The Chaco as a Literary Region in 21st Century Argentine Narrative

Abstract

Different sites in Chaco are imagined in Argentine literature of the 21st century through aesthetic proposals that share the following aspect: there is a unique connection between a space and the characters inhabiting it. In El viento que arrasa (2012) by Selva Almada, Bajo este sol tremendo (2009) by Carlos Busqued, Una casa junto al Tragadero (2017) by Mariano Quirós, and La estirpe (2021) by Carla Maliandi, references to Chaco not only characterize the backdrop against which the stories of peculiar and abandoned characters unfold, but also form part of a procedure that creates a estranged perspective on the region. In what ways does contemporary Argentine literature explore and transform Chaco into an imaginary space? How is spatiality problematized in these works? How does this literature inscribe itself in the present? These are some of the questions that guide the reading.