www.elmundo.es
El MUNDO, Thursday,
December 11, 2003
The poet initiated in 1970 the making of a film
of this story
The documentary "Neruda escaping"
tells the story of the secret escape from Chile
of the writer Pablo Neruda in 1949, one of the
least known episodes of the the poet and will
be broadcasted next December 11 in Santiage
de Chile. The film of the Chilean director Hugo
Arévalo who also will be present in the
hall of the cinema Arte Alameda tells about
the hidden live and the escape to Argentina
of the prizewinning author behind the mountains
of the Andes. "In the 78 minutes of the
movie the hidden life of Neruda and his escape
to Argentina is reconstructed with the aid of
the actors among which Neruda himself."
explains Arévalo.
The documentation that was commission in 1970
by the Nobel prize winner of 1971 seeks to give
an impression of the dramatic escape to Argentina
when he was persecuted by the government of
the radical president Gabriel González
Videla for his activities with the Communist
Party. Gonzáles Videla, who was elected
president in Chile September 4, 1946 with the
aid of the votes of the Communist Party signed
the Law of the Defence of the Democracy, also
known as the "Damned Law". This law
declared the Communist Party illegal and eliminated
their supporters who were imprisoned in a camp
in the North - in Pisagua - from the election
lists.
The poet elected in 1945 a Senator for the Communist
Party escaped to Argentian territory in 1949,
after he had lived in hidden places in Santiago
de Chile helped by a group of friends. Crossing
the Andes riding a horse back took four days
taking a route that was used only by smugglers.
"Crossing the Andes took many days and
was accompanied by the thick fog of the Andes;
this is what is shown in my documentation."
commented Hugo Arévalo, who was able
to realise the movie with the support of the
foundation Neruda.
