Rising to the small screen

Jun 20, 2023 | News | 0 comments

Tags: ALMA

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For the past couple of years, ALMA’s Education and Public Outreach (EPO) team, together with Vectorial Production Company (author of “The Rebirth of a Giant”), has been working on the series “En Busca de Nuestros Orígenes” (In Search of Our Origins), a documentary-style production that tells the story of young Atacameño people who want to learn about the mysteries of the Universe while at the same time delving into their local culture.

The goal is to record nine 45-minute chapters, always starring a young Atacameño, boy or girl, who acts as a hinge between these two worlds that inhabit the same territory: on the one hand, they learn about the knowledge of their grandparents or “wise men and women” from their communities, and on the other, what is discovered with the most powerful radio telescope on the planet.

“For ALMA it is key to show how ancestral culture and modern vision are mixed in the same territory, where we are located,” says Danilo Vidal, our Public Relations Officer. “That’s why we came up with this project and began to support the development of the scripts, character identification and then the pilot documentary that we are about to release,” adds Valeria Foncea, our EPO Manager.

Its first chapter is already finished and will premiere this Thursday at 10 pm on the public cultural channel NTV. And then it will be available on our website and social networks. With the pilot of this audiovisual project, ALMA will celebrate its 10 years of existence with the neighboring communities, where we hope to premiere it on a giant screen soon, at least in San Pedro de Atacama and Toconao.

On this occasion, José Gallardo, Science Archive Content Manager, who has been working with us for 10 years, will be seen, and he was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this science outreach project: “The experience was super nice. I am in love with human experiences, so for me it is a very relevant thing, that I can teach them some things and they also give me a lot. It was very enriching to learn a little more about the lives of all the people there, their visions, and also to share with the team,” adds José.
During the chapter José makes contact with Marianh Torrijos, a 15 year old Atacameño girl who studies at the Toconao school. Marianh connects the learnings of our observatory and those of Margarita Chocobar, an Atacameño folklorist and culturist.

“I think it is a very good project, because it unites the ancestral way of seeing the Universe of the Lickanantay people, and all the Atacameño culture behind it, with the experience and more professional vision of the ALMA observatory workers”. With this enthusiasm Marianh tells of her experience, who besides enjoying the opportunity, assures that she has learned as much about our observatory as about her own customs: “I learned many things. For example, what the inside of an ALMA observatory antenna looks like, and also the valuable meaning of the sky, the Universe, and how important it is for the Lickanantay culture and for all of us,” says Marianh.

This Chapter 1 of the series will serve as a pilot to show to other possible sources of financing and to apply jointly with TVN to the National Television Council (CNTV) 2023, in search of the funds that need to be raised.

The Audiovisual Development Fund of the Ministry of Culture and the Arts has already contributed 13.4 million pesos to this project, and the support of TVN who will broadcast the series through its cultural signal NTV. Don’t miss it! And send us your comments.

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