The Family Escape from Argentina

Los pacientes del doctor García

This flow follows Manuel Arroyo Benítez’s decision to remove his family from Argentina after the 1976 coup and return to an altered Spain.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Military Coup A Military Coup from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Democracy Ends A new junta takes power The military overthrow Isabel Perón and begins a regime of state terror against suspected opponents.

A Military Coup from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Democracy Ends A new junta takes power The military overthrow Isabel Perón and begins a regime of state terror against suspected opponents.

Democracy Ends A new junta takes power The military overthrow Isabel Perón and begins a regime of state terror against suspected opponents. Fear reaches the family Manuel recognizes the danger from his earlier experience of repression in Spain.

A Daughter’s Risk A Daughter’s Risk from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Simona’s Boyfriend Disappears A warning arrives The military search for Simona’s boyfriend and seize his roommate, making the family’s danger immediate.

A Daughter’s Risk from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Simona’s Boyfriend Disappears A warning arrives The military search for Simona’s boyfriend and seize his roommate, making the family’s danger immediate.

Simona’s Boyfriend Disappears A warning arrives The military search for Simona’s boyfriend and seize his roommate, making the family’s danger immediate. Manuel acts decisively He asks whether his daughter’s political involvement is known and begins planning an escape.

A Family Chooses Exile A Family Chooses Exile from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Leaving Buenos Aires Resistance at home The children object to abandoning school, work, and partners, while Simona resists another forced departure.

A Family Chooses Exile from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Leaving Buenos Aires Resistance at home The children object to abandoning school, work, and partners, while Simona resists another forced departure.

Leaving Buenos Aires Resistance at home The children object to abandoning school, work, and partners, while Simona resists another forced departure. The father insists Manuel draws on his earlier exile and persuades them that staying may expose everyone to arrest and torture.

Passports and Departure Passports and Departure from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Return Across the Atlantic Documents secured The Spanish consulate issues papers for the family under the Pacheco identity.

Passports and Departure from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Return Across the Atlantic Documents secured The Spanish consulate issues papers for the family under the Pacheco identity.

Return Across the Atlantic Documents secured The Spanish consulate issues papers for the family under the Pacheco identity. A home is left behind They leave Buenos Aires with little certainty about their future, abandoning the life Manuel built with Simona.

A Reunion in Madrid A Reunion in Madrid from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Old Friends Reunited Guillermo receives them Guillermo welcomes Manuel’s family and helps them settle, renewing a friendship that began during the war.

A Reunion in Madrid from "Los pacientes del doctor García". Old Friends Reunited Guillermo receives them Guillermo welcomes Manuel’s family and helps them settle, renewing a friendship that began during the war.

Old Friends Reunited Guillermo receives them Guillermo welcomes Manuel’s family and helps them settle, renewing a friendship that began during the war. Exile repeats itself The reunion is joyful but confirms that decades of political failure have again displaced the family.

24 March 1976

November 1976

November–December 1976

30 December 1976

December 1976–January 1977