Translating the Poetry of Graciela Huinao: Finding the Authentic Voice Within

Abstract

This article discusses the translation of literary works by contemporary Latin American women, specifically the poetry of Graciela Huinao, a Mapuche-Willichewriter from Southern Chile.Given the opportunities for travel and the development of technology such as the Internet, translators today have many ways to interact with writers in order to delve deeper into the translation of their texts. In this context, elements such as hybridity, heteroglossia, paradox, grammatical structures, cultural nuances, and the author’s intention can be explored in greater detail. The translation of Graciela Huinao’s poetry by the author of this article is used to share examples of the exploration of literary and conceptual elements through the use of extensive communications enabled by technology. And in the case of Graciela Huinao’s writing, the relevance and overlapping of Spanish and Mapuzugun, the language of her people, becomes a significant part of the dialogue.