Jan 17th 2017

Silencio Blanco screens their video documentation of Lota, a city in central Chile, and discusses the region’s history of coal mining and community resistance. While in residence in Lota, the artists created “Chiflón, El Silencio del Carbon,” which is based in part on Baldomero Lillo’s story set in the infamous mine Chiflón del Diablo (the Devil’s Blast), named after the natural draft that flows through a shaft.

Until the 1990s, Lota was Chile’s leading source for the global market in coal, and is known for being a center of violent civil unrest. Nationalized by President Salvador Allende, all of its mines closed after massive layoffs by General Augusto Pinochet’s regime. Chiflón is now a popular tourist attraction.

You can also find more information on “Chiflón, El Silencio del Carbon,” which will be performed on the MCA Stage Jan 19–22, here: MCA Stage: Silencio Blanco “Chiflón, El Silencio del Carbón (Chiflón, Silence of the Coal)”

*This event is free with museum admission, and Tuesdays are always free for Illinois residents.*

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