adoption to families in European countries such as France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Italy, among others.

In this crime, sustained by the military junta installed after the coup d'état, public hospitals, civilian officials, international organizations, adoption networks, and the church participated, causing the cultural uprooting of thousands of children.

According to the play's director, the production of Ütruf Tripay responds to a line of work maintained by the company over its 18-year history, focused on the defense of human rights and issues affecting indigenous peoples.

The Teatro a Mil Festival began on January 3rd and will extend until the 25th across several regions of Chile.

According to its organizers, among the new shows to be incorporated this week is Tragicomedia del Ande, by the national company Tryo Teatro Banda.

The play Conty, which portrays sexual, social, class, and gender-based violence against a woman, will also be presented.

This 33rd edition of the theater event encompasses several disciplines, such as theater, puppetry, street parades, circus, dance, music, and performance.

This year's theme is Sí importa (It Does Matter), to reaffirm the crucial role of culture and the performing arts in building a democratic, safe, and dignified society, said the Teatro a Mil Foundation.