Identity and Collective Memory in Jorge Sanjinés’ <em>La nación clandestina</em>

Authors

  • James Restrepo University of Western Ontario

Keywords:

Jorge Sanjnés, rural life, collective memories

Abstract

The increasing disparity between projects of modernity and the capacity of many nation-states to cope with the rapid development of globalization has created massive changes and to some extent, convulsions inside their respective societies and state apparatus. On the one hand, we are witnessing the expanding role and presence of global institutions and corporations in isolated and marginalized societies, especially in the fields of commerce and political influence; and on the other, we observe the consequences that these changes are having in the transformation of identities and collective memories inside these societies, transformations that accelerate with phenomena such as human migration. La nación clandestina (1989), by Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjinés, explores the impact of these changes in rural Bolivia, revealing a strong collective memory that struggles for both resistance and survival. This article seeks to examine the concept of collective memory and indigenous identity in the film, arguing that contemporary migration presents not only an avenue for connecting with the globalization project, but also an accelerated way of reconceptualizing identity and the transformation of cultural traditions alongside endogenous forms of local governance.

Author Biography

James Restrepo, University of Western Ontario

James Restrepo es candidato a doctor en Estudios Hispánicos por la Universidad de Western Ontario en el Canadá. Sus principales áreas de investigación son las migraciones internacionales y los estudios sobre la literatura, el exilio y la economía política. Su disertación doctoral se centra en la migración de bolivianos a España y el impacto que ésta tiene en su cultura e identidad. También es investigador asociado en el Centro de Investigación en Migraciones Internacionales (IMRC) de la Universidad de Wilfrid Laurier, donde trabaja en diversos proyectos relacionados con la migración temporal en el Canadá y España. Obtuvo su maestría en Gobernancia Global en la Universidad de Waterloo y su título en Estudios Internacionales y Lenguas Modernas en la Universidad de Ottawa.

Published

2011-01-01

How to Cite

Restrepo, J. (2011). Identity and Collective Memory in Jorge Sanjinés’ <em>La nación clandestina</em>. A Contracorriente: Una Revista De Estudios Latinoamericanos, 8(2), 129–144. Retrieved from https://acontracorriente.chass.ncsu.edu/index.php/acontracorriente/article/view/417

Issue

Section

Articles / Artículos