Cities of Rivers, Mountains, and Serpents

Non-Human Territorialities in Jaime Saenz and José María Arguedas

Bibliographic Data

ID3809521
AuthorsChristian Elguera (0000-0003-1209-9370, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume26
Pages127-157
Publication date2021-12-10
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBolivian Studies Journal/Revista de Estudios Bolivianos (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1074-2247 • E-ISSN: 2156-5163
PublisherUniversity Library System, University of Pittsburgh (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5195/bsj.2021.258
OpenAlexW4200254760
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

In this article, I draw on Tupac Amaru Kamaq Taytanchisman (1962) by José María Arguedas and Imágenes paceñas (1979) by Jaime Saenz to illuminate the ways that serpents, rivers, and mountains bear upon the spatial organization of Lima and La Paz. I contend that for Saenz and Arguedas, entities such as the Amaru or the Illimani influence the production of non-human territorialities, reorganizing the structures of urban spaces and the lives of the citizens within them. Both texts make visible non-human territorialities through a process I call "territorial writing." This kind of writing employs a variety of literary strategies (narrative time, characters, and figures) to visualize human and other-than-human vinculums as part of Andean cities. From this vantage point, "territorial writers" perceive urban geographies as territories in which different ethnic groups interact with powerful non-human entities or deities

Art · Ethnic group · Geography · Literature · Narrative · Pace · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Anthropology · Computer Science · Cultural and Social Studies in Latin America · History · Latin American Literature Studies

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