Radical Film Night: The Red Dance (El Baile Rojo)

description: Colombia Vive presents three nights of films at the Lucy Parsons Center to mark the bicentennial of Colombia's independence. Colombia Vive, created in 1988, works to inform people about the situation in Colombia, organizes opposition to U.S. military aid to Colombia, sponsors the visit of human rights defenders, religious workers, trade unionists, and grassroots activists to the Boston area, and supports humanitarian aid efforts in Colombia. We are an all-volunteer 501-c-3 nonprofit organization.

The Red Dance (El Baile Rojo)

In 1985, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) helped form a new political party as part of a peace process with the government. For a short time, hopes were height that the long war between the state and various leftist factions might be coming to an end. Guerrillas came down from the hills to become politicians, intellectuals and community organizers signed on as party activists, and the new Patriotic Union started winning support in many parts of the country.

But some sections of the right wing and the military could not accept their enemies' newfound legitimacy, and began a dirty war against the young party. In just a few years, thousands of candidates, politicians and organizers had been assassinated, including two presidential candidates. The FARC's devastating military buildup in the 90s and the right-wing death squads that continue sewing terror to this day all have their roots in the story of the Patriotic Union. This film tells this story through historical footage and interviews with survivors.

web site: http://colombiavive.org/