ABOUT

CONTEXT

Between 1973 and 1985 there was a military dictatorship in Uruguay. As a result, 197 citizens were detained and disappeared. The ‘March of Silence’ has been held since 1996, claiming for truth and justice for every one of them.

The march of silence is carried out in absolute silence, except for one moment: the cry of "present" that all the assistants say at the exact same time, when they hear the name of each one of the 197 disappeared being broadcasted over the loudspeakers.

IDEA

Introducing: I Say Present. An initiative so that the cry of "Present" of each person who participates in the march can be heard, despite not being able to do it in person due to the pandemic.

EXECUTION

We set up a special phone number, so that people could submit their "Present" message as a voice note via whatsapp, and using all the messages we received, we digitally recreated a unique track.

Then, through loudspeakers placed along where the march would take place, we broadcasted the names of each of the 197 disappeared, followed by the shout of "Presente" from over 40,000 people, who sent their messages.