Eloísa Cartonera

/elo-iza kahr-ton-e-ra/ (f) noun

1. a publishing cooperative in La Boca (a working class barrio in Buenos Aires) that produces hand-painted books covers from cardboard that Cartoneros collect.

2. ‘Eloisa’ from the name of a founders’ crush; ‘Cartonera’ from or belonging to cartón~ tb, persona que hace o vende cartones u obras hechas en cartón.

3. see Cartoneros; ~individuals/families who collect recyclables from trash on the sidewalks at night and sell it for a living esp. after the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina, when the price of paper and carton increased drastically.

4. “literatura latinoamericana de los autores más bellos que hemos conocido en nuestra vida de trabajadores y lectores…”

5. 3x más de lo que les pagan a los cartoneros en otros depósitos.

6. “El trabajo como transformación social”~Washington Cucurto, Argentine writer & one of the founders.

7. $5 pesos/libro; $30 handmade shirts; $10 notebooks; $20 libro especial (1 U$S = Arg $ 3.7)

8. a challenge to neo-liberal political and economic hegemony.

9. catalyst for the creation of other publishing houses throughout América Latina (See: Sarita Cartonera: Lima, Peru. Est. 2004; Animita Cartonera: Santiago, Chile. Est. 2005; Mandrágora Cartonera: Cochabamba, Bolivia. Est. 2005; Yerba Mala Cartonera: El Alto, Bolivia. Est. 2006; Dulcinéia Catadora: São Paulo, Brazil. Est. 2007; Yiyi Jambo: Asunción, Paraguay. Est. 2007; La Cartonera: Cuernavaca, Mexico. Est. 2008.

10. Literature to the people

Origen:
2003; See Eloísa Cartonera.

Image Credits: Anne Johnson