On Friday, the 16 of February, FHIS community members met once again with Dr. Silvia Mellado from Universidad Nacional del Comahue – Conicet, in Neuquén, Argentina. Dr. Mellado is guiding students in preparation for translating a curated collection of Mapuche poems into Spanish. 

Dr. Mellado’s presentation focused on the works of the Chilean poet Leonel Lienlaf, who is studied as part of the Palabras Madres / Mother Words project by students in Spanish 402. Lienlaf writes both in Spanish and in Mapuzugún, poetry and song, and is one of the most important Indigenous voices on the continent. Thank you to Dr. Mellado, for sharing your knowledge on the work of Leonel Lienlaf with us!  

Here, you can listen to Leonel Lienlaf reading three of his poems for the project Diálogo:

Tres poemas de Lionel Lienlaf en español y mapuzugún, lectura y canto.