Carlos Motta’s (b. 1978 in Bogotá; lives in New York, NY) video Memory of a Protest (2007) documents a 2006 protest organized by Chilean human rights organization Kamarikun in Santiago, Chile, against the country’s participation in the School of the Americas. It is part of SOA CYCLE (2005–07), a series of installations and video works by Motta that take the School of the Americas (SOA) as subject matter. Founded in the Panama Canal Zone in 1946 before its relocation to Fort Benning, GA, SOA was a US Army center where Latin American soldiers were trained in military strategies, counterinsurgency techniques, and other combat skills. After increased criticism over SOA alumni’s participation in human rights violations and their support for military dictatorships, the program was renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and its funding was reduced.
