Revisioning the Past through Translation

The emphasis of this paper is placed on the role language plays in the construction of reality. In this context, history and collective memory are conceived as two social constructs of language. The central argument is that a rearticulation of the past and a reconfiguration of the present can be carried out through translation. In this sense, translation is understood as a signification process, as a way of interaction between language and reality, as an act of searching for the voices that have been silenced in the official interpretations of history. To exemplify this, Perla, a testimony novel composed of rewritings of the official history, is analyzed from the perspective of critical historiography. The ultimate aim is to achieve a broadening and redefinition of our understanding of societal development and history through the lens of translation.