Santiago illuminated its buildings to remember the victims of the Pinochet dictatorship.

With tears in the audience, but with the tenacity of people still searching for their missing relatives, three iconic Santiago buildings were illuminated with photographs and videos commemorating the social struggles during the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

A hundred people attended the screenings at the Palace of the Courts of Justice, the headquarters of the National Congress in the capital, and the Santiago Cathedral , three landmarks of this city during the 17 years of military rule in the southern nation.

The initiative was organized by the Museum of Memory and Human Rights and the artistic collective Delight Lab , who projected the images and sound archives in the light intervention called "Projecting Memory."

The museum's executive director, María Fernanda García, explained that the center's mission is to bring the museum's collections to the streets through exhibitions and films.

He explained that they projected archives in emblematic buildings in the defense of human rights , such as the former Vicariate of Solidarity, next to the Santiago Cathedral, a center that served as a shelter for the families of the disappeared detainees, whose lawyers systematized and brought many cases to justice.

García also highlighted the images projected at the National Congress in Santiago, which show emblematic demonstrations by chained women demanding justice and the whereabouts of their relatives.

"Fifty-two years is a long time, a lifetime, for young people it's the past. However, the remnants of the dictatorship are still present , and as a country, the new generations need to know that we cannot live under a dictatorship," he said.

He emphasized that " a democratic breakdown is never an option , and social peace, above all, is the path forward."

"Very moving, very beautiful. It's important to always remember human rights and the fight for human rights in any country, in any square, anywhere possible," said 72-year-old economist Ana María Correa, through tears, as she made the journey with about 100 people.

He commented that it was a "long, 17-year struggle , and that beyond the people who died, who were tortured, who disappeared, many people also committed themselves to fighting, as was evident here in all the demonstrations."

" There are always people who know , who learned about it through their family, and there are also many people who remember their ancestors who were disappeared, tortured, or killed," he reflected.

She emphasized that women played a "very important" role in the Association of Relatives of Detained and Disappeared Persons and are passing on this culture to new generations.

This sentiment was also shared by Andrés Palma, a 70-year-old man who works as an academic at the University of Santiago de Chile.

"We've forgotten many people who appeared very young in the media, and that's wrong. There are many people who risked their lives to fight," he commented.

He emphasized that "courageous and beautiful" women are a testament that "we should never forget (...) Chile owes them a lot, and we should build a monument to them."

He considered that his university students, who were born into democracy, don't know what happened during the dictatorship or "what it meant to achieve democracy." For this reason, he emphasized that events like this help convey that message.

According to official figures, during the civil-military dictatorship headed by Pinochet, more than 3,000 people were murdered , of whom 1,200 are still missing, and more than 30,000 were tortured.

Dozens of detention, torture, and execution centers were set up across the country. The National Stadium was the largest in the country, and an estimated 40,000 people passed through this sports venue.

With information from Xinhua.