In the Midst of Winter

Lucia tells the others about her marriage with Carlos Urzua. When she had returned to Chile in 1990 for the first time since her departure from the country, she found that the place she had known since birth had transformed greatly after its period of political repression. She found a job as a TV producer and was looking to write a book about the disappearance of those under political suspicion during Chile’s dictatorship, which included her brother, Enrique. She sought the help of Carlos, a lawyer who had collaborated with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the issue of the “disappeared” (169). When she met Carlos, she was immediately attracted to him even though he was fifteen years older. She explained that her connection to the issue of the disappeared was a “personal one” (170). When she became emotional thinking about Enrique, Carlos talked with her at length and promised her access to his archive materials. He accompanied her home where they proceeded to drink and sleep together.

While Carlos never contacted Lucia again, she returned to his office three months later to announce that she was pregnant with his child. He demanded a paternity test, which she provided and confirmed that the child she bore was his.