Who Has Left Me the Dictatorship as an Inheritance? A Review of Confusing Genealogies in literatura de los hijos of the Southern Cone

Abstract

The focus of this article will be put on literatura de los hijos [literature of sons and daughters], phenomenon that usually encompasses the writings of authors who lived their childhood and/or teenage years under the dictatorships in Chile (1973-1990) and Argentina (1976- 1983). Likewise, this category could be applied to the literary productions of the generation that experienced the civil-military regime in Uruguay (1973- 1985). In this literary phenomenon, the condition of being hijo can be understood, on the one hand, literally – through family ties with the parents – and, on the other, as a symbolic category, relative to the dictatorial politics that influenced the lives of children as a result of their involvement in state institutions – for example, school – or the involvement of their relatives with or against the dictatorship. In fact, both interpretative keys point to the problem of double inheritance – both of family and national histories – passed from generation to generation, which hijos are facing at the moment. Under these coordinates, the present text proposes a review of possible approaches to the problem of (a)filiation and inheritance in literatura de los hijos of the Southern Cone.