Melia's Legacy

Melia's Legacy follows three generations of the Arandu family from Paraguay and the United States as they weave their way through the 35 year Stroessner dictatorship and its aftermath. During the Stronato, egregious acts of Genocide towards the Guarani people were perpetrated by Paraguay and actively contributed to by the West, specifically the United States. Dictators from multiple South American countries sought to suppress or eliminate anyone that came between them and their...
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Melia's Legacy follows three generations of the Arandu family from Paraguay and the United States as they weave their way through the 35 year Stroessner dictatorship and its aftermath. During the Stronato, egregious acts of Genocide towards the Guarani people were perpetrated by Paraguay and actively contributed to by the West, specifically the United States. Dictators from multiple South American countries sought to suppress or eliminate anyone that came between them and their economic interests all the while the US continued to support Stroessner. Their support disappeared when they could no longer feign ignorance after the genocidal acts became known to the world. One of the most influential voices that decried these acts of Genocide was that of Jesuit Anthrpologist Bartomeu Melia who tirelessly spent his life growing in his understanding of the Guarani people and advocating for them while noone else would. Melia and the Arandu family present a story of the attempted destruction of the indigenous peoples of Paraguay and the ongoing struggles to create meaning in the midst of devastating loss of family, of language, and of connection to the land.