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El Ciudadano

Original article: Libro «El gran terremoto en 100 historias» es una de las novedades editoriales de la Región Los Ríos para 2026

One of the exciting new publications in the Los Ríos Region for 2026 will be the release of «The Great Earthquake in 100 Stories,» authored by Valdivian journalists and writers Daniel Carrillo and Daniel Navarrete.

This project, funded by the Cultural Heritage Fund of the National Heritage Service, Regional Competition 2024, will be published under the Niebla Ediciones imprint and will be distributed free of charge throughout the region.

As we approach the 66th anniversary of this catastrophe, it seemed essential to us to select the best chronicles from the two previous books we wrote and compile them into a single volume for free distribution, as a way to ensure this memory continues to circulate and be shared, explained Daniel Carrillo.

This new volume includes a selection of chronicles from the books «22.05.60: Sixty Stories from the 60 Earthquake» (Libros Verde Vivo, 2020) and «Aftershocks: Stories of the Great Earthquake» (Libros Verde Vivo, 2021), both published with the support of the Conarte fund from the Municipal Cultural Corporation (CCM) of Valdivia.

Memory and Rescue

The echoes of the earthquake on May 22, 1960, the largest ever recorded in human history, along with the subsequent tsunami, continue to resonate strongly in the collective memory of southern Chile.

In this context, the new publication aims to rescue and disseminate an intangible heritage that now risks being lost: memories, anecdotes, curiosities, and little-known or outright forgotten facts surrounding the catastrophe that forever changed the country’s history—and specifically that of the southern provinces.

Featuring a format of brief, accessible chronicles with straightforward and enjoyable texts, the book presents 100 stories ranging from nearly unknown episodes—such as the «lagomoto» that affected Bariloche—to forgotten gestures of international solidarity, like the tea sent from India or thousands of ponchos shipped from Mexico that no one remembers seeing.

It also raises questions that still pique curiosity: What was the mayor of Valdivia doing the afternoon of the quake? Why did some believe the earthquake was caused by nuclear tests in Patagonia? How did panic unfold at sea during the tsunami that followed the seismic event?

With these chronicles, we hope to bridge the gap between living memory, new generations, and the survivors themselves, integrating testimonies, archives, and knowledge to understand what happened since May 22, 1960, illuminate a moment that transformed southern Chile, and reveal historical, human, and territorial footprints that still endure, concluded Daniel Navarrete.

The Citizen

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