MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile documents its Antarctica roots for bicentennial celebrations

Gabriel Gonzalez Videla, the first head of state of any country to visit Antarctica

A documentary “Antarctica Secreta” (Secret Antarctica) which explores and promises abundant evidence of Chile’s long established roots in Antarctica, dating back to over a hundred years, is expected to be ready for its launching August next year, on time for the country’s bicentennial celebrations.

An engineer with filming experience, Rodrigo Gonzales Fourcade, and a publicist Gonzalez Uslar, have been working for a year and a half on the project collecting information of Chile’ s links with Antarctica and next November will be sailing on board icebreaker Almirante Oscar Viel to further advance by visiting the different Chilean outposts in Antarctica.

Not only have they been searching in archives and in the Naval and Maritime Museum but they have also interviewed some of the members of the first Chilean Antarctic expedition, and are currently staying in Punta Arenas which is the official gateway to Antarctica “and full of evidence of those close links”.

The project includes pictures and films as far back as early last century plus digital recreations and virtual animations of some of the original bases set up by the Chileans and now abandoned or in recess; similarly, with the early vessels used by Chilean explorers and Chilean Navy to sail along the Antarctic continent.

“As the country closest to Antarctica we have a long history of links going back to the time of the Spaniards and even the first foreign recognition of Chilean sovereignty in the area: this happened in 1890 when a Norwegian whaler formally requested authorization to hunt along Decepcion Island (King George island)”, revealed González.

He also mentioned the epic rescue by Chilean Piloto Pardo on board the tug Yelcho of the frustrated expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton at the turn of last century and more recently a little known incident with the British who in 1952 dismantled a Chilean refuge “in a rather bellicose attitude” before the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.

A Chilean president, Gabriel Gonzalez Videla was also the first leader of a country to visit Antarctica. The visit took place in the late forties.

Following the summer trip to Antarctica the project should be finished and ready to be screened in August next year, “to confirm and consolidate Chile’s long established links with the Antarctic continent”.

The project is privately financed. Gonzalez and Uslar are well known as documentary producers having earned praise and recognition for their work on Chile’s first submarine, “Flach”, dating back to 1866 and which rests in the sea floor of the Valparaiso bay.