Ana González de Recabarren

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is González, the second or maternal family name is González, and, for married women, the optional marital name is de Recabarren.
Ana González de Recabarren
Ana González de Recabarren in 2013
Born
Ana González González

(1925-07-25)25 July 1925
Toco, Tocopilla Province, Chile
Died26 October 2018(2018-10-26) (aged 93)
San José Hospital, Santiago, Chile
EducationUniversity of Chile
OccupationHuman rights activist
Known forCo-founder of the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared
Political partyCommunist Party of Chile (1942–2002)
Spouse
Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas
​
​
(m. 1944)​
Children6

Ana González de Recabarren (25 July 1925 – 26 October 2018) was a Chilean human rights activist and co-founder of the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared.[1][2][3] Two of González's sons, pregnant daughter-in-law and husband were forcibly disappeared in April 1976 by the Chilean Military dictatorship.[2][4]

Early life

Ana González González was born on 25 July 1925 in Toco, a nitratine mine in Tocopilla Province, Chile.[1][5] In the 1930s the González's family moved to Tocopilla and later to Renca, Santiago.[1][5][6] González attended the School of Applied Arts at the University of Chile.[1][5][6][7]

In 1942, González joined the Communist Party, remaining a member until 2002.[2][5][6] In 1944, González married Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas, a graphic designer, union leader and fellow member of the Communist Party.[2][4][8] During the Allende government Recabarren Rojas was the president of the San Miguel Supply and Price Control Board.[8] Together González and Recabarren had 6 children, including Luis Emilio González Recabarren, a former union leader and graphic design technician, and Manuel Guillermo González Recabarren, a plumber or gasfitter.[2][4][8][9][10][11] Luis Emilio married Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado, a Communist Youth activist and housewife.[4]

Activism

Forced disappearance of relatives

On 29 April 1976 at approximately 7:30 pm, Mena Alvarado and 2 year old Luis Emilio "Porotito" Recabarren Mena arrived, following a prenatal checkup and a visit to her mothers, at the Santiago print shop where the González Recabarren brothers worked.[4][12][11][13] Both brothers and Mena Alvarado were members of the Communist Party.[4][13]

At approximately 9 pm the family was arrested at a bus stop on Avenida Santa Rosa by DINA agents.[2][4][11] During the arrest Mena Alvarado, who was 3 months pregnant and holding Recabarren Mena in her arms, was beaten in the stomach with the butt of a machine gun and rendered unconscious.[4][14] Luis Emilio and Manuel Guillermo were beaten and the family was separated into three separate vehicles, with Recabarren Mena being separated from his parents and paternal uncle.[4][11][14][13] Recabarren Mena was later abandoned by DINA agents near the family home at around 11:30 pm, and was discovered and returned home by a neighbour who heard him crying.[2][4][11] The brothers and Mena Alvarado were subsequently taken to the Villa Grimaldi, Cuartel Simón Bolívar and Cuatro Álamos DINA detention and torture centres.[14] On 30 April around 7:10 am, Recabarren Rojas was arrested by DINA agents as he attempted to board a bus to search for his missing relatives.[4][14] Recabarren Rojas was taken to the Villa Grimaldi detention center, and was last seen in August 1976.[4][15]

The remains of Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado, Luis Emilio González Recabarren, Manuel Guillermo González Recabarren and Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas have never been located.[12] Lists kept by the Chilean Army suggest that body of Luis Emilio González Recabarren was thrown into the sea during a death flight.[16]

González reported her relatives disappearances to the Vicariate of Solidarity on 30 April, and a recurso de amparo was subsequently filed at the Santiago Court of Appeals on the behalf the Recabarren González brothers, Mena Alvarado and Recabarren Rojas. On 1 June 1976, the Court rejected the Recabarren González family appeal without further action.

In June 2000, González filed a formal complaint against Augusto Pinochet for the disappearance of her family 26 years prior.[17]

Association of Relatives of the Disappeared Detainees

Following the forced disappearance of her relatives, González joined the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared Detainees (AFDD) and became one of its primary leaders alongside Sola Sierra, Viviana Díaz, and Clotario Blest. She participated in a hunger strike at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean headquarters in Santiago. With Gabriela Bravo and Ulda Ortiz, González represented the AFDD at various international organizations such as United Nations, Organization of American States, International Red Cross, International Commission of Jurists, the Holy See, and Amnesty International.[1]

In 1996, she was the focus of the Televisión Nacional de Chile-broadcast documentary Quiero llorar a mares and in 2001 won the Premios Ondas for Ibero-America for the Best Program or Professional or Television Station.[18]

Personal life

On 26 October 2018, González died aged 93 at San José Hospital in Santiago, Chile.[2][19] González is buried at the Cementerio Católico de Santiago.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ana González González: Memoria, verdad y justicia". Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos. 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bonnefoy, Pascale (29 October 2018). "Ana González, Campaigner for Chile's Missing, Dies at 93". The New York Times. New York City, United States: The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  3. ^ Lorca, Monserrat; Cabrera, Sophia (14 August 2025). "U. de Chile junto a organizaciones de la sociedad civil invitan a participar de homenaje por los 100 años de natalicio de Ana González". University of Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: University of Chile. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Memoriaviva (2025). "Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado – Detenido Desaparecido". Memoriaviva (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Juventudes, Feminismo y Memoria (2023). "Ana Gonzálaz de Recabarren". Voces del Pacífico (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de la Juventud; Fondo de Cooperación de la Alianza del Pacífico. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Moletto, Andrea (11 September 2014). "Ana González: "Los victimarios se van a convertir en víctimas"". The Clinic (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  7. ^ Prensa Rectoría Universidad de Chile (2025). "Universidad de Chile participa en lanzamiento de la autobiografía inédita de Ana González". University of Chile (in Spanish). University of Chile. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Memoriaviva (2025). "Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas – Detenido Desaparecido". Memoriaviva (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  9. ^ Memoriaviva (2025). "Manuel Guillermo Recabarren González – Detenido Desaparecido". Memoriaviva (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  10. ^ Memoriaviva (2025). "Luis Emilio Recabarren González – Detenido Desaparecido". Memoriaviva (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e Robino, Carolina; Rodríguez, Margarita (5 November 2018). "La desgarradora historia del niño de 2 años que vio cómo desaparecieron sus padres y aún se pregunta por qué él está vivo". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  12. ^ a b González de Recabarren, Ana (16 October 2008). "Chile: Testimonios de víctimas del gobierno de Pinochet: TESTIMONIO COMPLETO DE ANA GONZALEZ DE RECABARREN Y SU CARTA AL GENERAL EMILIO CHEYRE" (PDF). London, United Kingdom: Amnesty International. pp. 7–9. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "Antecedentes: Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado" (PDF). Todas ibamos a ser reinas: Estudio sobre nueve mujeres embarazadas que fueron detenidas y desaparecidas en Chile. Serie Verdad y Justicia (in Spanish). 1. Santiago, Chile: Comité de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo; Archivo Chile: 19–20. 1990. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d Sanhueza, Ana María (17 August 2024). "Luis Emilio Recabarren: "No hay día en que no piense en mis padres, en mi tío y en mi abuelo desparecidos"". El País (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones El País. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  15. ^ Montes, Rocío (11 September 2018). "La eterna búsqueda de Ana González, La Pasionaria chilena". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  16. ^ González de Recabarren, Ana (16 October 2008). "Chile: Testimonies of victims of the Pinochet government: Ana González De Recabarren, in Santiago on 28 September 2008" (PDF). London, United Kingdom: Amnesty International. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Querellas contra Pinochet se elevaron a 110". Emol (in Spanish). 1 June 2000. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Palmarés - 2001". premiosondas.com (in Spanish). ONDAS. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  19. ^ Montes, Rocío (26 October 2018). "Muere a los 93 años Ana González, la Pasionaria chilena". El País (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones El País. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  20. ^ Sánchez, Jonás Romero (30 October 2018). "Lorena Díaz Ramírez, nieta de Ana González: "Mi abuela se fue sin saber qué mierda había pasado con sus familiares"". The Clinic (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
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