At Frankfurt, Catrileo and Saavedra Resist a Single Indigenous Label
Chilean author Daniela Catrileo told a Frankfurt audience that placing writers on an “Indigenous panel” misses the point.
She was speaking alongside Chilean-born Brazilian author Carola Saavedra in a session titled “Literature Between Indigenous Roots and Colonialism.” Literary scholar Karen Genschow moderated the conversation on the fair’s Latam Stage, according to Publishing Perspectives.
The Latam Stage, sponsored by Skeelo, was created to mark 50 years since Latin America became the fair’s first thematic focus in 1976. Frankfurter Buchmesse, or the Frankfurt Book Fair, is the publishing industry’s largest rights market, where publishers buy and sell permission to publish books in different languages and territories.
Catrileo pushed back on the idea of a single category. The Maya people are not the same as the Mapuche people, she said. The Aymara people are not the same as the Quechua people. Each has its own particularities, philosophy and ways of knowing.
That argument shaped the wider discussion. The two authors talked through literary traditions in Chile and Brazil, the politics of naming, and the barriers to recognition. Short labels can hide distinct histories. They can also decide who gets published, translated and reviewed.
Catrileo pointed to a sustained Mapuche literary tradition in Chile. It included participation in newspapers and entry into higher education from the early twentieth century. The history is long. Recognition has been slower.
Saavedra brought a story from Brazil into the room. She recalled an account by Brazilian Indigenous writer Ailton Krenak of being mistaken for a foreigner in his own country. She also addressed political uncertainty in Brazil ahead of its 25 October presidential run-off between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.
The session was held in Hall 3.1, part of a larger fair that lists 4,000 exhibitors, 236,000 visitors and 3,800 events on its site, according to Frankfurter Buchmesse.
What makes this stand out is the calendar. Chile will be Guest of Honour, meaning the featured country with its own dedicated programme of authors and events, at Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2027. The Latam Stage discussion put questions of language, identity and access firmly on the table first.
