Guaraní Literature in Bolivia: Elio Ortiz’s Irande as Indigenous Crossover Fiction

Abstract

Elio Ortiz’s Irande (2015) marked a milestone as the first novel written in Isoseño Guaraní. Based on an ethnohistorical account, the novel incorporates elements of fantasy and crossover literature, emerging from the intersection between the imperative of identity reconstruction and the search for a broader readership. This paper analyzes the novel’s Indigenous cultural matrix, its generic features, and its writing strategies through contributions from Guaraní ethnohistory, Indigenist literary criticism, and the field of children’s and young adult literature (YA literature). These perspectives make it possible to understand how ethical, political, and aesthetic tensions –arising from the community mandate, Ortiz’s mediating role between his people and the state, and the incorporation of this cultural production into the publishing market– shape the novel.