I want a clear enemy who is fit to curse and curse
And soldiers cheer for their return
Defeated or victorious
And martyrs, not victims
And an anthem
And a memorial...
I want a place in the heart of the country to comment on
A memorial photo of a family that did not survive death
I leave the task of pinning medals of honor on the chest of the tyrant to war.
I want a war that resembles a war
And an enemy is the enemy, without a mask, from the clay of this earth
And a poem I write in praise of the fighter
Not in Venetian satire!
I want to write grass,
The grass that will grow on the iron of the cannons!
Under the roof of a modest hostel in a poor neighborhood in the Chilean capital, a strange group of guests meets, including workers, trade unionists, students, traffic police, and performance artists. Let them all witness the last days of the rule of the Popular Union headed by Salvador Allende, before the bloody coup led by General Pinochet took place and changed the history of Chile forever. Thus, this hostel turns into something similar to an operations room through which some Chilean leftists try to protect the socialist government and stand up to fascism. And among all of them, Arturo, the braggart and virginal football player, coming from the south to the capital, and burdened with dreams of fame and unsatisfied desires, tries to discover himself and determine his position on everything that is happening around him.
“I Dreamed That the Snow Was Burning” is the first novel by Chilean writer Antonio Scarmeta, and one of his most important works. In it, the features of a special, diverse style are established in terms of rhythms and narrative techniques, in which imagination blends with reality, and in which sarcastic humor alleviates the harshness of dramatic events. The book is a living document of the dialogues, conflicts, and popular mood that prevailed in Chile at the most pivotal moments in its history.
