Temporary Exhibit WALSH AT ESMA
March 23 to April 23, 2017
The temporary exhibition WALSH AT ESMA was inaugurated on March 21st at the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Centre for Detention, Torture and Extermination. The guest list included Patricia Walsh, the writer’s daughter, and her children Fiorella Mettetieri and Mariano Pinedo; former ESMA Trial prosecutor Mercedes Soiza Reilly from the Public Prosecution for Crimes Against Humanity; Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo members Vera Jarach, Clara Weinstein and Sara Rus; survivors Adriana Suzal and Amalia Larralde, and the City of La Plata’s Head of Human Rights Elva Aranda.
“The civic-military dictatorship did not only kill Rodolfo Walsh, but it also stole his work,” said Alejandra Naftal, executive director of the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory during the opening. “We know what happened after he was kidnapped thanks to the invaluable testimony of the survivors (…) “I would like to deeply thank Martin Gras, Lila Pastoriza, Silvia Labayru, Victor Basterra, Graciela Daleo, Susana Ramus and Ricardo Coquet, who told us about Walsh’s final hours in the ESMA Clandestine Centre. And a special recognition to Lilia Ferreyra, the writer’s latest companion”, she added.
Former prosecutor Mercedes Soiza Reilly said: “What you will see today in this exhibition is here thanks to the contributions made by the survivors in every judicial hearing. Through these testimonies, you can reconstruct that story, which remained hidden. That story the dictatorship wanted to silence. Today, in exhibitions like this, those voices return to us strengthened. And this story, as it is told through the testimonies, is the true story.»
Mariano Pinedo vindicated the figure of Rodolfo Walsh: «My militant grandfather and writer. I do not have much more to say than thank you.» Fiorella Mettetieri also wanted to express her thanks. Finally, Alejandra Naftal said: «For us, this place was a place of terror, of oppression, and being here now means we are turning it into a space of freedom».
