Maailmasta toiseen [English]

[Suomi] [Castellano]

For the past three years, the Maailmasta Toiseen Latin American and Iberian Literature Festival has congregated novelists, essayists, poets, and translators active in different countries and enclaves around Europe and the Americas. Since 2020, some of the sharpest voices in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan have gathered yearly in Helsinki to discuss currents trends and literary devices, the effects of diaspora and globalization on their work, the interaction between literature and reality.

For 2023, Maailmasta toiseen will operate in installments, harnessing the presence of visiting writers, translators, editors, to produce a steady flow of events. From the commemoration of Salvador Allende’s assassination (and its lasting aftermath for Chilean society) to sexual dissidence in contemporary Peru; from fanzines and independent publishing to the reception of Latin American poetry in Northern Europe, the festival’s line-up aims to encompass the most relevant issues in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world, and attempt a glimpse at broader picture, for the Finnish audience. The events will mostly be hosted in Spanish but will include translation samples in Finnish or English.

This year, the festival is made possible by a generous contribution from the Kone Foundation, as well as funding from the University of Helsinki and several Embassies in Finland. So far three events have been confirmed for the late spring and early summer, with more to come in the autumn.

FB – event

The inaugural event is a conversation with sociologist and historian Guillermo Nugent, who will address the current political turmoil in Peru. Peru has been mired in chaos since December 2022, after the removal of then-President Pedro Castillo and Dina Baluarte’s rise to power. The protests and violence are mostly concentrated in the southern Andean region of the country. As of March 10, 2023, 67 people have lost their lives in the protests and 1,785 have been injured. Depending on the context, the demands include early elections or the reinstatement of Castillo, a constitutional referendum and justice for the victims of the repression.

World politics professor Teivo Teivainen and Development Studies researcher Anna Heikkinen from the University of Helsinki moderated by Jasmin Immonen will join Professor Nugent in the analysis of this manifold issue. Poetry by Roxana Crisólogo.