El exilio en los testimonios de Rigoberta Menchú y Domitila Barrios de Chungara

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2011-08

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Abstract

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the representation of different forms of exile in the testimonios of Rigoberta Menchú and Domitila Barrios de Chungara—Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia, Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas, „Si me permiten hablar…:’ Testimonio de Domitila una mujer de las minas de Bolivia and ¡Aquí también Domitila! Although the genre of testimonio has received much critical attention, that critical attention was mostly in earlier decades. However, with the recent popularity of and critical attention paid to works in the field of life narrative, it is imperative to go back to these texts in order to enter into dialogue with the issues and problems concerning the difficulty of self-referential writing. Likewise, returning to these texts after the initial moment of euphoria in which they were received allows critics to approach these texts with new perspectives, yielding new interpretations and conclusions. To this end, this study is a thematic study of the representation of exile in the four testimonies listed above. This literary study applies a plural approach to investigate the representation of different modes of exile in the texts. First of all, the study focuses not only on a physical exile, one that removes the body from a specific place, but also on a political exile, one that removes the person from the institutions of the nation-state denying him/her full citizenship. Different definitions of exile as well as theories concerning imperialism, colonialism, or/and the condition of indigenous peoples are employed in order to explore fully the topic of exile in the texts. Furthermore, the history of Guatemala and Bolivia allowed for background information important to the particularities of the testimonios studied here. Looking at the history spotlights the concrete situations that led to the writing of the testimonios, and the representation of exiles found in them. Finally, feminist theory illuminates the specific situation of the women represented in the texts. As will be seen through this work, the representation of different forms of exiles show a complex tension between the liberating condition it provides and the trauma it creates. Rigoberta Menchú and Domitila Barrios de Chungara narrate the difficulties of living in a country that does not recognize them, while at the same time creating communities that celebrate their history, culture, and in the case of Menchú, language. The experience of physical exile, both in and outside their respective countries, brings many hardships, but it also allows them to learn from other people outside their communities. The inclusion in their fight of these people‟s rights previously left outside their purview, forces them to question some of their own beliefs and allows for personal growth. When they finally return from physical exile, the complexities of returning are apparent as they struggle to carve out a new space in their native communities or families. In the case of Menchú, she narrates the inability to recuperate a past she anxiously wants, one that includes lost love ones. Barrios de Chungara narrates the problems faced when other members of the family have a problem returning to the native country. Therefore, by focusing on the narration concerning their exiles, this study is a new way of approaching testimonio. Although concerned with the complexities of this genre, the study goes beyond and tries to listen to what these two women have to say about exile at a particular time and in a particular way. After all, Barrios de Chungara demands that we let her speak in the title of her first testimonio; it is imperative not to only let these subjects speak, but to listen to what it is that they are saying.

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Keywords

Menchú, Rigoberta, Domitila Barrios de Chungara, Testimonio, Exile, Exilio

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