Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  April 26, 2009
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March 15, 2009 Former Bodyguard and Political Prisoner Bruno Serrano Shares a Harrowing Firsthand Account of Chile’s Coup d’État
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Chilean writer, filmmaker, former bodyguard, and activist Bruno Serrano (Photo: Matsunami Shizue)
Bruno Serrano’s eyes still glow with pride when he talks about Salvador Allende, the former president of Chile who was assassinated in 1974. “He was so powerful and energetic,” Mr Serrano remembered as he told Peace Boat participants about his life as President Allende’s bodyguard in the 1970s. “He was my hero.” President Allende was unique among the world’s leaders at the time; he was a heartfelt Socialist and good friends with Che Guevara, the leader of the bloody Cuban Revolution, but he strongly believed that effective socialism could only be achieved through solid democratic support. Instead of forcing his way into the presidency, President Allende won the people’s vote with his policies of redistributing land to poor workers, nationalizing foreign-owned mines operating in Chile, and providing freer access to health services for the lower classes. “What we saw in Allende was the power he had to create a nation based on equality and justice,” said Mr Serrano. He, along with several other university students, were driven by their loyalty to President Allende and their hope in Chile’s “moment of change” to become the president’s bodyguards.
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The ruthless dictator Augusto Pinochet, who imprisoned Mr Serrano after the coup (Photo: Encarta Encyclopedia, Arias Francisco/SIPA)
It was neither an easy nor a natural job. Most of the volunteer bodyguards were unskilled labourers or university students like Mr Serrano, majoring in philosophy and arts. “We learned how to use weapons and guns, how to protect our President,” he said. At 26, Mr Serrano was the oldest of the motley group, earning the nickname of “the Old Man” from the other bodyguards—some of whom were still in their teens. What they lacked in years, they made up for in eagerness. They refused to leave the President unprotected, staying up all hours of the night as the endlessly energetic Allende pored over documents and held meetings at his home. Their loyalty and ability was soon put to the test on the day of September 11, 1974, when the Presidential Palace was surrounded by military tanks under the command of Augusto Pinochet. Whether Allende committed suicide, as the Chilean government still maintains, or he was assassinated, as just about everyone else maintains, he did not survive the attacks that day.
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Mr Serrano tells his story (Photo: Matsunami Shizue)
The coup d’état led by Pinochet, a former friend and alleged supporter of Allende, was the defining betrayal of the era, and it kicked off a ripple effect of countless other betrayals. Mr Serrano himself was seriously endangered by one such betrayal immediately after the coup, when he was thrown into prison for being a supporter of Allende. In the prison—which was actually the city stadium converted into a holding pen, the regular prison unable to withstand Pinochet’s overzealous punishments—a former friend and ally of Mr Serrano was led around by guards. His head covered with a dark hood, the man walked the floor, silently pointing at men he recognized as being helpers of Allende. The accused men were wordlessly led away by the guards. The implication of torture and death was obvious. Terrified, Mr Serrano made his way to the very back of the stadium, hoping they would not have time to make their way to him. His plan worked. Once the traitor and the guards retired for the day, Mr Serrano was able to escape by jumping over the stadium’s fence into an area of men being held for questioning due to minor offenses. He had been in the prison for two months at that point. When the guards brought him in for questioning with the other men, they didn’t recognize him, thanks to his newly acquired beard and filthy clothes. He was released. For the next eight years of Pinochet’s dictatorship, Bruno Serrano would live on the run, participating in the resistance while trying to protect his wife and children.
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The indigenous Quechua of Peru, from whose language the word “Chile” comes from (Photo: Encarta Encyclopedia, Diego Lezama Orezzoli/Corbis)
Today, the Government of Chile has cleansed itself from the torture and murders that marked Pinochet’s iron reign. Mr Serrano is as patriotic as ever, and continues to work with the less fortunate citizens of Chile, with whom President Allende felt a kinship decades ago. Mr Serrano is currently working with others to establish a school called Intercultural Mapuche Kindergarten to benefit children of the Mapuche indigenous tribe. The aim of the kindergarten is to integrate indigenous teaching methods and values with the currently standard Western methods, in the hopes that children will learn how to succeed in today’s societies without losing their indigenous identities. “They base their education on two very important values: How to be a hardworking person, and honesty,” said Mr Serrano. “Another [value] is the importance of family and the respect of the elders as bearers of wisdom.” Although President Allende is gone and, in the eyes of many, never received the respect of a clear verdict on the cause of his death, Mr Serrano continues to work with the long-ignored indigenous groups of Chile in order to carry on Allende’s vision of “justice and equality.”
Guest Educator Profile
 Bruno Serrano, Poet, Filmmaker, and Activist
 Born in 1943, Mr Serrano took university courses in Arts, Theater, and Philosophy at Chile University. He was a member of the official guard of late Chilean President Salvador Allende and was held under custody as a political prisoner after his assassination. Mr Serrano has organized various workshops directed at supporting marginalized communities, former political prisoners, students, and children of of victims of the former military dictatorship. Currently, he is a part of the Board of President Salvador Allende’s Surviving Guards Group. He has also been highly recognized as a gifted writer since the late 1970s, writing poetry and essays on various topics. Furthermore, he directed the documentary series The Indians of the Future as a visual testimony of the indigenous populations inhabiting Chile, with whom he has been working closely since 2000. He received various awards in the 1980s for his work and his outspoken stand against the military dictatorship and in favor of human rights.