Mexican Natures

Mexican Natures – Ecocide and Biodiversity in Latin American Literature

Mexico is at once one of the world's five megadiverse countries and the site of a centuries-long plunderage. The importation of European agriculture and architecture spawned unexpected results in the new soil, shifting the ecosystems’ balance. 

From the conquistador chronicles to post-Independence nation-building, to 20th-century failed modernization projects, Latin American literature has documented the contradictory gaze of societies seemingly unable to embrace the ground they stand on. 

In his latest book, Historia de nuestro futuro (2019), Diego Olavarría sounds Mexican biodiversity from prehistoric times to the present, drawing from scientific but also artistic representations. In this discussion at Sivullinen, Olavarría and the moderator will discuss the experience of nature in Latin American literature, while finding points of intersection and contrast with Finnish culture and finding the connections to larger civilizational processes. 

Participants: 

Diego Olavarría is a non-fiction writer and translator. 

José Luis Rico (Ciudad Juárez, 1987) is a poet and translator from Northern Mexico. 

Rosebud Sivullinen

3.10.2022 

17.00-18.00

Free entry