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Award-winning writer, editor and filmmaker Sandra Guzmán once heard an alarming statistic: Every 14 days, an Indigenous language dies around the world.

That is, in part, what prompted her to seek out those voices for a new multilingual project centered on Latin American women. The result is the book, 

Daughters of Latin America: An International Anthology of Writing by Latine Women

, which compiles the work of 140 writers, activists and thought leaders from the region.

"What clicked was this notion that whenever we think about writers, we don't automatically think of a Latin American woman writer," Guzmán told 

. "We don't think of an Esmeralda Santiago or a Sandra Cisneros ... or Guadeloupe's masterful writer Maryse Condé or Edwidge Danticat."

"And these are women who have historically have litten and guided me, and so why not bring together the voices in one volume?"

Guzmán also took inspiration from an existing collection, called 

New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent

. It features more than 200 women from that region.

Her anthology weaves poems, short stories, essays, speeches and more. The contributors live across the Americas and the Caribbean, in Europe and in other parts of the world; some are immigrants, others are members of Indigenous communities. And there are more than 20 languages in the book.

"We are one of the most multilingual, multiethnic, multiracial, multireligious regions in the world," Guzmán said. "So for me, it was really important to convey that diversity."

There is, for example, Rosa Chávez, a Maya K'iche'-Kaqchikel poet and artist from Guatemala. A few of her poems appear in the Kʼicheʼ language in the anthology as well as in English. The poem, 

was translated from Spanish by Gabriela Ramirez- Chávez:

There is also Sonia Guiñansaca, who was born in Ecuador and raised in Harlem, NY. They are a Kichwa-Kañari poet, culture strategist and activist. This is an excerpt of their poem, 

Guzmán said she also wanted to put Afro-Latinas front and center in this collection: "It's really important for me as an Afro-Indigenous woman to include women who have paved the way for us."

One example is Mary Grueso Romero, a poet, children's literature author and Spanish professor from Colombia. Here's an excerpt of her poem, 

Si Dios hubiese nacido aquí (If God had been born here)

, translated into English by Guzmán herself:

Guzmán also wanted to highlight the works of Puerto Rican writers, explaining that they are often left in the margins.

"When anthologies are curated in the United States, for instance, we are often forgotten," she said. "And when anthologies are curated in Latin America ... we're also forgotten."

One of those she included was Esmeralda Santiago, a Puerto Rican novelist and memoirist who contributed the poem 

Guzmán said she hopes this anthology will prompt people to read more of these artists – and others from the region – who live in all corners of the world. 

"To understand Latin America through the lens of its women is to fully understand the cultures and the people that inhabit this region in different parts of the world," she said.

The poems in this article were adapted from 

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Alejandra Marquez Janse

Author

Ashley Brown

Sandra Guzmán once heard an alarming statistic: Every 14 days, an Indigenous language dies around the world. So she created a new multilingual project centered on Latin American women.

These poems by Latin American women reflect a multilingual region

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