Screening the Indigenous Experience in Contemporary Latin American Cinema

© 2020 by the University of Texas Press For instance, we refer to Abiayala or Abya Yala, meaning the “Land of Plenitude and Maturity” in the Guna language of Panama (Mignolo 22 and Lopez Hernández 9). The widespread use of the term can be traced to the emergence of social movements in the late twentieth century throughout Latin America, which sought to expand exclusively class-based discussions of inequality: “Social movements protested against injustices in class, status group, and power relationships. Some proposed alternative economic, social, and political models, such as buen vivir, the solidary economy, and participatory democracy. [. . .] Organizing among indigenous peoples expanded rapidly along with the awakening of Afro-Latino, women and sexual orientation” (Silva 27–28). Indigenous communities joined in the struggle to recover the rights usurped by the colonial empire, a body that has left a lasting legacy of replacing, minimizing, and destroying autochthonous ways of life, customs, languages, and religions. The term Abiayala or Abya Yala contributes to the deliberate process of decolonization by groups attempting to recover a prominent space for nations and communities that have been hidden or erased from the national imaginary by the process of colonialization (Platt 144). Similarly, the term Sumak Kawsay has emerged in scholars’ critical conversations about inclusion in national discourse. The term translates from the Quechua as “living well” or “the good life,” or el buen vivir in Spanish. It refers to “a way of living in harmony within communities, ourselves, and most importantly, nature” (“Sumak Kawsay”). The pursuit of Sumak Kawsay has resonated among activists who defend the rights of Indigenous communities and read the concept as a way to adopt changes to improve the lives of underrepresented populations. The significance of the representation of Indigenous characters as protagonists on the silver screen can be appreciated in several recent Latin American film productions, including Ixcanul (Jayro Bustamante) and El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent; Ciro Guerra), which both premiered in 2015. Guatemala Screening the Indigenous Experience in Contemporary Latin American Cinema