S33: TRANSCRIPTS
In parallel with the Sonido 33 radio documentary program, which investigated, recorded, and recreated personal stories of Latin American solidarity and migration in Australia, four oral history interviews were selected for transcription, supported by the Royal Australian Historical Society.
Two transcripts in English feature in-depth narratives by Australian solidarity activists. The other two, in Spanish, recount the personal experiences of leaders from the two largest Spanish-speaking groups that sought refuge in Australia during the 1970s and 1980s: the Chilean and Salvadoran diasporas. The project and its transcripts were showcased at the Liverpool Regional Museum in October 2025, acknowledging Western Sydney's historical role in receiving a large portion of these migration waves. The region remains one of the primary areas where Latin Americans have settled in Australia.
Transcript 1: Peter Ross
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, and other Latin American causes over several decades.
Click here to read and download the transcript.
Transcript 2: Jim Levy
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.
Click here to read and download the transcript.
Transcript 3: Gustavo Martin-Montenegro
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.
Click here to read and download the transcript (in Spanish).
Transcript 4: Juan Campos
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.
Click here to read and download the transcript (in Spanish).