"Visual Quotations"

Photographs by Richard Freeman

Madres de la Plaza MayoMothers of the Plaza de Mayo

During the years of the military rule in Argentina (1976-1983) 30,000 Argentine citizens were "disappeared." Crowds were not allowed to congregate in public. A crowd was considered three or more citizens. The first citizens to confront the generals on this were mothers whose children had vanished. They came from all classes. They were sent from one ministry to the next, never given a straight answer as to the plight of their loved ones. They also kept running into each other. One day they congregated in front of the Presidential Palace in the Plaza de Mayo. They were threatened and told they could not congregate there. So, instead of standing around, they began to walk. They walked around the statue in the center of the plaza. Still, many were arrested, many disappeared themselves. But they marched. Every Thursday. 32 years later they still do not know what officially became of their loved ones. So, they still march. While I was in Buenos Aires, I marched with them every Thursday for two-years.