History of the Orlando Letelier Brigade Murals
What is the Orlando Letelier Brigade?
“Murals illustrate our history and our visions for the future”- The Orlando Letelier Brigade
The Orlando Letelier Brigade was formed following the tragic assassination of Orlando Letelier by a car bomb on Tuesday, September 21, 1976 in Washington D.C.[1]. Orlando Letelier was driving to work at the Institute for Policy Studies with Ronnie Karpen Moffitt when the bomb went off, killing both the exiled Chilean ambassador and his American colleague. Letelier's sons, Fransico and José, co-created the Orlando Letelier Brigade along with exiled Chilean artist René Castro[2]. The Brigade created murals throughout the United States, Chile, and Nicaragua[3]. The Brigade visited St. Lawrence University in 1989 and unveiled two murals. The murals serve to present and preserve Latin American memory. The Brigade asserts that “murals illustrate our history and our visions for the future”[4]. All in all, the brigade honors the late Orlando Letelier while incorporating the truth of the past in Latin America.
St. Lawrence University: The Steinman Festival of the Arts
Background
The St. Lawrence Steinman Festival of the Arts was created in honor of David B. Steinman, a bridge designer and educator. The annual grant, in his name, allowed for the festival to occur at St. Lawrence University from 1958 to 1960. After Steinman's death, the annual event was then supported by his wife Irene H. Steinman along with the Corning Glassworks Foundation. Overall, the Steinman Festival of the Arts served to “stimulate creative activity in the college community by bringing to the campus eminent figures in the arts”[5]. Every year, the Steinman Festival focused on one particular region in the world, celebrating vast types of art and expressions of culture. The festival featured instrumental, choral, dramatic and dance group performances. There were also exhibits of films and art with workshops and panel discussions[6]. Some past Steinman Festivals celebrated Vietnamese, Native American, and Latin American culture.
The 1989 Steinman Festival
The 1989 Steinman Festival was titled "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope". This specific festival sought to "capture the richness of Latin American art and culture and to share it with [the] community" while building connections between North and South America. This festival acknowledged Latin American colonialism by different foreign powers which resulted in the creation of a fusion of North America, European, and Latin American culture and values. However, the festival also desired to depict the pre-hispanic and indigenous roots maintained within Latin American culture[7]. The 1989 Steinman Festival displayed many different art forms such as films, plays, and murals.
The Orlando Letelier Brigade came to St. Lawrence with a mural to honor the 1989 Latin American Steinman Festival. The Brigade also directed the creation of a second mural, with the help of students and the Canton community. Both murals were unveiled on Saturday, April 1st and Sunday, April 9, 1989. Three members from the Orlando Letelier Mural Brigade came for the unveiling: Architect Jose Letelier, Instructor of Design Francisco Letelier, and professional artist Jos Sances.
Media Carousel: Click through to view more images from the 1989 Steinman Festival pamphlet
The Orlando Letelier Brigade Murals: The Final Products
Through the painting of murals, Latin Americans have challenged the view of art as an individual creative endeavor, making it instead a communal activity, a form of grassroots mobilization and popular education.
No Theory of People and Society be Currently Serving the Needs of Both Humankind and the Planet
The Orlando Letelier Mural Brigade painted a 20 x 6 feet mural in honor of the 1989 Steinman Festival[8]. The theme of this mural is “No theory of people and society be currently serving the needs of both humankind and the planet”[9]. The mural puts an emphasis on the tension and hardships that exist between humanity and its environment. A few images that the mural contains include a figure labeled as “third world” walking a tightrope, a general wearing a sash that says “More Aid” as well as sunglasses that have dollar signs on them, and a “skeletal” Statue of Liberty figure that has fallen over and whose torch is extinguished.[10] Visit the Mural Analysis page for more information on the images and their meanings. The mural was unveiled on Saturday, April 1st 1989 at 11 a.m. in the MacAllaster room at the Owen D. Young Library.
A Common Thread
The Orlando Letelier Mural Brigade also directed the creation of a second mural, titled "A Common Thread". St. Lawrence University Students and the Canton Community were invited to join the project of creating a collaborative mural. The Brigade helped students and community members create, in both design and painting, a mural that contains “scenes with a combination of North Country and Latin American themes”[12]. The Steinman Festival asserted that "through the painting of murals, Latin Americans have challenged the view of art as an individual creative endeavor, making it instead a communal activity, a form of grassroots mobilization and popular education"13]. This aspect was definitely incorporated into the second mural, as the Orlando Letelier Brigade assisted in bridging divides between matters of importance in the North Country as well as in Latin America. As stated by Michelle Lowe in the Hill News, these themes are “based on community ideas, the church, and the Central America Peace Project”[14]. This communal mural was unveiled on Sunday, April 9, 1989 at 10 P.M. in the Noble Center[15].
To understand more about the community mural from an involved student, visit An Art of the People page.
Click To View Archive Resources
Footnotes:
[1] 1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 20.
[2] Montgomery, David. “A Car Bomb Killed Orlando Letelier on Embassy Row 40 Years Ago. A Mural by His Son Marks the Tragedy and the Progress It Inspired.” The Washington Post, 18 Sept. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/09/18/a-car-….
[3] 1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 20.
[4] Ibid.
[5]1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 1.
[6]Ibid.
[7]1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 1.
[8] Brian Lowe, “Mural by Letelier Brigade Unveiled in Library”. The Hill News Archives. April 7, 1989. Found on the NYS Historic Newspapers.
[9]1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 8.
[10] Brian Lowe, “Mural by Letelier Brigade Unveiled in Library”. The Hill News Archives. April 7, 1989. Found on the NYS Historic Newspapers.
[11] 1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 20.
[12] Michelle Lowe, “Community Mural Painting Planned for Steinman Festival”. The Hill News Archives. March 3, 1989. Accessed from the NYS Historic Newspapers.
[13] 1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 20.
[14] Michelle Lowe, "Community Mural Painting Planned for Steinman Festival”. The Hill News Archives. March 3, 1989. Accessed from the NYS Historic Newspapers.
[15] 1989 Steinman Festival of the Arts. "Latin American Art: Voices of Struggle, Visions of Hope,” Box Two, Folder 1989, Collection RG11, St. Lawrence University Archives and Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries. Page 8.