UCLA

This dissertation explores the relationship between artistic production and political intervention in Peru at the time of the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2001. I examine the cultural field post-TRC as an enabling environment for the discussion of the armed conflict and the political violence that ensued from 1980-2000. By analyzing a corpus of diverse mediums including popular theater and performance art, photography, as well as literature and film, I arrive at new conclusions regarding the ongoing battles for historical memory. I argue that these art works have been favorable avenues for political intervention because they have opened the door to fruitful discussions regarding the Peruvian "dirty war," and because they have revealed and validated views not included in any of the mainstream, officially endorsed theories propagated by the State or the TRC. The main argument behind my analysis is that while the cultural corpus studied stemmed from an initial effort made by the TRC to include symbolic materials into their investigation, the artistic field allowed for a rounder and more complex vision of the violence. I trace the development of this practice in the theater performances by Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani during the TRC's Public Audiences in Ayacucho (2002), the photographic exhibit Yuyanapaq (2003) in Lima, as well as more widely disseminated artistic works, such as Herralde award winning novel La hora azul (2005) by Alonso Cueto and homonymous film (2014) by Evelyne Pegot-Ogier. My dissertation provides an in depth study of the Peruvian armed conflict emphasizing the importance of the narrative created by the TRC in the construction of a corpus of resistance art capable of facilitating an alternative discussion that takes into account the conflictive and fragmented nature of memory.