Las multiples vidas de Lorenza Congo: Narración e historia en la Amazonia boliviana

Translated title of the contribution: The multiple lives of Lorenza Congo: narration and history in the Bolivian Amazon

Chuck Sturtevant

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Abstract

In San Ignacio de Moxos, the name of Lorenza Congo is often taken as a symbol of indigenous identity and of an earlier time, when the indigenous Mojeños owned riches in cattle and gold. However, beyond a couple of commonly recognized characteristics - their short stature, wealth and generosity - the stories about her, told by different narrators, vary significantly. The differences include disagreements about their age, their ethnicity and their degree of kinship with several descendants, as well as their behavior regarding moral and political values ​​of particular local importance. This article explores a range of variations of these stories, taking note of the narrators' social positions, ideological perspectives, and political agendas. The various stories about Lorenza Congo are intertwined with production processes of an authoritative version of history. In exploring this entanglement, we observe the telling of stories as a social practice and the adoption of narrative practices and forms associated with history as elements that allow narrators to claim a degree of authority that does not derive from the veracity of recorded and reported historical events. , but of its ability to fulfill certain social functions.
Translated title of the contributionThe multiple lives of Lorenza Congo: narration and history in the Bolivian Amazon
Original languageSpanish
Pages (from-to)65-86
Number of pages22
JournalRevista Complutense de Historia de América
Volume44
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Indigenous Identity
  • Narrative Practices
  • State Effects
  • San Ignacio de Moxos
  • Bolivia

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