The lecture was attended by many students, who listened with interest to the stories about the origins of Argentina and the fate of its indigenous inhabitants. Carlos Gamerro spoke about the tragic side of the colonisation of South America, the culture of the peoples living there and the process of creating the story. The participants of the event had the opportunity to listen to stories about European colonial conquests, which are not always willingly presented due to their dark sides. Carlos Gamerro spoke passionately about the beautiful and long path of creating the novel "La jaula de los onas", which delves into the history and culture of the Selk'nams.
Carlos Gamerro's novel "La jaula de los onas" was inspired by the story of eleven Selk'nams who were kidnapped in 1889 from Tierra del Fuego to Paris, where they were kept in a cage and presented at the World's Fair as "Patagonian cannibals". Gamerro's fictional story is an account of the odyssey of Kalapakte/Calafate, who was one of four kidnapped people from an Ona family who returned to their homeland.
Carlos Gamerro is one of the most acclaimed contemporary Argentine writers. He is the author of fiction novels such as Las Islas (1998, The Islands, 2012), El secreto y las voces (2002, An Open Secret, 2011), La aventura de los bustos de Eva (2004; The Adventure of the Busts of Eva Perón, 2015) and La jaula de los onas (2021). During his career, he has also translated, among other things, the plays of William Shakespeare into Spanish.
Text: Justyna Rojewska
Photos: mgr Angelina Kusowska