# Un duelo. Un libro. Un nido | Carolina Anfibia | TEDxYouth@Usaquén

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ew7kCQHEkU
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/-ew7kCQHEkU
Generated: 2026-03-03T17:07:24.197+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Carolina Anfibia shares a deeply personal story about confronting the inherited trauma of her mother's forced disappearance during Colombia's conflict, using her creative project "Retratos Vivos de Mamá" as a means to process grief, reclaim memory, and foster connection across generations.

**Key Points:**
- The presentation centers on Carolina Anfibia's project, "Retratos Vivos de Mamá" (Living Portraits of Mom), which explores the impact of her mother's forced disappearance when Carolina was 13.
- Anfibia discusses the concept of 'magical realism' in her work, using the image of a dead bird transforming into a nest to symbolize life emerging from loss (00:27).
- The project is a transmedia literary endeavor encompassing workshops, talks, an unpublished novel, a digital novel, and a fanzine.
- She recounts the difficulty of processing the 'maternal wound' and the collective, inherited trauma carried by daughters (2:35, 4:50).
- Anfibia describes her artistic process of confronting memories, including images of her mother and family, which forced her to confront the 'abyss' of loss and the need for self-reconciliation (3:38, 4:44).
- The presentation concludes with an image of a hummingbird feeding its young, representing resilience and the possibility of life renewing itself despite the enduring pain (14:53).

![Screenshot at 00:09: Carolina Anfibia's introductory slide featuring illustrations representing the core themes: herself \(Fig. 1\), a typewriter growing flowers \(Fig. 2\), and a suitcase of memories \(Fig. 3\), setting the tone for a narrative blending reality and imagination.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-00-09.jpg)

**Context:** This TEDxYouth@Usaquén talk features Carolina Anfibia sharing her journey of healing and artistic creation following the forced disappearance of her mother in Colombia. Anfibia developed a transmedia project called "Retratos Vivos de Mamá" to process the profound grief, the societal silence surrounding forced disappearances, and the intergenerational trauma affecting daughters. The presentation uses strong visual metaphors, like the transformation of a dead bird into a nest, to illustrate themes of loss, resilience, and memory recovery.

## Detailed Analysis

Carolina Anfibia delivers a narrative centered on her experience coping with the forced disappearance of her mother when Anfibia was 13 years old. She frames her process through the lens of 'Magical Realism' (00:04), where the real and the impossible coexist. She opens with the stark image of a dead bird (00:27), stating that even in death, something remains, symbolizing the enduring presence of the lost. Anfibia shares that her mother's death, due to a degenerative illness, marked the beginning of a profound, radical shift in her life and her relationship with her mother (1:54). This personal crisis led her to create the project "Retratos Vivos de Mamá" (RVM), a multi-platform literary endeavor involving workshops, talks, an unpublished novel, and a digital novel (11:50). She emphasizes that this work is about confronting the 'maternal wound'—the inherited pain, secrets, and silence imposed by a patriarchal culture (2:15, 4:55). By going through her mother's belongings (10:37), she confronts the pain and seeks to 'reconfigure' her memory, allowing her to find connection and self-reconciliation (12:22). The narrative suggests that this confrontation leads to the recognition and embrace between the living and the absent (13:28). The presentation concludes with a powerful image of a hummingbird feeding its young in a nest (14:53), symbolizing that even after trauma and loss, life can renew itself through creation and gratitude toward art (13:50).

### Introduction and Theme

- Un duelo. Un libro. Un nido.
- Metaphor of the dead bird transforming into a nest
- Introduction of the transmedia project "Retratos Vivos de Mamá" (RVM)

### The Maternal Wound

- Confronting the 'abyss' of loss after mother's disappearance at age 13
- Discussion of inherited trauma and societal silence
- The need to reconcile the physical absence with emotional presence

### The Artistic Response

- Creation of RVM as a multi-platform project (workshops, talks, digital novel, book)
- Using literature and art to process grief and transform pain
- The narrative grows through encountering family artifacts and memories (10:37)

### Conclusion and Resilience

- The image of the hummingbird nest symbolizes life renewing itself from devastation
- Finding a path to growth and self-acceptance through confronting the wound

![Screenshot at 00:09: Title slide for the TEDx Youth@Usaquén talk, featuring the theme "Realismo Mágico" and an illustrative bird.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-00-09.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:27: The slide showing a black and white photo of a crushed bird, illustrating the theme of death and presence \("Está ahí"\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-00-27.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:35: A photo of the speaker's mother sitting at her desk, captioned "aparente desaparición" and "recuperarla," central to the speaker's narrative.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-01-35.jpg)
![Screenshot at 08:55: The screen displaying the RVM project structure, including sections like "Cuarto Oscuro" and "Revelado," showing the transmedia nature of the work.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-08-55.jpg)
![Screenshot at 14:53: A close-up photograph of a hummingbird chick in a nest, used as a metaphor for resilience and renewal after profound loss.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/-ew7kCQHEkU/00-14-53.jpg)