OPAZO PARRA, PEDRO SEGUNDO ANTONIO: 39 years old, married, merchant, died on October 10, 1973, in Santiago. Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra died that day at the Manuel Rodríguez bridge on the Mapocho River, from abdominal gunshot wounds as recorded in his Autopsy Protocol.

His death became known in 1991, when it was clarified that he had been buried as an "unidentified male" (NN masculino) in Patio No. 29 of the General Cemetery of Santiago. During 1991, in an investigation substantiated by the Third Criminal Court of Santiago related to several forcibly disappeared persons, it was established through fingerprint analysis that Autopsy Protocol No. 3238-73, attributed to an "unidentified male," corresponded to Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra.

Considering the background information gathered and the investigation conducted, the Superior Council, although unable to establish the precise circumstances of the death, given its time and cause, reached the conviction that Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra died as a victim of the prevailing political violence.

Subsequent to the classification of this case, on May 3, 1995, the Twenty-Second Criminal Court of Santiago, in the investigation it was conducting regarding illegal burial in Patio No. 29 of the General Cemetery, corroborated that Autopsy Protocol No. 3238/73, attributed to an "unidentified male," corresponded to Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra; it ordered the death to be registered in his name and his remains to be handed over to his family.

Source: Corporación

In 1991, through an inquiry by the Third Criminal Court of Santiago, the search for forcibly disappeared persons was reopened. A fingerprint expert examination determined that the person known as "unidentified male" identified in Autopsy Protocol No. 3238-73 corresponded to Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra.

This finding was key to his official identification. Classification of political violence The Superior Council, after analyzing the background, concluded that although the exact circumstances of his death could not be established with precision, it had been a consequence of the political violence prevailing in that context.

Official registration of death and delivery of remains On May 3, 1995, the Twenty-Second Criminal Court of Santiago, in a case regarding illegal burial in "Patio 29" of the General Cemetery, ratified that the body belonged to Opazo Parra.

It ordered: To register his death in his name. To hand over his remains to his family. Summary of the judicial procedure Stage | Key Action | Date --- | --- | --- Identification of the body | Investigation by the Third Criminal Court; fingerprint analysis | 1991 Classification as a victim of political violence | Determination by the Superior Council | — Registration and delivery of remains | Resolution of the Twenty-Second Criminal Court | May 3, 1995 Conclusion Judicially, the case of Pedro Segundo Antonio Opazo Parra did not lead to a concrete conviction against those responsible—many of these cases occurred in a context of impunity prevalent during the dictatorship. However, symbolic justice was achieved: identification of the body, recognition of his status as a victim, and minimal reparation marked by the registration of his death and the restitution of his remains.

Source: infobae.com, undated

Patio 29: Behind the Iron Cross (BOOK)

Patio 29 was usually used for the burial of the indigent, psychiatric patients, and people who died without being identified (NN). However, between September 1973 and January 1974, its graves were used to hide victims of repression as "NN." Javiera Bustamante and Stephan Ruderer reconstruct the painful history of the site, using testimonies from the families of the forcibly disappeared, letters, documents, and other sources.

The book also accounts for the arduous process of identification and delivery of the bodies, as well as the irregularities that characterized these proceedings. The powerful photographs that illustrate the volume were taken by visual artist Mara Daruich. Bustamante, Javiera; Ruderer, Stephan

Source: ocholibros.cl, undated

Temporary Memorial: Absent Body, Signifying the Mapocho River

Human Rights Day is celebrated every December 10—and after visiting numerous sites that commemorate the scenes of lamentable crimes against humanity and violence, one observation can be made: the place of memory is not only found in a building.

It is also the place where it is evoked through encounter, protest, and gesture. In a certain way, this is what Miguel Uribe Rubilar's project addresses. He writes to us in detail: The Temporary Memorial: Absent Body is built as a "wake up call project" at a site of political executions that occurred during the Chilean dictatorship of 1973, located on the banks of the Mapocho River, which was used as a site for improvised burials.

According to witnesses and official documents, trucks arrived with political prisoners who were forced to run toward the river, thus executing them under the "law of flight." These events marked the place, which, however, was not duly valued.

Currently, a project is being built that does not consider the weight of urban memory, contributing to the invisibilization of a potential site of memory. In June 2019, the construction of that project was halted due to legal problems; given the inactivity of the land, the construction of a temporary memorial was proposed, an architectural work that arises with the intention of making a call for temporary appropriation while signifying and valuing the memory of the victims as well as the public space that was the scene of burials and executions.

The Temporary Memorial: Absent Body proposes the re-signification of 10 parachutes decommissioned by the Chilean Army with the intention of returning them with a new reading after being used as the main material for this commemorative act.

By hanging and inverting them, their past practical sense is nullified. The use of wind as a natural material component allows for the generation of formal variations that account for a completely new spatial experience.

The site consists of an east-west line of 10 parachutes located perpendicularly to the path of those executed, as a sign of opposition and symbolic vindication. At the same time, being located parallel to the Mapocho River aims to recognize it as a geographical piece of memory.

The longitudinal measurement of 62 meters commemorates the original distance of the riverbank that the victims were forced to traverse. Each parachute was hung from a collaborative grid of steel cables and supported by a removable structure of tubular steel profiles.

The floor of the project was marked with a mixture of plaster and lime that left a white trace on the ground, with the intention of expanding the area with use.

Source: archdaily.cl, 2021