Las Callampas (1958) - full transcript
La Victoria, the first hamlet in Chile.
THE CALLAMPAS (The Shantytowns)
[literal: The Mushrooms]
All characters and events in this movie are
real and were filmed in authentic places.
This is the capital of Chile
Skyscrapers rise to the sky proud and
defiant as a symbol of achievement.
However, just five blocks from the downtown
on the bank of the Mapocho River
a dire picture
sadly overlooked by us
is presented in the truthful
scenes of this film.
Shacks made of cardboard,
tin, and old boards
rise on the bank, in places that no
one would dare to build a house on
apart from the men,
women, elders and children
that are part of the helpless
crowd of this shantytown
made up of 160 shacks.
The first segment of a
large array of villages
that follow the course
of the river's waters.
This is the life center of a village
Main line of circulation
between stinking puddles
mud, and semi-destroyed shacks.
Here lies the market
the square opens
and the entertainment
center is established.
This is where the social
life of the callampa is made.
The water jet from the tap
becomes the most valuable object
Clean water, not from the river.
Rising early is necessary to get some.
Long queues of people stay put
in open air during the day.
Buckets acquire an important value.
And it doesn't matter all the sacrifice
nor the troubles people have to go through
because here,
water is vital as a medicine.
But the spirit never wanes in the callampa.
A stretch between to shacks
a bunch of thatch as bedding
and the spirit to keep living and working
are good enough for a 70 year old
to install his house and
shoe repair shop here.
In this environment,
children don't lose their smiles.
They laugh and dream.
A little car is a luxurious toy
even if it was picked up from a dump
like this one,
that barely advances
but serves as an actual car.
Some toys entertain
until from them a destructive force emerges
This may not be the
time to hang up clothes.
The river waters are good for having fun
or as bath
or as washing place
and although always cold and dirty
they are indispensable.
Inside the city
more than 15 blocks form the stretch
of this community of human beings
that live pushed to the unsafe
lands eroded by the waters.
Night of October the 26th of 1957
At the other end of the city
there is widespread fear.
In a village of 53 blocks
with more than 30 thousands inhabitants
for the tenth time, there is a fire.
Many thousands of people are left
helpless by the side of the stinky course
of the old Zanjón de la Aguada
During ten days they move puzzled
above the debris and ashes
searching...
130 shacks have burned down
in a few hours
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything?
And they spend weeks without
shelter, without hope.
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything?
While the parents try to solve the
shelter issue for their children.
Kids have their own problems.
They've stop laughing
they don't have any toys left
just...hunger.
A pacifier may silence a
cry and deceive the stomach
but not for long.
Some are awaiting
surrounded by loneliness and fear
What may happen next?
Hunger is cruel
exasperating.
A dialogue of kid's glances
in a timeless suspense.
Where can there be a pacifier?
What a pity, it was broken.
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything again?
Public authorities are
alarmed by the disaster
What to do for these people
that lack everything.
It is worthy to raise everything up again?
Beside the stinking course
of the Zanjón de la Aguada?
No! It's not possible.
Seeking a solution by their own means
thousands of men, women,
elders and children
walk two kilometers into the city.
It's 2:00 AM of October 30th, 1957.
They're going the La Victoria
site, promised for many years.
They're the first that are
willing to stop the advance.
Every single one of them.
started advancing towards La Victoria.
A 2 km dusty and sunny road
turned into a human trail during many days.
They couldn't expect
better transportation means
Thereupon
they loaded themselves
and walked.
DREAM OF THE CALLAMPERO
But is everyone's duty to be united
destroy the old callampa
to start a stable and
permanent life in La Victoria.
The idea entrenched in them
and united
and almost joyfully
indulged in destroying the callampa.
Nothing should be left.
Everything should be destroyed
in order to start anew.
Without distinction of creed
or political affiliation
a group of men form a task force.
They work day and night towards
an equitable distribution of lands
that considers the needs of each family.
Because people now start
thinking about the family.
They must start over
but something is encouraging
the land is now their own.
For the first time in history
the nation witnesses a peaceful movement
in which everybody works in conjunction
towards a minimum standard of well being.
The burning sun of the day and
the ruthless cold of the night
spread dismay in the rustic
streets of La Victoria.
But...
the human heart is restless.
In those difficult times
where failure and disorganization
could've destroyed all this effort
someone arrived
dressed like a callampero
secure, enthusiastic
it was Father Del Corro.
He erected his tent here
moving incessantly from that day on
from one place to another.
Looking for materials for
emergency housing construction
he rapidly advances through La Victoria
whose extension is equivalent
to 60 blocks in Santiago
and whose population is equivalent
to half the city of San Bernardo.
Very close to the city center
the Hogar de Cristo's
panels factory is located
to where many times a day
comes Father Del Corro
searching for building materials
made by the hands of young students.
Each new load of panels
brings hype to La Victoria
Because it means, walls
shadow, shelter, home.
Specialized personnel
from the Hogar de Cristo
erects each emergency home in three hours.
Stimulation, teaching, and example
fuel interest among the villagers
those aren't just
emergency housing anymore
now that man that seemed
crushed in the middle
of a messy and unhygienic
callampa village
embarks enthusiastically
to erect his new home
on a land that he acknowledges as his own
and with the help of those who ask nothing
of him, except his own self-improvement.
On many points across
the city outskirts
the Hogar de Cristo
builds stronger houses
college youngsters, work voluntarily
to help a working class
family to get a new home.
In a house like this
children are better
and we can talk about love
because love emerges from peace.
800 well-built houses like this
form the cooperative villages
spread across Santiago
Two months of work and sacrifice
have passed in La Victoria
Who could recognize now
that wasteland where the
first flags were raised?
Today, there are 4300 homes
in which 22000
human beings sleep
that 60 days ago had been
left in abandonment and misery
Now even the gooses are owned and are
not confused with the neighbor's ones.
This allows people to visit
each other and comment
without much trouble.
This is a true story, without an ending
because 400 thousand people
almost a third of the city of Santiago
still lives in callampa villages.
Here's La Victoria
Symbol of human struggle and solidarity.
This is the true story
of a friend of yours that is truly in need.
[literal: The Mushrooms]
All characters and events in this movie are
real and were filmed in authentic places.
This is the capital of Chile
Skyscrapers rise to the sky proud and
defiant as a symbol of achievement.
However, just five blocks from the downtown
on the bank of the Mapocho River
a dire picture
sadly overlooked by us
is presented in the truthful
scenes of this film.
Shacks made of cardboard,
tin, and old boards
rise on the bank, in places that no
one would dare to build a house on
apart from the men,
women, elders and children
that are part of the helpless
crowd of this shantytown
made up of 160 shacks.
The first segment of a
large array of villages
that follow the course
of the river's waters.
This is the life center of a village
Main line of circulation
between stinking puddles
mud, and semi-destroyed shacks.
Here lies the market
the square opens
and the entertainment
center is established.
This is where the social
life of the callampa is made.
The water jet from the tap
becomes the most valuable object
Clean water, not from the river.
Rising early is necessary to get some.
Long queues of people stay put
in open air during the day.
Buckets acquire an important value.
And it doesn't matter all the sacrifice
nor the troubles people have to go through
because here,
water is vital as a medicine.
But the spirit never wanes in the callampa.
A stretch between to shacks
a bunch of thatch as bedding
and the spirit to keep living and working
are good enough for a 70 year old
to install his house and
shoe repair shop here.
In this environment,
children don't lose their smiles.
They laugh and dream.
A little car is a luxurious toy
even if it was picked up from a dump
like this one,
that barely advances
but serves as an actual car.
Some toys entertain
until from them a destructive force emerges
This may not be the
time to hang up clothes.
The river waters are good for having fun
or as bath
or as washing place
and although always cold and dirty
they are indispensable.
Inside the city
more than 15 blocks form the stretch
of this community of human beings
that live pushed to the unsafe
lands eroded by the waters.
Night of October the 26th of 1957
At the other end of the city
there is widespread fear.
In a village of 53 blocks
with more than 30 thousands inhabitants
for the tenth time, there is a fire.
Many thousands of people are left
helpless by the side of the stinky course
of the old Zanjón de la Aguada
During ten days they move puzzled
above the debris and ashes
searching...
130 shacks have burned down
in a few hours
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything?
And they spend weeks without
shelter, without hope.
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything?
While the parents try to solve the
shelter issue for their children.
Kids have their own problems.
They've stop laughing
they don't have any toys left
just...hunger.
A pacifier may silence a
cry and deceive the stomach
but not for long.
Some are awaiting
surrounded by loneliness and fear
What may happen next?
Hunger is cruel
exasperating.
A dialogue of kid's glances
in a timeless suspense.
Where can there be a pacifier?
What a pity, it was broken.
Is it worth to try to
rebuild everything again?
Public authorities are
alarmed by the disaster
What to do for these people
that lack everything.
It is worthy to raise everything up again?
Beside the stinking course
of the Zanjón de la Aguada?
No! It's not possible.
Seeking a solution by their own means
thousands of men, women,
elders and children
walk two kilometers into the city.
It's 2:00 AM of October 30th, 1957.
They're going the La Victoria
site, promised for many years.
They're the first that are
willing to stop the advance.
Every single one of them.
started advancing towards La Victoria.
A 2 km dusty and sunny road
turned into a human trail during many days.
They couldn't expect
better transportation means
Thereupon
they loaded themselves
and walked.
DREAM OF THE CALLAMPERO
But is everyone's duty to be united
destroy the old callampa
to start a stable and
permanent life in La Victoria.
The idea entrenched in them
and united
and almost joyfully
indulged in destroying the callampa.
Nothing should be left.
Everything should be destroyed
in order to start anew.
Without distinction of creed
or political affiliation
a group of men form a task force.
They work day and night towards
an equitable distribution of lands
that considers the needs of each family.
Because people now start
thinking about the family.
They must start over
but something is encouraging
the land is now their own.
For the first time in history
the nation witnesses a peaceful movement
in which everybody works in conjunction
towards a minimum standard of well being.
The burning sun of the day and
the ruthless cold of the night
spread dismay in the rustic
streets of La Victoria.
But...
the human heart is restless.
In those difficult times
where failure and disorganization
could've destroyed all this effort
someone arrived
dressed like a callampero
secure, enthusiastic
it was Father Del Corro.
He erected his tent here
moving incessantly from that day on
from one place to another.
Looking for materials for
emergency housing construction
he rapidly advances through La Victoria
whose extension is equivalent
to 60 blocks in Santiago
and whose population is equivalent
to half the city of San Bernardo.
Very close to the city center
the Hogar de Cristo's
panels factory is located
to where many times a day
comes Father Del Corro
searching for building materials
made by the hands of young students.
Each new load of panels
brings hype to La Victoria
Because it means, walls
shadow, shelter, home.
Specialized personnel
from the Hogar de Cristo
erects each emergency home in three hours.
Stimulation, teaching, and example
fuel interest among the villagers
those aren't just
emergency housing anymore
now that man that seemed
crushed in the middle
of a messy and unhygienic
callampa village
embarks enthusiastically
to erect his new home
on a land that he acknowledges as his own
and with the help of those who ask nothing
of him, except his own self-improvement.
On many points across
the city outskirts
the Hogar de Cristo
builds stronger houses
college youngsters, work voluntarily
to help a working class
family to get a new home.
In a house like this
children are better
and we can talk about love
because love emerges from peace.
800 well-built houses like this
form the cooperative villages
spread across Santiago
Two months of work and sacrifice
have passed in La Victoria
Who could recognize now
that wasteland where the
first flags were raised?
Today, there are 4300 homes
in which 22000
human beings sleep
that 60 days ago had been
left in abandonment and misery
Now even the gooses are owned and are
not confused with the neighbor's ones.
This allows people to visit
each other and comment
without much trouble.
This is a true story, without an ending
because 400 thousand people
almost a third of the city of Santiago
still lives in callampa villages.
Here's La Victoria
Symbol of human struggle and solidarity.
This is the true story
of a friend of yours that is truly in need.