Synopses & Reviews
A pathbreaking contribution to Latin American testimonial literature,
When a Flower Is Reborn is activist Rosa Isolde Reuque Paillalefandrsquo;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 Reuqueandrsquo;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 Reuqueandrsquo;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, Reuqueandmdash;a woman, a Catholic, and a Christian Democratandmdash;often felt like an outsider within the male-dominated, leftist Mapuche movement. This sense of herself as both participant and observer allows for Reuqueandrsquo;s trenchant, yet empathetic, critique of the Mapuche ethnic movement and of the policies regarding indigenous people implemented by Chileandrsquo;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 Womenandrsquo;s Conference in Beijing. Critical of the democratic governmentandrsquo;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 Americaandrsquo;s post-authoritarian, post-revolutionary era, When a Flower Is Reborn will appeal to those interested in Latin America, race and ethnicity, indigenous peopleandrsquo;s movements, women and gender, and oral history and ethnography.
Review
andldquo;Composed of short dialogues, this testimonio is just made to be read aloud by students who will find themselves drawn into the rich personal experiences of Mapuche cultural resurgence and political activism as related by Rosa Isolde Reuque Paillalef and her family to Florencia E. Mallon. When a Flower is Reborn is a fascinating account of the renewal and transformation of Mapuche culture and community politics and social criticism as captured through one woman's participation in different social movements across Chile's political history from the early 1970s to 1997. A pathbreaking, thoughtful collaborative work on indigenous activism in Chile.andldquo;andmdash;Kay Warren, author of Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in Guatemala
Review
andldquo;A landmark in the history of social movements, indigenous studies, and womenandrsquo;s studies, When a Flower is Reborn tells the story of the cultural regeneration of a whole people. The match between a sophisticated scholar drawn back to the country of her birth and an urbane indigenous woman organizer has engendered an entirely new form of testimonial literature, one that reads like a novel, but has the depth and breadth of the best history. This is not only an innovative book, it is a major achievement.andrdquo;andmdash;Temma Kaplan, author of Crazy for Democracy: Women in Grassroots Movements
Synopsis
Testimonial text by a Mapuche woman, with commentary and other ethnographic interventions by a U.S. historian.
About the Author
Rosa Isolde Reuque Paillalef is a Mapuche feminist and political and human rights activist.
Florencia E. Mallon is Professor of Modern Latin American History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Peasant and Nation: The Making of Postcolonial Mexico and Peru.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Editorandrsquo;s Introduction 1
1. Chanco: Family, Land, and Culture 35
2. The Mapuche Movement under Dictatorship, 1973-1989 100
3. The Transition to Democracy 175
4. The Mapuche Movement under Democracy, 1990-1998 223
Conclusion 294
Afterword 327
Glossary 337
Notes 343
Index 363