Academic and activist Jim Levy narrates his father’s and his own deep connections with Latin America from the early to mid-twentieth century, detailing his scholarship and multiple extended stays in Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador and other countries. He also recounts his key contributions to solidarity committees and campaigns for Chile, Guatemala, and Nicaragua since the 1970s.

Prominent community leader Bruno Di Biase tells of his upbringing in Italy and his formative years in Venezuela. He also narrates his migration to Australia in 1971 and his long-standing solidarity activism for Latin America, which he has expressed through publications, campaigns, and his leadership of the musical group Bella Ciao (oral history in Spanish).

Musician Mario Rojas recounts his upbringing in Chile, his migration to Australia in 1971, his musical path, and his solidarity and cultural activism in Sydney’s Inner West for more than a decade. He also describes his move to Nicaragua in the mid-1980s and his return to Chile, where he became a key figure as performer and redeemer of popular and traditional Chilean music (oral history in Spanish).

Leading community activist Gerardo Díaz tells the story of his upbringing in El Salvador, and his work in nursing, unionism, and political organisation during the Salvadoran Civil War. He also reminisces his experience of surviving the October 1989 paramilitary bombing of a national union headquarters, a pivotal event that led to the insurgence’s final offensive and the peace accords that ended the war (oral history in Spanish).

Renowned community leader Paula Castro recounts her upbringing in Chile under the socialist government of Salvador Allende and her political activism during Pinochet’s dictatorship. She narrates her imprisonment in 1987 as a member of a local insurgency in northern Chile, her subsequent humanitarian asylum in Australia in 1988, and her long-standing solidarity activism based in Western Sydney (oral history in Spanish).

Academic and activist Peter Ross tells the story of his upbringing in Queensland, his Catholic religious vocation in the 1960s, and his political militancy in the 1970s. He also narrates his early connections with Latin America, which led him to participate in and lead multiple solidarity campaigns for Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador and other causes over several decades.

Musician Justo Díaz recounts his early life in central Argentina and his youth in Patagonia, describing how Latin American music profoundly influenced him and shaped his path. He also narrates the censorship and death threats he faced around the Argentinian 1976 military coup, which led to his migration to Australia in 1979 and his long musical career, as well as his cultural and solidarity activism (oral history in Spanish).

Key community leader Juan Campos tells the story of his upbringing in El Salvador, where his political conscience was shaped by Catholic activism in the 1960s and evolved into political militancy in the 1970s. Juan recounts his imprisonment by the military dictatorship during the Salvadoran Civil War in the early 1980s, his release from prison, and his urgent humanitarian asylum in Australia in 1983 (oral history in Spanish).

Leading community activist Víctor Hugo Muñoz narrates his life growing up in Guatemala and his advocacy work as a university student in the 1970s, when he campaigned for the Maya Indigenous population and peasant farmers. Víctor Hugo recounts the death threats he received due to his professional and solidarity work, his urgent escape to Mexico, and his humanitarian asylum in Australia in 1984 (oral history in Spanish).

Prominent community leader Gustavo Martin-Montenegro recounts his upbringing in southern Chile, his political role within Salvador Allende’s government in the 1970s, and his involvement in the agrarian reform program that ceded land rights for the Indigenous Mapuche people. Gustavo also narrates the 11 September 1973 coup d’état, his ensuing imprisonment under the civil-military dictatorship, and how he became one of the first Chilean refugees to receive asylum in Australia in January 1974 (oral history in Spanish).