Curfew in Chile - How Long Did it Last?
I've referred to Chile's 17 year curfew several times.
Also called toque de queda.
Was it really 17 years though? A fascist taxi driver said it was only one year. He pointed out all the cheesy malls along Avenida Las Condes where cool nightlife spots used to be and we agreed that the malls sucked. He said the change came after Pinochet was voted out of office, but the scene was bumping before-hand.
But what about the curfew?
He said there was only one year of curfew.
I find that hard to believe. (He also said Liguria was infested with whores).
We know that Alvaro Enriquez of Los Tres told the LA Times that Pinochet killed the Santiago Scene.
Not out of spite, but out of better-rate, I switched taxis and asked the driver, he said it was a 6 year curfew, till like 1979.
How long was the curfew in Chile?
I'm not gonna google it, fuck Google I wanna hear from you. Chileans, anyone who knows their shit. How long was the curfew???
And then it's worth asking: what does "curfew" mean anyway?
In 2003 when I passed through the West Bank city of Tulkarm with Ken Lee they were in 24-hour curfew, which, by the letter of the law meant everyone inside don't go out. Yet everyone was out, there were teenagers darting around street corners with rocks in hand, a Palestinian pastime, I had a clear view down one street and saw a tank rolling in, maybe 5-10 blocks away. (BTW here's the Pinochet-occupation connection).
Point is, there's many a slip between cup and lip, and everyone's got their own experience. That "curfew" in the Palestine refugee camp was very loosely enforced, but nevertheless it weighed down heavily on everyone's mind. When it comes to the Chilean curfew during the Dictatorship, what was your experience?
What's your story? If you lived in Chile during the Dictatorship, what was the curfew like, how long did it last, and what years was the curfew in effect, what was it like?
Even if you didn't live through it, but know something about it, what do you know?
Also called toque de queda.
Was it really 17 years though? A fascist taxi driver said it was only one year. He pointed out all the cheesy malls along Avenida Las Condes where cool nightlife spots used to be and we agreed that the malls sucked. He said the change came after Pinochet was voted out of office, but the scene was bumping before-hand.
But what about the curfew?
He said there was only one year of curfew.
I find that hard to believe. (He also said Liguria was infested with whores).
We know that Alvaro Enriquez of Los Tres told the LA Times that Pinochet killed the Santiago Scene.
Not out of spite, but out of better-rate, I switched taxis and asked the driver, he said it was a 6 year curfew, till like 1979.
How long was the curfew in Chile?
I'm not gonna google it, fuck Google I wanna hear from you. Chileans, anyone who knows their shit. How long was the curfew???
And then it's worth asking: what does "curfew" mean anyway?
In 2003 when I passed through the West Bank city of Tulkarm with Ken Lee they were in 24-hour curfew, which, by the letter of the law meant everyone inside don't go out. Yet everyone was out, there were teenagers darting around street corners with rocks in hand, a Palestinian pastime, I had a clear view down one street and saw a tank rolling in, maybe 5-10 blocks away. (BTW here's the Pinochet-occupation connection).
Point is, there's many a slip between cup and lip, and everyone's got their own experience. That "curfew" in the Palestine refugee camp was very loosely enforced, but nevertheless it weighed down heavily on everyone's mind. When it comes to the Chilean curfew during the Dictatorship, what was your experience?
What's your story? If you lived in Chile during the Dictatorship, what was the curfew like, how long did it last, and what years was the curfew in effect, what was it like?
Even if you didn't live through it, but know something about it, what do you know?
posted by Chileno @ 4:52 AM
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4 Comments:
I remember my dad had a little store in Departamental and Industrias Street, in San joaquin's town. It was between 82'-86'. I was 7 years old. I clearly remember that the curfew started around 10pm during the days that the 'protestas' were public announced. It was not every day, but probably three-four continuous days every three months. Each september 11th, may 1st, 'el dia del joven combatiente' and so on. I recall all family members quietly looking through the shutters how people face the police outside. I thought by then that people and police were enemies every where around the world.
I heard from my family that the curfew was in a daily base only at the beginning of the regimen, in 73'. After that, it last three-four days after being suddenly announced in TV. When people heard about the curfew everybody knew that should be sleeping after 10pm with all lights turned off at home.
I do agree with Carlos. I was 6 years old around that time. Protestas were pretty heavy around ex pedagoco (piedragogico)with the guanaco and zorrillo at full blast. The most common scene was that classic burning tire on the middle of the street. Anyway, I remember too having the temporary curfew from 10pm till 5am I believe. On those specific dates too, the light would go off due to some dude throwing chains to the power distribution lines. Just a mess.
En un principio, durante el año 1973 se aplicó desde las 10PM hasta las 6AM, pero luego con el tiempo se fue relajando progresivamente, al punto que para el año 1980 había sido levantado, si bien persistía el Estado de Sitio, que permítía detener gente sin dar cuenta a los tribunales.
Fue aplicado nuevamente de manera esporádica a partir del año 1983, hasta el 84. Sin embargo, en lugares como Las Condes, donde yo vivía, nadie lo tomaba en cuenta. De hecho para la última noche de toque de queda, el año 1985 ´o 86, no recuerdo bien, hubo cerca de 700 detenidos por infringirlo, de los cuales más de 600 habían sido detenidos en Las Condes.
That curfew damaged the population's collective psyche and killed the delightful joie de vie Chileans had prior to 1973.
There was a joke back in the 1970's something down the line where Pinochet and his minions could hear the sound of leaves falling.
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