Traditional «Fiesta de los Abrazos» Kicks Off in Recoleta

With a call to build a «National Movement for Peace» in the face of imperialist aggression, the traditional Fiesta de los Abrazos (FDLA) was inaugurated this morning at the «Leonel Sánchez» Popular Stadium in Recoleta.

The event, organized by the Delia del Carril Foundation and summoned by the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), will extend over the weekend until Sunday, January 11, bringing together art, political debate, gastronomy, and popular music.

History and Origin: A Clandestine Embrace That Became Massively Popular

The Fiesta de los Abrazos originated in the shadows of the military dictatorship in 1988, under the name «Art, Science and Culture Festival for Democracy.» It served as a space for reunion and resistance for political exiles and persecuted individuals. In 1991, it adopted its current name, influenced by the need for collective affection and strength, and the legacy of the historical leader Gladys Marín.

From the early years, where gatherings faced interruptions from repression, it evolved into a massive annual celebration at O’Higgins Park, symbolizing unity, hope, and the reclaiming of public space.

2026 Edition in Recoleta: Memory and Participation

In a setting themed around «struggle for peace and against imperialist aggression,» the 2026 edition takes place at the Recoleta Stadium (Av. Recoleta 3005), with entry priced at $8,000 per day. The programming includes political-social forums, the traditional «Art and Literature Tent,» a gastronomic showcase, crafts, and daily high-tech artistic performances.

Among the inaugural speakers were Recoleta’s mayor, Fares Jadue, former minister and presidential candidate Jeannette Jara, and the party’s president, Lautaro Carmona.

Musical highlights include performances this Saturday from Carmen Prieto, Calle Mambo, and La Sonora del Pueblo, followed by Santo Barrio, Camiseta 22, and Banda Conmoción on Sunday.

[Watch video of the inaugural event and full speeches]

Lautaro Carmona’s Speech: An Urgent Call for Peace and Unity

During the inaugural event, PCCh president Lautaro Carmona delivered a heartfelt and extensive speech. He commemorated the clandestine origins of the festival and honored former leaders such as Luis Corvalán and Gladys Marín. Central to his address was a vigorous condemnation of the «American military aggression» against Venezuela, labeling the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores as an act that «has put global peace in serious jeopardy.» He called for a broad movement for peace, expressed solidarity with Cuba, and warned against threats to the sovereignty of peoples.

Regarding national politics, Carmona pointed out that, following the presidential election defeat, the PCCh will adopt a «critical and constructive opposition» to the next government. He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to social demands such as stable jobs, dignified housing, and justice, and urged for broad social and political unity «without excluding anyone,» respecting the autonomy of social movements. He concluded by honoring the martyrs of the anti-fascist struggle and emphasizing the need to defend democracy, social justice, and sovereignty.

Watch the complete speech:

INAUGURATION OF THE FIESTA DE LOS ABRAZOS JANUARY 10 and 11, 2026

Lautaro Carmona’s Address.

Reading

Dear compañeras and compañeros, friends and honored guests who enhance our celebration:

Receive each of you a committed embrace, with the determination to continue contributing to the struggle for a better future.

Best wishes to all in 2026, from this fiesta of embraces that has an important tradition built over almost four decades. It seems distant that January of ’87 when various cassette radios were set up simultaneously in the lagoon area of O’Higgins Park, some amplifying with megaphones, and the Internationale, the anthem of the world’s workers, began to play followed by a recording with greetings from compañero Corvalán, who was in hiding in Chile.

But at the first shouts: «AND WHAT WAS IT, AND WHAT WAS IT. HERE WE ARE AGAIN!» a repressive deployment fell without consideration for the elderly or the children organized by the pioneers who were forming a train.

Then came ’88 at the Marianista Stadium in San Miguel, January ’89 at the Santa Laura stadium where Gladys emerged from hiding claiming her legality. ’90 in Forestal Park and ’91 in O’Higgins Park.

I take this opportunity to remember those who historically led our party, referencing compañero Luis Corvalán, Volodia Teitelboim, compañera Gladys Marín, and compañero Guillermo Teillier. Our utmost recognition; they are present in every battle the Party and the Youth fight.

The communists gathered to celebrate the Party’s anniversary, which referenced January 2, 1922, the date of the fourth congress of the POS that decided to assume the name of the Communist Party of Chile. Therefore, we joined the celebration of the New Year with the anniversary of January 2, to embrace our people and deliver our message of struggle, hope, solidarity, and deep ethical convictions. The boldness of holding the fiesta de los abrazos defied the dictatorship and its cruel and inhumane repression, carrying deep significance:

To fight for public spaces where the Communist Party reclaimed its birth, its struggle to end fascism, its identity, and its origin; and defied illegality, persecution, exile, torture, and death.

Thus, we called upon a public space, in a park.

Families and party members began to sing and embrace.

And we resisted…. It is part of the history of this fiesta de los abrazos.

It is essential, to build hope, to always remember the past; this is not a waste of time, but rather a means to build the future.

Compañeras and compañeros, friends:

Today, as it was before, we express our main concern for what is happening in the world, in our Humanity. This value is rooted in internationalism, characteristic of communists.

In our recent Central Committee plenary meeting, before year-end, after making a first political assessment of the parliamentary and presidential elections, we shared an opinion and deepened our analysis about world events, including the American military aggression against Venezuela and our entire region.

That same weekend, during our plenary, the Communist Party issued a public declaration condemning the aggression and expressing full solidarity with Venezuela and its government.

We stated in the tenth plenary «The current and future situation of our country is inseparable from the dynamic, tense, and deeply contradictory context that traverses the world. Neoliberal capitalism now faces a structural crisis that it can no longer manage through traditional mechanisms, increasingly resorting to militarism, open intervention, and imposing a single thought to restore conservatism, undermine international law, and apply unilateral sanctions and blockades as a means of overcoming its own weaknesses.»

On January 1 of this year, at our traditional Caldillo Nerudiano, we continued to alert about this situation, stating that the empire’s aggression towards Venezuela could not be separated from the terrible genocide in Gaza, which continues; the military aggressions against Iran; against Cuba; Mexico; Colombia; and Denmark; in short.

This blatant, hateful, and supremacist aggression, HAS DEFINITELY PUT WORLD PEACE IN DANGER. The U.S., along with its close NATO allies and the Israeli government, seeks to impose global hegemony based on force; violence; crime; over the United Nations; international law; dialogue; and the sovereignty and independence of nations.

And circumstances have intensified further in that direction.

The empire entered blood and fire into the territory and dependencies of the Venezuelan state and government to abduct Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, a historical fighter in that country. Now, shamelessly claiming that the matter is not drug trafficking, acknowledging that the Cartel of the Suns doesn’t exist, but is a psychological warfare invention, reminiscent of Plan Z before the coup in Chile, the focus is on the oil and natural riches of our sister nation. And it continues to threaten with new armed actions, questioning the Bolivarian institutionality, and it is unclear how the same leadership now headed by Delsi Rodriguez continues to function in the country.

Today the Venezuelan oil, tomorrow the copper and lithium of Chile, and then the riches of each country may be next. They are returning to the imperial Monroe Doctrine: America for Americans. The dignity of the peoples demands we deepen and widen unity to confront this criminal challenge.

More than one hundred people have already been killed, and no one dares to substantiate what the U.S. President claims, that the boats used to attack could have been linked to drug trafficking.

They have killed dozens of heroic Venezuelan military personnel and Cuban fighters who paid with their lives for their duty.

Let us solemnly evoke the heroism of those who lost their lives, including 32 Cubans who fell in an unequal fight. Honor and Glory to each one of them.

Civilians have also been killed, including an eighty-year-old woman, an elder..

Dear compañeras and compañeros:

With your permission, allow me to direct a few lines to the militants of the Party and our beloved Jota Jota. Addressing from the newest member to the one who has given their entire life, who with honesty and generous selflessness strives to be better, to contribute more to the struggles of the people.

We are conscious that our strength lies in fraternal, frank, honest, and respectful debate, that is, an intense exchange of ideas, but once synthesized, we all have the humility to implement the policies collectively approved.

We must grow both qualitatively and quantitatively, which is why we call for a campaign to increase the number of members and ongoing training sessions for the development of cadres at all levels.

We are motivated by the legacy left to us by each and every one of those who fell fighting and giving their lives for the noble ideals of communism.

Now more than ever, we embrace the legacy of Recabarren, Teresa Flores, Gladys, Neruda, Gabriela, Violeta; of Victor, Ramona Parra; Lautaro, Fresia, Caupolicán, and Galvarino; of our anonymous martyrs throughout the history of the Party, who bequeathed us the emancipatory projects born with the masses, in their realities; in their territories; in their intimate spaces of existence.

This is the first Fiesta de los Abrazos in which we will not have the participation of Patricio Zuñiga Jorquera, our friend, the great Tomy Rey. He will always be present in every celebration we convene.

FOR PEACE, FRIENDSHIP, AND SOLIDARITY AMONG PEOPLES.

FOR POLITICAL SOLUTIONS TO RESOLVE DIFFERENCES AND CONFLICTS BETWEEN COUNTRIES.

FOR URGENT AND JUST SOCIAL RIGHTS FOR OUR PEOPLE.

WITH ALL THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY. FOR CHILE AND ITS FUTURE.

WE WILL OVERCOME A THOUSAND TIMES!.