Human and social sciences
Gašper Kralj
Izginuli in vrnjeni: pričevanja o uporih v Gvatemali in Latinski Ameriki
The Disappeared and the Returned: Testimonials on the Uprisings in Guatemala and Latin America
Knjiga odpira vprašanja o nasilju, solidarnosti, uporništvu, revolucionarnih praksah in o sodobnih družbenih gibanjih, ki spreminjajo podobo Latinske Amerike. Avtor najprej predstavi in interpretira genezo predstav, ki jih imamo o Latinski Ameriki, kjer se osredotoči na življenjske svetove njenih naseljencev, ki so jih prikrojili zavojevanje, osvoboditve in revolucije. S predstavitvijo in kritiko indigenizma, odmevnega znanstveno političnega gibanja iz prve polovice 20. stoletja, pokaže na posledice indigenizma za staroselce, obravnava znamenito pričevanje Rigoberte Menchú Tum in predstavi delovanje in omejitve t. i. »komisij za resnico«. V drugem delu se ukvarja z odporniškimi gibanji in posledicami vojaških kampanj, ki so z množičnimi poboji, mučenji in izginotji tlakovale pot obsežnim neoliberalnim projektom v regiji. V teh pogojih je nastalo panmajevsko staroselsko kmečko gibanje in skupine, ki so jih zasnovali svojci izginulih oseb (desaparecidos), s tem da interpretira njihove estetsko politične prakse in projekcije solidarnosti, ki bolečo izgubo spreminjajo v uporništvo.
Gašper Kralj (1974) je pisatelj in prevajalec, rojen v Ljubljani. Dejaven je bil v aktivističnih gibanjih, tako v Sloveniji kot v Mehiki in Gvatemali, kjer je opravil tudi raziskavo za doktorsko disertacijo iz socialne antropologije. Delo je izšlo kot monografija Izginuli in vrnjeni (Založba /cf., 2008). Za nekaj let se je ustalil v Kataloniji – kjer občasno še vedno živi –, tam prevajal špansko pišoče avtorje (Javier Cercas, Eduardo Galeano, Ernesto Sábato, Carlos G. Villa), se ukvarjal z raziskovanjem sodobne književnosti in snovanjem romana Rok trajanja (Založba /cf., 2016), s katerim se je uvrstil med nominirance za najboljši literarni prvenec in med finaliste za kresnika. Knjiga je izšla v madžarščini (Használati idő, prev. Emese Rajsli, Forum, 2021) in nemščini (Ablaufdatum, prev. Alexander Rath, Društvo slovenskih pisateljev, 2023). Za svoj drugi roman Škrbine (Založba /cf., 2020) je leta 2021 prejel Cankarjevo nagrado za najboljše izvirno literarno delo, z njim pa se je uvrstil tudi v ožji izbor za nagrado Evropske unije za književnost (EUPL) in ponovno med kresnikove finaliste. Škrbine so izšle v nemškem prevodu (Splitter eines Lebens, prev. Felix Mayer in Jernej Biščak, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, 2023). S soprevajalko Tino Malič je bil dvakrat nominiran za nagrado esAsi, in sicer za prevod romana Vojaki Salamine Javierja Cercasa (Založba /cf., 2013) ter dela Otroci dni Eduarda Galeana (Sanje, 2014).
This book in the field of Latin American studies discusses the violence, solidarity, resistance, revolutionary practices, and contemporary social movements that are changing the face of Latin America. The author first presents and interprets the genesis of the ideas we have about Latin America, focusing on the lifeworlds of its settlers tailored by conquest, liberations, and revolutions. By presenting and critiquing indigenism, a resounding scientific and political movement from the first half of the 20th century, he points out its consequences for the natives. In the second part, he deals with the resistance movements and the consequences of the military campaigns that, with their massacres, torture, and disappearances, paved the way for extensive neoliberal projects in the region. This part is based on the discussion of the famous testimony by Rigoberta Menchú Tum. The author also presents the operation and the limitations of the so-called “truth committees”.
Gašper Kralj (1974) is a writer and translator, born in Ljubljana. He has been involved in activist movements in Slovenia as well as in Mexico and Guatemala, where he also conducted research for his doctoral dissertation in social anthropology. The work was published as a monograph Izginuli in vrnjeni [The Disappeared and the Returned] (Založba /cf., 2008). He settled in Catalonia for several years—where he still occasionally lives—and translated Spanish-language authors (Javier Cercas, Eduardo Galeano, Ernesto Sábato, Carlos G. Villa), explored contemporary literature and worked on his first novel Rok trajanja [Expiry Date] (Založba /cf., 2016), for which he was nominated for the best literary debut and was among the finalists for the Kresnik Award for the best novel. The book was published in Hungarian (Használati idő, transl. Emese Rajsli, Forum, 2021) and in German (Ablaufdatum, transl. Alexander Rath, Društvo slovenskih pisateljev, 2023). For his second novel, Škrbine [Stubs] (Založba /cf., 2020), Kralj received the 2021 Cankar Award for the best original literary work published in Slovenian language. The novel was also shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) and was a finalist for the Kresnik Award. Škrbine was also published in German (Splitter eines Lebens, transl. Felix Mayer and Jernej Biščak, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, 2023). With co-translator Tina Malič, he has been nominated twice for the esAsi Award, for their translations of Javier Cercas’s Soldiers of Salamis (Vojaki Salamine, Založba /cf., 2013) and Eduardo Galeano’s Children of the Days (Otroci dni, Sanje, 2014).