Alba Eiragi Duarte was born in Curuguaty, Paraguay, in 1960. She is an Indigenous leader, teacher, and cultural promoter. She is an Aché descendant, raised in an Avá-Guaraní community in Colonia Fortuna, Canindeyú Department. She holds a BA in Social Work and Communication, and a diploma in Intercultural Education. In 2016, she published her first poetry collection, Ñe’ẽ yvoty: Ñe’ẽ poty; her second book is forthcoming. In 2017, she became the first Indigenous female member of the Society of Writers of Paraguay. In 2018, she presented her work at the 28th International Poetry Festival of Medellín, dedicated to the voices and visions of the native peoples of the Americas. Her poems and stories have been anthologized in several national and international publications.
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Holding the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the State University of New York at Oswego, Tracy K. Lewis has long been an advocate for the cultural achievements of Paraguay, with particular emphasis on its literature in Guaraní. He has written about and translated numerous Paraguayan writers, including Augusto Roa Bastos, Juan Manuel Marcos, Renée Ferrer, Susy Delgado, Miguelángel Meza, and Tadeo Zarratea, and is himself the author of three volumes of poetry in Spanish, Guaraní, and English. In 2012 he was awarded the medal of the Paraguayan Ministry of Education for his efforts in disseminating knowledge of the nation's culture, and in 2014 he was made a member of the Ateneo de Lengua y Cultura Guaraní, a distinction given to few non-Paraguayans. In addition, Lewis has a long record of scholarship and advocacy for other Indigenous languages of the Americas, including Quechua and Mohawk, beginning with his doctoral dissertation on the novels of the great Peruvian writer José María Arguedas.
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Alba Eiragi Duarte was born in Curuguaty, Paraguay, in 1960. She is an Indigenous leader, teacher, and cultural promoter. She is an Aché descendant, raised in an Avá-Guaraní community in Colonia Fortuna, Canindeyú Department. She holds a BA in Social Work and Communication, and a diploma in Intercultural Education. In 2016, she published her first poetry collection, Ñe’ẽ yvoty: Ñe’ẽ poty; her second book is forthcoming. In 2017, she became the first Indigenous female member of the Society of Writers of Paraguay. In 2018, she presented her work at the 28th International Poetry Festival of Medellín, dedicated to the voices and visions of the native peoples of the Americas. Her poems and stories have been anthologized in several national and international publications.
» More about Alba Eiragi Duarte
