Abstract

ROMERO-LEAL, Karen Lorena. Representations of the Amazon in four kidnapping's testimonial-literature books in Colombia. Hallazgos [online]. 2018, vol.15, n.30, pp.45-76. ISSN 1794-3841.  https://doi.org/10.15332/1794-3841.2018.0030.02.

From the analysis of four testimonial books about the kidnapping of people from the "Los Canjeables" group, it is evident that the Amazon is represented through two recurrent images that have been issued in this region during its history of contact with the West: a paradise abundant in natural resources and a green hell. The first of the images corresponds to the conservationist imaginary of nature conceptualized as an environment, within the discourse of the possibility of an imminent climate crisis. The second, the perception of the Amazon as a hell that devours those who fall into its net is limited to the spaces built by the guerrillas and experienced along with them. The representation of the Amazon is connected with the drama experienced by the victims of kidnapping, whose individual experience is also experienced collectively, as well as to the relationships between humans amongst themselves and the nature. Therefore, the overwhelming feeling of the dark canopy of the forest and its small, but unsettling animals, is highlighted as a scenario of the emotional and physical suffering of the hostages. Thus, the analyzed books display a discourse made up of imaginaries about the Amazon that are shaped by a specific social project of the most influential political and economic sectors in the country. One of its narratives is the availability of the territories for investment after their liberation from the domain of rebel groups.

Keywords : space representations; testimonial literature; Amazon; kidnapping in Colombia.

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