“The memory of the butterflies” interview with the director Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski

February 17, 2025

Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski, director of The memory of the butterflies explores the history of the colonial rubber trade in Latin America through the story of a recovered old photo of two Indigenous men

"The memory of the butterflies" interview with the director Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski Cristiana Palmieri

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Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski‘s documentary “The Memory of Butterflies“, was inspired by a photograph of two Indigenous men, Omarino and Aredomi, who were taken to London around the early 20th century to be “civilized.” This image prompted her to explore their story and the broader impact of the colonial rubber trade in Latin America.

In her research, Sadowski faced challenges in uncovering this complex history, particularly in deconstructing official narratives.

Engaging with Indigenous communities in Peru, she shared the photograph and documented their reactions, which significantly influenced the documentary’s direction.

Through this film, Sadowski aims to recover lost stories from the rubber boom era, offering a counter-history to colonial narratives.

Plot

Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski found her attention grabbed by an old photo of two Indigenous men: taken to London to be “civilised” around the turn of the 20th century, their names were known, but little else – Omarino and Aredomi. Sadowski felt compelled to dig deeper into the past. LA MEMORIA DE LAS MARIPOSAS deconstructs the official history of the extractive, colonial rubber trade of the late 19th and early 20th century in Latin America. Using black-and-white, hand-processed Super 8 imagery that could almost pass for the extensively researched and meticulously worked archival footage and historical photographs it cuts into and challenges, the film proposes a counter-history of the colonial project, one in which Sadowski self-reflexively questions her own position as filmmaker. Going beyond the archive, Sadowski shares the photo with the Indigenous peoples of Peru today, the descendants of Omarino and Aredomi, and films their interventions. A powerful cinematic invocation, LA MEMORIA DE LAS MARIPOSAS seeks to recover lost and overlooked stories of a generation devastated by the rubber boom, providing space for the ghosts which break from official memory.

Written by: Cristiana Palmieri

Guest

Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski