Bolivian identity through the contemporary tales: Wilmer Urrelo and Giovanna Rivero

Abstract

Bolivia is a country marked by a situation of marginalization and dissidence, a forgotten country within the richness and multiculturalism of Latin America, which is becoming increasingly prominent in the literary world and is also marked by a culture and a way of thinking of Aymara origin that has much to tell. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, those that urge us to talk about this country are: the disparity of voices, which is marked by a series of common elements such as identity issues and by a series of stigmatizing elements established in society. Another reason may be its role in current literature, as a literary identity in current evolution and expansion, which stands out for the fact that it has found in the short story a literary genre that is conducive to it, which is also intimately linked to its national tradition.

The tales selected for this approach are two short stories: one by Wilmer Urrelo Zárate, entitled ¿Será este el momento de quemar a quien tanto temo? and another by Giovanna Rivero entitled Pasó como un espíritu. Both stories offer us a perspective of a problematic past and a dystopian future, which seem, in a way, to have a conversation with each other as they are set against each other; they are also closely related to themes that are very much present today. In such a way that, from the analysis of both stories, we can obtain a panoramic view of the events that have been shaping an identity marked by clear variegation, the result of the non-assimilation of the different identities that make up this plurinational state.