Poetics of the Cuartito azul Phenomenological Notes on Confinement, Torture and Topophobic in Testimonies of the Bolivian Military Dictatorship (1979-1981)

Abstract

The phenomenology of lived space, formulated by Gastón Bachelard in 1957, aims to explore representations of joyful spaces through a topophilic perspective. This article delves into a profound reflection on topophobia, derived from the analysis of narratives of women victims of the Bolivian military dictatorship (1979-1981). The collection of testimonies, drawn from the work Libres (2013), focuses on the characterization of the ominous torture chamber known as the “Cuartito azul”. The claim of this investigation is to provide an analytical characterization of the poetic images of sadness present in the testimonies of torture, thereby expanding the foundations of Bachelardian topoanalysis. Initially, the concept of topophilia is succinctly outlined within the context of Bachelard's topoanalytical project. Subsequently, a detailed topophobic analysis of the collection of testimonies is presented, extending the discourse through interaction with the concepts of the New Phenomenology proposed by Hermann Schmitz. The central conclusion of this work rests in the assertion that topophobia represents the study and exploration of poetic images that encapsulate the experience of humiliation in the human being. Through this inquiry, an enriched comprehension of Bachelardian topoanalysis is pursued, by means of the incorporation of historical contexts and personal experiences within anthropological-philosophical investigation, thereby highlighting the significant influence of spaces on the emotional and existential experience of individuals.