Interested in diving deeper into the history, politics, or literature of the Latin America and Caribbean (LACA) region? Want to learn a little more about current issues? In what we hope will be a regular feature, here’s a look at some of the books MCC workers in the region recommend.
There is no pity, only strength in this short book. Through a series of short letters to a friend, sent between 1969 to 1997, Colombian artist Emma Reyes documented her childhood in poverty in Bogota. Thanks to Daniel Alarcon’s masterful translation, the letters, and Emma’s powerful prose, are finally available for an English-speaking audience. In each letter, Emma tells of life in poverty, first in an urban slum, and then later in shut inside a Bogota convent for over fifteen years, in slave-like conditions. Yet the way Emma describes her childhood is beautiful and strong. Despite the hardship, the book is full of wonder as we experience this life through the eyes of a child. As Emma grows up, the reader literally grows up with her, as each letter is told from the perspective of the life stage she is documenting. Perhaps the best evidence I can provide of the power of this story is that it changed the way I see the streets of Bogota. As I walk through the Candelaria neighbourhood, I now catch glimpses of Emma’s world, still present in this bustling modern city.
Authors John Crabtree and Ann Chaplin travel to each Bolivia region, interviewing key social leaders, activists, government figures and others to detail the way the MAS and Evo Morales’ presidency are changing the country. With a focus on grassroots movements and change from the bottom-up, the book does an excellent job at highlighting the achievement and limitations of the new administration. Recommended reading for anyone looking to understand Bolivia’s transformation over the last fifteen years. Here is a video from a panel hosted by WOLA, where John Crabtree outlines of the ideas in the book.
Curated Stories: The Uses and Misuses of Storytelling
Part of my job is storytelling. This book was a good reminder that stories can’t be separated from their context. At their worst, stories that focus on only individuals and individual change can fracture movements and weaken advocacy. Using research around key examples, such as campaigning for the Obama presidency, the domestic worker’s rights movement in the United States, DACA, and workshops popular neighborhoods in Caracas, author Sujatha Fernandes examines the ways that individual focused storytelling has actually weakened the goals of marginalized communities and upheld neo-liberal systems. However, Fernandes argues, by changing the way we use stories, social movements can be actually strengthened, leading the way to real change.
Buried Secrets: Truth and Human Rights in Guatemala
Victoria Sanford’s well documented book about genocide in Guatemala was hard to read. I had to take frequent breaks, overwhelmed by graphic descriptions and testimonies of violence. Yet the violence itself was less horrifying than Sandford’s evidence of the systematic state planning and implementation of genocide over the years of the Guatemala civil war, with support from the international community, in particular the United States. Throughout the book, Sanford focus on how truth is told and who can tell their truth, in ways that allow for community based healing to take place.
Guatemala. Anna Vogt.