Documenting Diaspora,Diasporising Memory: Memory and Mediation among Chilean and Uruguayan Hijxs del exilio

Addressing the absence of second-generation exiles from Southern Cone post-dictatorship memory scholarship, this paper compares two documentaries: Hora Chilena, about the British-Chilean community and Tus padres volverán, depicting Uruguayan exiles across Europe – both made by and/or about the no retornadxs (those who did not return to their countries of origin after dictatorship). The paper deploys documentary to offer a nuanced depiction of the hijxs del exilio (children of exile), finding them to be distinct to both the protagonist generation and their second-generation peers in the Southern Cone. By incorporating neglected voices and reframing post-dictatorship memory in Europe, the paper challenges memory narratives about second-generation exile.