Luis Sepúlveda
Encyclopedia
Luis Sepúlveda is a Chile
an writer, film director, journalist and political activist.
. After High School in Santiago
, he studied theatre production at the National University of Chile.
Luis Sepúlveda was politically active first as a leader of the student movement and in the Salvador Allende
administration in the department of cultural affairs where he was in charge of a series of cheap editions of classics for the general public. He also acted as a mediator between the government and Chilean companies.
After the Chilean coup of 1973
which brought to power General Augusto Pinochet
he was jailed for two-and-a-half years and then obtained a conditional release through the efforts of the German branch of Amnesty International
and was kept under house arrest.
He managed to escape and went underground for nearly a year. With the help of a friend who was head of the Alliance française
in Valparaíso
he set up a drama group that became the first cultural focus of resistance. He was rearrested and given a life sentence (later reduced to twenty-eight years) for treason and subversion.
The German section of Amnesty International intervened again and his prison sentence was commuted to eight years of exile, and in 1977 he left Chile to fly to Sweden
where he was supposed to teach Spanish literature. At the first stopover in Buenos Aires
he escaped and managed to enter Uruguay
. Because the political situations in both Argentina and Uruguay were similar to those in his home country, Sepúlveda went to São Paulo in Brazil
and then to Paraguay
. He had to leave again because of the local regime and finally settled in Quito
in Ecuador
guest of his friend Jorge Enrique Adoum
. He directed the Alliance Française theatre, founded a theatrical company and took part in a UNESCO
expedition to assess the impact of colonization on the Shuar Indians.
During the expedition he shared the life of the Shuars for seven months and came to an understanding of Latin America as a multicultural and multilingual continent where the Marxism he was taught was not applicable to a rural population that was dependent on its surrounding natural environment. He worked in close contact with Indian organizations and drafted the first literacy teaching plan for the Imbabura
peasants' federation, in the Andes
.
In 1979 he joined the Simón Bolívar
International Brigade which was fighting in Nicaragua
and after the victory of the revolution he started working as a journalist and one year later he left for Europe
.
He went to Hamburg
in Germany
because of his admiration of German literature (he learned the language in prison) especially the romantics as Novalis
and Friedrich Hölderlin
and worked there as journalist traveling widely in Latin America and Africa
.
In 1982 he came in contact with Greenpeace
and worked until 1987 as a crewmember on one of their ships. He later acted as co-ordinator between various branches of the organization.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an writer, film director, journalist and political activist.
Life
Luis Sepùlveda was born in Ovalle, Limarí ProvinceLimarí Province
Limarí Province is one of three provinces of the Chilean region of Coquimbo Region . Its capital is the city of Ovalle-Geography and demography:...
. After High School in Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, he studied theatre production at the National University of Chile.
Luis Sepúlveda was politically active first as a leader of the student movement and in the Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
administration in the department of cultural affairs where he was in charge of a series of cheap editions of classics for the general public. He also acted as a mediator between the government and Chilean companies.
After the Chilean coup of 1973
Chilean coup of 1973
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile. Following an extended period of political unrest between the conservative-dominated Congress of Chile and the socialist-leaning President Salvador Allende, discontent culminated in the latter's downfall in...
which brought to power General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
he was jailed for two-and-a-half years and then obtained a conditional release through the efforts of the German branch of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and was kept under house arrest.
He managed to escape and went underground for nearly a year. With the help of a friend who was head of the Alliance française
Alliance française
The Alliance française , or AF, is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. created in Paris on 21 July 1883, its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris -History:The Alliance was created in Paris...
in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
he set up a drama group that became the first cultural focus of resistance. He was rearrested and given a life sentence (later reduced to twenty-eight years) for treason and subversion.
The German section of Amnesty International intervened again and his prison sentence was commuted to eight years of exile, and in 1977 he left Chile to fly to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
where he was supposed to teach Spanish literature. At the first stopover in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
he escaped and managed to enter Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. Because the political situations in both Argentina and Uruguay were similar to those in his home country, Sepúlveda went to São Paulo in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and then to Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. He had to leave again because of the local regime and finally settled in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
guest of his friend Jorge Enrique Adoum
Jorge Enrique Adoum
Jorge Enrique Adoum was an Ecuadorian poet and writer. He was one of the major exponents of Latin American poetry. Social concerns were always present in his work.-Biography:...
. He directed the Alliance Française theatre, founded a theatrical company and took part in a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
expedition to assess the impact of colonization on the Shuar Indians.
During the expedition he shared the life of the Shuars for seven months and came to an understanding of Latin America as a multicultural and multilingual continent where the Marxism he was taught was not applicable to a rural population that was dependent on its surrounding natural environment. He worked in close contact with Indian organizations and drafted the first literacy teaching plan for the Imbabura
Imbabura
Word Imbabura can refer to these places in Ecuador:*Imbabura Province*Imbabura Volcano...
peasants' federation, in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
.
In 1979 he joined the Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
International Brigade which was fighting in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and after the victory of the revolution he started working as a journalist and one year later he left for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
He went to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
because of his admiration of German literature (he learned the language in prison) especially the romantics as Novalis
Novalis
Novalis was the pseudonym of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg , an author and philosopher of early German Romanticism.-Biography:...
and Friedrich Hölderlin
Friedrich Hölderlin
Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin was a major German lyric poet, commonly associated with the artistic movement known as Romanticism. Hölderlin was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism, particularly his early association with and philosophical influence on his...
and worked there as journalist traveling widely in Latin America and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
In 1982 he came in contact with Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and worked until 1987 as a crewmember on one of their ships. He later acted as co-ordinator between various branches of the organization.
Filmography
- Vivir a los 17, 1986 director and writer
- Tierra del fuego, 2000 screenplay
- Nowhere, 2002 director and writer
- Coração verde, 2002 writer