The Presence of the Imaginary Lion: Resistance to Animalization, Sinister Imagination, and Forced Disappearance in Buitrago and Yockteng’s Picturebook, Camino a Casa

Abstract:This essay explores how Camino a Casa, written by Jairo Buitrago and illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, resists the violence (widespread during the Colombian internal conflict since 1948) and the practice of forced disappearance. The picture book serves as a counter-speech to the animalization of the people considered enemies, and the story fights against the creation of the “sinister imagination” (constantly imagining the unspeakable horror that a ‘disappeared’ person might have endured). The illustrations bond emotionally with the readers and transmit hope. Ultimately, the story can connect with a mature audience left unable to deal with emotions caused by trauma.