Eloísa Cartonera is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

cooperative publishing business of designers and writers, which publishes hand made books with extraordinary designs at a literary quality. It is the pioneer of the Cartonera movement.Prince Claus Fund (June 2012
''Report from the 2012 Prince Claus Awards Committee''
/ref>ANP Pers Support (September 6, 2012
''Prins Claus Prijzen 2012''
Volkskrant (September 6, 2012
''Prins Claus Prijs voor Argentijnse uitgeverij''

Background

The initiative for Eloísa Cartonera was taken in 2001 when the Argentine economy was in crisis and people went on the streets to earn money. Among them were the so-called cartoneros, translated ''cardboard people'', who worked on the streets to collect paper and cardboard as a way of living. In these years the culture sector found itself in a deep crisis, because books and artifacts were sold in reduced quantities. Due to this situation writer Washington Cucurto and plastic artists Javier Barilaro and

Fernanda Laguna Fernanda is a Portuguese, Spanish and Italian feminine equivalent of Fernando, a male given name of Germanic origin, with an original meaning of "adventurous, bold journey". __TOC__ People * Fernanda Abreu (born 1961), Brazilian singer * Ferna ...

started making art books made from waste cardboard. Out of solidarity with the employed, the objective of the making of art books was changed in 2003 to making literature accessible for anyone. Established as well as upcoming

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n writers have donated novels, stage plays and poems, with the result that ten years after its foundation more than 200 titles have been published. Examples are ''La casa de cartón'' (''The Cardboard House'') of

Martín Adán Martín Adán (Lima, October 27, 1908 - January 29, 1985), pseudonym of Rafael de la Fuente Benavides, was a Peruvian poet whose body of work is notable for its hermeticism and metaphysics, metaphysical depth. From a very young age Adán demonstr ...

, ''El pianista'' (''The pianist'') of

Ricardo Piglia Ricardo Piglia (November 24, 1941, in Adrogué – January 6, 2017, in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine author, critic, and scholar best known for introducing hard-boiled fiction to the Argentine public. Biography Born in Adrogué, Piglia was ra ...

, ''El todo que surca la Nada'' (''The Everything that Cuts the Nothing'') of

César Aira César Aira (Argentine Spanish: ; born 23 February 1949 in Coronel Pringles, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of contemporary Argentine literature. Aira has published over a hundred short books of st ...

and the bilingual volume of verses of

Haroldo de Campos Haroldo Eurico Browne de Campos (19 August 1929 – 17 August 2003) was a Brazilian poet, critic, professor and translator. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Brazilian literature since 1950. Biography He did his ...

. The texts are bound manually in cardboard covers that have been hand-painted as well. Eloísa Cartonera publishes these works at prices that are often lower than the average

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

, whilst the ''cartoneros'' are offered a better price for the cardboard. Eloísa Cartonera has been the example for more than sixty ''cardboard publishers'' in Latin America and one in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Recognition

In 2012 Eloísa Cartonera was rewarded with the Principal Award of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Prince Claus Awards The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awar ...

''for generation beauty, intellectual incentives and income for many in a context of financial crisis and poverty''. In 2023, the publishing collective Eloísa Cartonera took part in BIENALSUR (International Biennial of Contemporary Art of the South), participating in the group exhibition ''That Fragile Balance'', held at the Cultural Space of the Embassy of Brazil – Palacio Pereda, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.BIENALSUR. ''That Fragile Balance''. Group exhibition organized by the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of the South, held at the Cultural Space of the Embassy of Brazil – Palacio Pereda, Buenos Aires, 2023. https://bienalsur.org/en/single_agenda/466

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eloisa Cartonera Culture of Argentina Mass media in Argentina Publishing companies of Argentina Mass media in Buenos Aires Cooperatives in Argentina Argentine companies established in 2001

Background

Recognition

References

Further reading

External links