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The Mapuche writer, poet and oralitor Chihuailaf Elicura was awarded the 2020 National Literature Prize, as announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.
The 58-year-old artist’s candidacy was one of the most supported of this edition: more than a thousand personalities signed the petition seeking the election of Chihuailaf, the first Mapuche writer to receive this award.
“Thank you very much for that good news, I thank each member of the jury. Thank you for giving me such an important award. It was the third time that the UFRO and the PUC applied to me, and I must thank that trust, “said the writer when he learned the news.
Elicura Chihuailaf published her first work in 1977, but it was not until the 1990s that she began to publish stories and poems with greater regularity. In parallel, the writer was in charge of spreading the Mapuche culture not only through his verses that rescued the worldview of the original people, but also by holding meetings with Mapuche writers in Chile and abroad.
In 1999 he published his autobiographical essay “Confidential message to Chileans”, an acclaimed work in which he recounts his childhood and his feelings of belonging to the Mapuche ethnic group, mixing the Spanish language with some words in Mapudungun.
“The word of our ancestors lives in me, I try to make a dialogue with my Mapuche spirit and heart because I believe that a multiculturalism is necessaryIt is the path that must be taken today, in such a tremendous moment in which the world lives, in which nature has given us a harsh warning, “added Chiuailaf after receiving the award.
His work has been translated into several languages and he has translated several texts into Mapudungun: among them “Canto libre” by Víctor Jara, “Todos los cantos” by Pablo Neruda and “La araucana” by Alonso de Ercilla.
The writer concluded hoping that “this award will open a door for the State of Chile to truly encourage itself to listen to the reality that our Mapuche people are experiencing.”
“It is time to look at the mirror, clear it because it is a clouded mirror, to look at our beautiful brunette”, ended.
