Guapo’y review – the scars of Paraguay’s past revealed

Shattering documentary about inhabitants of the notorious Emboscada prison under Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship is a warning against a repeat

At once understated and emotionally shattering, Sofia Paoli Thorne’s documentary begins with an image of healing. The camera lingers on the back of a woman, as she applies herbal remedies to her back, flecked with faded scars. This, however, is no casual nighttime routine; now in her 60s, Celsa was once imprisoned in the notorious Emboscada prison, one of the concentration camps that existed during the reign of Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner.

Before Celsa had set foot inside Emboscada, her mother had already been imprisoned there. The reunion there was bittersweet, and devastating. At the time, Celsa was also pregnant with her son Derlis, who was later born at Emboscada. Her family history is thus inextricably bound to the horrors that the Stroessner’s regime inflicted on dissenting voices. Harrowing testimonies from Celsa and her mother speak of the scorching heat, unimaginable torture and cruel neglect. These vivid stories are heartbreaking, yet Thorne also juxtaposes them with the calm rhythm of Celsa’s daily life, where she carefully tends to her plants and gathers ingredients for herbal cures. Against all odds, the healing has begun.