The Past is made of Versions: Memory(ies), Radio Theater and Elderly Persons

Abstract

During 2015 we carried out a Escuela of memories, research and communication with elderly persons in Bogota. Through life stories, interviews and review of files, we reconstruct memories about recent Colombian history and different versions of the armed conflict with a group of 20 elderly persons, men and women from various regions of the country, with different political positions, and ways of acting, thinking and feeling. This experience, called Venga le cuento: memorias de violencia y paz, was developed based on the following principles: the tertulia as a space for meeting and knowledges dialogue; communication for the visibility of memory(ies); and elderly persons as protagonists of History. Starting from a weekly meeting for four months, we systematized the process in radio scripts and carried out 8 radio theaters. In this way, Venga le cuento fosters a collective reflection on recent history and the social, economic, political and cultural conditions that led to the conflict. We consider that the construction of memory(ies) is also a strategy to strengthen social ties and bonds. The Escuela can be replicable in different contexts and is a way of memory-making with different social groups.