History Through a Photograph
From May to August of 2013, I took a trip to Chile to meet and live with my family for three months. The last time I went to Chile, I was very young about four years old. The only memory I have from the trip was really disliking the chocolate milk I had for breakfast, it was nothing like the Nesquick I had every morning in the United States. I had little to no memories of my family and the only person I really knew in Chile was my cousin Paz, who lived with us earlier that year (my extended family and my parents are basically having a foreign exchange student program with their children). One of the best things I got to do during my time in Chile, besides being with family, was going through the archives of my family. I saw photographs of people I have never met and will only see through photos, I read letters from my teenage father to his parents, and I saw birth announcements of all my cousins.
The photos that intrigued me the most were those of my grandfather, Tata Daniel. Tata Daniel passed away when I was very young. The visit to Chile I had when I was four was for his funeral. Although I never really got to interact with my grandfather, I heard so many stories about him and the different organizations he was involved in.
In this paticular photograph below my grandfather, in the thick rimmed glasses, stands with two other men and one passing by. I wanted to explore this photograph because I could not guess upon where or when this was taken. None of the other faces looks familiar to me.
The photos that intrigued me the most were those of my grandfather, Tata Daniel. Tata Daniel passed away when I was very young. The visit to Chile I had when I was four was for his funeral. Although I never really got to interact with my grandfather, I heard so many stories about him and the different organizations he was involved in.
In this paticular photograph below my grandfather, in the thick rimmed glasses, stands with two other men and one passing by. I wanted to explore this photograph because I could not guess upon where or when this was taken. None of the other faces looks familiar to me.
Going back to one of the first readings in Writing,Research and Techonology, I wanted to reveal the truth in this photo. In Errol Morris’ Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg, He goes in search of finding the truth of these two photos.
Errol Morris wanted to find out which of these two similar photographs came first, the one with the cannon balls on the road or the one with out. Just like Errol Morris, I wanted to find out the truth of the photograph of my grandfather and the men that hold their tiny drinking glasses. Were they celebrating? What connection do the other men have with my grandfather? This one photo can lead to so many outside answers that I have about my grandfather and my families legacy.
In my search for answers I had to send numerous emails to my father and my family in Chile. My cousin Paz (whom you have probably learned about in my other blog posts) was a major help in getting my family in Chile together to answer my questions. Here is just a snippet of what she wrote back to me (even though it is in spanish):
In my search for answers I had to send numerous emails to my father and my family in Chile. My cousin Paz (whom you have probably learned about in my other blog posts) was a major help in getting my family in Chile together to answer my questions. Here is just a snippet of what she wrote back to me (even though it is in spanish):
My grandfather, Tata Daniel worked for a government agency called "La Caja de Empleados Particulares", an institution that gave welfare benefits due to housing, retirement and their health, a program we are familiar with in the United States. This agencies main concern was providing people of low income with the necessities of a home.Paz gives an example stating that this agency helps people receive phones in their home, or provide low income housing for those that could not afford it or have debt to the banks. This particular photo was taken during a celebration at "Club de La Unión" which was located downtown of Santiago. Tata Daniel who was about thirty in this photograph was drinking wine with a few of his coworkers.
Looking again at the size of the glass, it is the perfect size for wine. The glass is too big for shots of Pisco, a grape brandy from Chile. Yet the glasses are too large for a drink of beer. (Fun Fact about my family, we have our own brewing company in Chile.)
Tata Daniel spent most of his career working for the government in one form or another. While he was part of the Christian Democrat party, he still worked for the Private Employee Fund. His time and effort that he put into this program was thanked by many in his field, for his good work in helping others and professionalism throughout the job.
Salvador Allende, who was president from 1970 to 1973, was impeached and later committed suicide in La Moneda as the armed forces were about to take over the capital. During this revolutionary time my grandfather worked with Eduardo Frei Montalva, the opposing party to General Augusto Pinochet, whom took over Chile's government. My grandfather's career along with Chile, was constantly in danger. One of the more dangerous things that my grandfather had to do was to transport Frei Montalva to his meetings, he was often followed. My grandfather's house phone was also tapped, allowing people to record my family's conversations.
While my grandfather was working for Frei Montalva, he had some dangerous encounters with the military police. One time when Tata was painting the house men came to the house in search of him asking for "Daniel Kolbach". Tata played it off by acting like he did not know who that was to save his family and his life. During the 1990's my grandfather began studying Law and Justice at the University of Chile but could not finish because he got sick with skin cancer, he passed away on February 29, 1996.
By exploring one photograph from my family I learned so much. I often realize that I do not know what questions to ask when I do not have a starting point. This photograph was my starting point to find out more about my grandfather and my family's history.
Works Cited
Krebs, Maria Paz. Personal Interview. 27 Feb 2014.
Morris, Errol. "What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?." Opinionator. New York Times, 25 Sep 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg-part-one/?_php=true&_&_r=0>.
Looking again at the size of the glass, it is the perfect size for wine. The glass is too big for shots of Pisco, a grape brandy from Chile. Yet the glasses are too large for a drink of beer. (Fun Fact about my family, we have our own brewing company in Chile.)
Tata Daniel spent most of his career working for the government in one form or another. While he was part of the Christian Democrat party, he still worked for the Private Employee Fund. His time and effort that he put into this program was thanked by many in his field, for his good work in helping others and professionalism throughout the job.
Salvador Allende, who was president from 1970 to 1973, was impeached and later committed suicide in La Moneda as the armed forces were about to take over the capital. During this revolutionary time my grandfather worked with Eduardo Frei Montalva, the opposing party to General Augusto Pinochet, whom took over Chile's government. My grandfather's career along with Chile, was constantly in danger. One of the more dangerous things that my grandfather had to do was to transport Frei Montalva to his meetings, he was often followed. My grandfather's house phone was also tapped, allowing people to record my family's conversations.
While my grandfather was working for Frei Montalva, he had some dangerous encounters with the military police. One time when Tata was painting the house men came to the house in search of him asking for "Daniel Kolbach". Tata played it off by acting like he did not know who that was to save his family and his life. During the 1990's my grandfather began studying Law and Justice at the University of Chile but could not finish because he got sick with skin cancer, he passed away on February 29, 1996.
By exploring one photograph from my family I learned so much. I often realize that I do not know what questions to ask when I do not have a starting point. This photograph was my starting point to find out more about my grandfather and my family's history.
Works Cited
Krebs, Maria Paz. Personal Interview. 27 Feb 2014.
Morris, Errol. "What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?." Opinionator. New York Times, 25 Sep 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg-part-one/?_php=true&_&_r=0>.