Abstract

In this audio documentary, Mexican cultural promoter and sound artist Abraham Chavelas recounts rescue activities in which he took part after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Mexico on 19 September 2017. Answering a call for help, Chavelas was assigned to a collapsed factory where an unknown number of undocumented Asian and Central American women working as seamstresses were trapped under the rubble. For two days, he aided rescue efforts by using a high-tech microphone to help determine whether or not there was life under piles of concrete, glass and debris. Chavelas used the audio he gathered before the Mexican Marines arrived and prevented untrained emergency workers like himself from helping. Subsequently he organised it to create a cathartic homage to the real heroes of the catastrophe: people, not government officials.

Keywords: audio documentary, earthquake, Mexico City, rescue efforts, technology

How to Cite:

Robles, S., (2020) “Tools of Rescue: A Review of Silencio para rescatar: documental sonoro”, RadioDoc Review 6(1).