In my dreams, amaranth bloomed.

“In my dreams, amaranth bloomed” traces the intimate and political history of a family torn apart by the Chilean dictatorship, a family where repression left scars that time has failed to erase.

“In my dreams, amaranth bloomed” tells, through different stories, of a memory that germinates underground and, despite the silence, sprouts again. This project traces the intimate and political history of a family affected by the Chilean dictatorship, a family where repression left marks that time has failed to erase.

Through images, memories, and voices, this project reconstructs the story of the González Muñoz family, whose lives were affected by the 1973 coup d'état. For years, silence was the only way to carry on. However, with the social unrest of 2019, those dormant memories were reactivated. History came knocking again, bringing with it the faces of Ester and Alfredo, and their sons and daughters: Maria, Miguel, Soledad, Juana, Ana, Rosa, Luis, Estrella, and Sonia, who, in the 1970s, amid precariousness and hope, fought for a different Chile.

The history of this family, in addition to being marked by its political commitment, is also marked by the harsh conditions in which that commitment was forged. The González Muñoz family lived in a reality of daily scarcity, where work was unstable, resources were limited, and opportunities were scarce. They did not know the calm of material security, but they had a deep conviction that a more just country was possible.

This work shows the folds of a story: the different ways in which the dictatorship affected a family, both at the time it occurred and in the aftermath. There are stories of militancy, fear, resistance, and memory. Although the regime ended, what it left behind continues to operate: in the model, in the absences, in the way people still avoid talking about it. This photobook moves between the intimate and the political, and in that duality a broader question arises: what do we do with what we inherit?

The dictatorship was not just an episode in the past; it was a fracture that seeped into homes and bodies. This work attempts to listen to those buried memories, to allow them to speak. It is an invitation to look squarely at what was meant to be erased, to recognize the traces that persist in ordinary lives and in stories that were never fully told.

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© Eric Allende - Excerpt from the newspaper El Mercurio, September 13, 1973.The image shows people leaving the government palace.
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Excerpt from the newspaper El Mercurio, September 13, 1973.The image shows people leaving the government palace.

© Eric Allende - Excerpt from the newspaper El Mercurio, September 13, 1973.The image shows the government palace being bombed.
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Excerpt from the newspaper El Mercurio, September 13, 1973.The image shows the government palace being bombed.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Excerpt from the newspaper El Mercurio, September 13, 1973.The image shows two tanks traveling through the streets of Santiago.

© Eric Allende - Dining room in the home of Emilse Muñoz and Alfredo González, where the entire family lived during the dictatorship.
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Dining room in the home of Emilse Muñoz and Alfredo González, where the entire family lived during the dictatorship.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Estrella González covers her face with a handkerchief in reference to when she received armed training from the Communist Youth, who blindfolded people so that the training location would remain secret.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Archive photograph of a photograph taken by Sonia González at the Eucharist held by Pope John Paul II in O'Higgins Park in 1987, where there were demonstrations against the military regime in Chile, which were brutally repressed by the Carabineros.

© Eric Allende - Wall of the house where the nine González Muñoz siblings lived through the dictatorship
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Wall of the house where the nine González Muñoz siblings lived through the dictatorship

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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A Communist Youth flag hangs in the courtyard of the González Muñoz family home, reflecting how common this was during the dictatorship.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Cerro Chena is a hill located between the municipalities of San Bernardo and Calera de Tango, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was one of many places where human rights violations were committed, a place where people were taken to be tortured and raped.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Camilo puts on a blanket to represent the story of Luis Gonzáles, who was arrested during the dictatorship. After the police took him to the station, they put a wet blanket on Luis so they could beat him without leaving marks on his body.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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The courtyard of the house where the nine González Muñoz siblings lived through the dictatorship and from which they would sneak out at night to attend Communist Youth meetings.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Luis González poses at his parents' house after being interviewed about his experiences during the dictatorship in Chile.The flash on his face was used as a reference to the impact it had on him to remember how difficult it was to live during that time.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Books, magazines, and paper are burned in the Muñoz Gonzalez family's yard, representing when, during the dictatorship, they had to burn their pamphlets and communist information so as not to be caught and arrested for possessing this information.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Archive photograph showing Sonia González, together with two children, at a mural with references to President Salvador Allende, in the commune of Padre Hurtado, during the 1980s.The cultural centres were a meeting point during the dictatorship, for recreation and political organisation.

© Eric Allende - Wall of a room in the house where the nine González Muñoz siblings lived during the dictatorship.
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Wall of a room in the house where the nine González Muñoz siblings lived during the dictatorship.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Miguel González poses in the courtyard of his parents' house in the Padre Hurtado district, after recalling what it was like to live during the dictatorship.

© Eric Allende - Image from the In my dreams, amaranth bloomed. photography project
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Cerro Chena is a hill located between the municipalities of San Bernardo and Calera de Tango, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was one of many places where human rights violations were committed, a place where people were taken to be tortured and raped.