Talk to the dead via Twitter

The Kiss of Death is the most famous sculpture in the Poblenou cemetery, where the neoclassical and modernist mausoleums and small temples of the 19th and early 20th century Barcelona bourgeoisie compete in opulence and artistic quality. Located in another more modern sector, the mausoleums and pantheons of gypsy families also stand out, equally luxurious, but definitely far from the sobriety of the former.

A few weeks ago I was in the Poblenou cemetery for the first time. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and there was practically no one. Alive, I mean. A handful of tourists who were looking, precisely, for the Kiss of Death and some parents who were trying to make their children understand, with little success, that the cemetery is not a place to ride bikes and scooters.

I thought that, nowadays, most of us only go to cemeteries for cultural visits, like going to a museum: Père Lachaise, Arlington, Prague Jewish cemetery, Chacarita... This means that we no longer need to go to feel close to our dead. To let them know that we remember them and love them.

Most of us only go to cemeteries for cultural visits, like going to a museum: Père Lachaise, Arlington, Prague Jewish cemetery, Chacarita... This means that we no longer need to go to feel close to our dead

Perhaps it's a coincidence, but lately, I've read several messages on Twitter from people addressing their deceased through the network. I remember, for example, the tweet from a girl who was saying goodbye to her grandmother, who died at 96, and thanked her for having taken care of her as a child. Also, that of a father who wrote to his teenage son on the anniversary of his death to tell him that, wherever he was, he should know that he and his mother had not forgotten him. Often, these types of messages are accompanied by a photograph of the deceased: the grandmother blowing out the candles on her last birthday cake, the smiling son that summer when it seemed he had his whole life ahead of him...

As a Twitter user, I confess that these types of messages give me a bit of anxiety. I have the feeling that it's not my place to read such heartfelt words, and when I do, I feel like I'm eavesdropping on an intimate and private conversation, even though it's not at all. Whoever tweets something like this must know perfectly well that all their followers will read it and that, if one of them shares it, who knows how many more people it will reach.

Perhaps it's a coincidence, but lately, I've read several messages on Twitter from people addressing their deceased loved ones through the network

When social networks appeared in the mid-nineties, no one imagined that in addition to helping us make friends, do business, or flirt, they would also allow us to talk to the dead.In fact, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, as the years go by, are also becoming immense cemeteries

El presidente de la República, Gabriel Boric, se refirió este lunes a la conmemoración de los 50 años del golpe de Estado, que se cumplirá el próximo 11 de septiembre, y a la polémica que se ha generado en torno a la fecha.

En ese contexto, el Mandatario hizo un llamado a “no empatar las responsabilidades” y a “no falsear la historia”.

“No es aceptable que se falsee la historia, que se relativicen o se justifiquen violaciones a los derechos humanos, o que se empaten las responsabilidades entre quienes fueron víctimas y victimarios”, dijo Boric en un acto en el Palacio de La Moneda.

El jefe de Estado también se refirió a la propuesta de algunos sectores de la oposición de firmar una declaración conjunta con el oficialismo, en la que se condene el golpe de Estado y se valore la democracia.

Al respecto, Boric señaló que “no es el momento de buscar acuerdos mínimos, sino de avanzar en la construcción de una memoria compartida que nos permita mirar el futuro con esperanza”.

“No se trata de imponer una verdad oficial, sino de reconocer los hechos tal como ocurrieron, de condenar las violaciones a los derechos humanos y de valorar la democracia como el único camino para resolver nuestras diferencias”, agregó.

El Presidente Boric también hizo un llamado a la unidad y a la reflexión, y a “no caer en la tentación de la polarización y la división”.

“Chile es un país que ha sabido levantarse de sus tragedias, y estoy seguro de que esta vez no será la excepción”, concluyó.