We interviewed Ítalo Hernández Ibacache, author of the book in homage to Sergio Tormen, a well-known cyclist arrested in 1974 and disappeared since then. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his detention by state agents. The launch of the book took place in the Velodrome of the National Stadium, where the Tormen brothers trained so many times. It was attended by a large part of the family, neighbours and friends, as well as the mayoress of Ñuñoa Emilia Ríos. It was an emotionally charged event, which even included a race in which his former cycling teammates took part.
Pressenza: What motivated you to write this book, given that you were still a child at the time of Sergio’s arrest?
I: I was only 3 years old when he was arrested, but the Tormen brothers (Richard and Sergio) were very well known cyclists in the neighbourhood (Isabel Riquelme) where we lived, and their arrest and subsequent disappearance along with his good friend Luis Guajardo was an event that affected us all. My old man was a follower of the Club Carvallo team and, as was to be expected, we were worried, and we kids felt it too.
P: Could you describe in a few words what happened on July 3 of 1974, 50 years ago now?
I: Luis passed by don Pedro Tormen’s bicycle workshop (father of the brothers) with a bag containing compromising documents, and asked Sergio to look after it because he was being followed. Shortly afterwards, plainclothes officers arrested him in the passageways of houses in the area, and returned to the workshop to also arrest Sergio (24 years old) and Peter (14 years old). Peter was released after having been detained in the torture centre at Londres 38. Luis and Sergio were never heard from again. Many years later, in 1987 and still under dictatorship, Peter Tormen won the cyclist competition Vuelta a Chile and dedicated his victory to his disappeared brother.
P: Was Luis Guajardo a member of the MIR (Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria, Revolutionary Left Movement)?
I: Yes, but not Sergio. They were close friends and I think Sergio was arrested because he was linked to Luis, not necessarily because he was also a member of the MIR.
P: Why did you get so involved in Sergio’s story, to the point of thinking of writing this text?
I: There were many bonds of friendship between our families, and Sergio was going to be my godfather. As time went by, I became good friends with Peter, and I suggested to him that he write down this story and how much it affected his family. Mrs. Lucia (Sergio’s mother) suffered a lot, and it seems to me that the protracted Alzheimer’s disease from which she died had a lot to do with Sergio’s disappearance. In the end, Peter asked me to write the story as if I were telling it to him, and with all due respect to the Tormen family, I gradually gained their acceptance and permission to do so. I interviewed the whole family, including Don Pedro.
P: How do you feel the book has been received?
I: I am very happy with the reception of the book and grateful for the response from the Tormen family. There are many of us who in one way or another were touched by their lives, and also by the loss of Sergio. It has been a self-publishing effort, and I myself am managing in the little time I have free to distribute it in bookshops and, hopefully, to make this story known beyond Chile, because of its significance. We cannot let it be forgotten.
On 20 July 2024, the Ciclo Lumpen collective organised a cycle ride from the former torture house Londres 38 to the Plaza Sergio Tormen, where the memorial plaque was renewed and where family, friends and Ítalo himself spoke. One more sign of the persistence of his memory.
The book can be purchased for CLP 15,900 at the following bookstores: Tienda Nacional (Lastarria and Museo de la Memoria), Ulises and Editorial de la USACH (both in the Lastarria neighbourhood).