A pathbreaking contribution to Latin American testimonial
literature, "When a Flower Is Reborn" is activist Rosa Isolde
Reuque Paillalef's chronicle of her leadership within the Mapuche
indigenous rights movement in Chile. Part personal reflection and
part political autobiography, it is also the story of Reuque's
rediscovery of her own Mapuche identity through her political and
human rights activism over the past quarter century. The questions
posed to Reuque by her editor and translator, the distinguished
historian Florencia Mallon, are included in the text, revealing
both a lively exchange between two feminist intellectuals and much
about the crafting of the testimonial itself. In addition, several
conversations involving Reuque's family members provide a
counterpoint to her story, illustrating the variety of ways
identity is created and understood.
A leading activist during the Pinochet dictatorship, Reuque--a
woman, a Catholic, and a Christian Democrat--often felt like an
outsider within the male-dominated, leftist Mapuche movement. This
sense of herself as both participant and observer allows for
Reuque's trenchant, yet empathetic, critique of the Mapuche ethnic
movement and of the policies regarding indigenous people
implemented by Chile's post-authoritarian government. After the
1990 transition to democratic rule, Reuque collaborated with the
government in the creation of the Indigenous Development
Corporation (CONADI) and the passage of the Indigenous Law of 1993.
At the same time, her deepening critiques of sexism in Chilean
society in general, and the Mapuche movement in particular,
inspired her to found the first Mapuche feminist organization and
participate in the 1996 International Women's Conference in
Beijing. Critical of the democratic government's inability to
effectively address indigenous demands, Reuque reflects on the
history of Mapuche activism, including its disarray in the early
1990s and resurgence toward the end of the decade, and relates her
hopes for the future.
An important reinvention of the testimonial genre for Latin
America's post-authoritarian, post-revolutionary era, "When a
Flower Is Reborn" will appeal to those interested in Latin America,
race and ethnicity, indigenous people's movements, women and
gender, and oral history and ethnography.
General
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