Violeta Zúñiga Peralta (April 12, 1933 - February 2, 2019) was a Chilean human rights activist who was part of the ''Agrupación de Familiares de

Detenidos Desaparecidos Disappeared Detainees (, ) is the term commonly used in Latin America, Latin American countries to refer to the victims of kidnappings, usually taken to Clandestine detention center (Argentina), clandestine detention and torture centers, and crim ...

'' (Group of Family Members of Detainees and Disappeared) during the

Military Dictatorship of Chile An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. The dictatorship was established after the Presidency of Salvador Allende, democratically elected socialist government of Salv ...

(1973-1990) until her death. She was also a member of the folk dance group, "Cueca sola", in which she participated more than a hundred times as a dancer, commemorating those who disappeared in Chile.Bannister, Ramón (2004). «La cueca sola: An Ethnomusicologist's Perspective on the AFDD Conjunto». Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music 23 (1-2): 1-11. ISSN 0749-2472.

Biography

Violeta Zúñiga Peralta was born in the town of Zúñiga,

O'Higgins Region The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region (, ), often shortened to O'Higgins Region (), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquel ...

, on April 12, 1933. She lived there with her parents until the age of 13, when she emigrated to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. There she met her life partner, Pedro Silva Bustos, who was detained and disappeared since August 9, 1976.Ponce Villarroel, Johann Manuel (2014). «Capitulo Tercero: Hacia una resignificación de la Cueca Sola». Reconstrucción histórica de la cueca sola. Desde el imaginario social y político en Chile (1978-1990). Universidad Arcis. pp. 133-199. Since the disappearance of Silva, Zúñiga began a tireless search for his whereabouts, going to various

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

organizations that opposed the dictatorship and who helped the victims. There, she met other women in the same situation and she decided to form the ''Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos'', along with other members of the Folkloric Ensemble of the Agrupación, who are notable for the original creation of the work ''La cueca sola''. In 1987,

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

paid homage to the "Cueca sola" dance group with the song '' They Dance Alone'', in which Zúñiga participated among the dancers. Also, the song was presented at the Amninstía concert in 1990.

16 Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' ...

Together with Agrupación and the group "Women for Life", which included Diamela Eltit and Lotty Rosenfeld, among others, Zuniga planned and executed a series of protests and peaceful marches. She left the country twice after receiving threats of physical violence and detention. Zuniga died on February 2, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Violeta 1933 births 2019 deaths People from O'Higgins Region Chilean human rights activists Chilean female dancers Chilean dancers