Isabel Letelier
Chilean sculptor, author, and human rights activist. Formerly with the Institute of Policy Studies, Letelier founded the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards following the 1978 murder in Washington D.C. of her husband Orlando Letelier who had served as Chilean ambassador to the U.S. with the Allende government.

 

Ariel Dorfman
Chilean author, journalist, and human rights activist. Born in Argentina, he grew up in New York City and Santiago de Chile. Dorfman, a former professor at the University of
Chile, was forced into exile in 1973 after the military coup and now teaches at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

 

  Isabel Allende
Chilean novelist and journalist. After leaving Chile in 1974, Allende worked as a journalist in Venezuela. In the U.S. since 1985, Allende is the author of 11 books, which have been widely translated. She is a lecturer and teacher of international acclaim. She resides in Northern California.

Rene Castro
Chilean visual artist, photographer, curator, and teacher. In 1975, Castro was forced into exile in the U.S. from Chile after his two-year detention in Chile’s infamous concentration camps. Since then, his designs have been featured on CDs and albums of U2, Mercedes Sosa, Inti Illimani, Quilapyun, Carlos Santana, Ruben Blades and others.

 

Joan Jara
British author, former ballerina, and partner of the late Chilean singer-composer Victor Jara. She founded the Victor Jara Foundation in Chile to promote the work of Victor Jara. The Foundation, located in Santiago, has the most extensive archive on Victor Jara's life, including recordings, books, newspaper clips, video tapes, photographs, and posters.