MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY — An economist, author, and activist originally from Burkina Faso, Blanche Kambou is creating a stir in Uruguay’s cultural circles by promoting Afro-descendant identity and fighting racism through both literature and textile art.
After moving from Cuba to Montevideo, Kambou participated on Friday in an activity at the 24th Montevideo International Book Fair for Children and Youth, a prominent cultural event in the country, as part of the launch of a children’s book in collaboration with other writers. “Today, our participation in this Book Fair takes place with a theme focused on the culture of Africans through textile art,” said Kambou.
The change from West Africa to Latin America occurred through a scholarship program in Cuba, where Kambou earned her degree in economics, learned Spanish, and met her partner before settling in Uruguay 13 years ago. “I was born in Burkina Faso… one of the poorest countries in the world, and during the last few years, it has experienced fairly high levels of political instability,” added Kambou. Political violence and social displacement continue to plague the country.
Getting settled in Uruguay had its own problems at first. “I felt for a while a deep sense of disconnection, of detachment from my identity, that connection which is me…as an African person,” Kambou said. “But then, after a while, I could connect with other communities of descendants of Africa.”
She helped establish ‘Afro Identity of Rivera’ to address the disconnects. Her latest book is part of a significant movement towards the inclusion of diverse skin colours, clothing, and cultures in Latin American children’s books.
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