Christian Elguera Olortegui

Assistant Professor of Spanish, Latin American, Caribbean & Latinx Studies

Bio

Dr. Christian Elguera Olortegui was born and raised in Lima, Peru's capital city. However, he recognizes his family roots in Tingo Mar铆a (a Peruvian Amazon town in the province of Huanuco). He earned a PhD in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Literatures from the University of Texas at Austin. He also completed a Graduate Portfolio in the Native American and Indigenous Studies program at this institution. Before joining Marist as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Elguera Olortegui held appointments as a Lecturer at the University of Oklahoma and a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Mary鈥檚 University of San Antonio.

His forthcoming book, El marxismo g贸tico de Xavier Abril, draws attention to the relations between Socialism, Surrealism, and the Spanish American vanguards between 1920 and 1930. In this research, Dr. Elguera Olortegui analyzes the short novel El aut贸mata (The Automaton) by the Peruvian author Xavier Abril to understand the connections between revolutionary and surrealist ideologies, which he calls Gothic Marxism in dialogue with Walter Benjamin, Margaret Cohen, and Michael L枚wy. Currently, Dr. Elguera Olortegui is completing his second monograph, entitled. Territorial Translations: The Defense of Indigenous Lands in Brazil and Peru. Here, he explores how Amerindian writers, activists, and intellectuals in Peru and Brazil protect their communities by translating their territorial practices and insights through literary texts, radio broadcasts, and visual arts. In this venue, he studies Jos茅 Mar铆a Arguedas鈥檚 poetry in Quechua (1960s), Daniel Munduruku鈥檚 Cr么nicas de S茫o Paulo (2004), the Indigenous radio show 鈥淧rograma de Indio鈥� in Brazil (1985-1991), and the 鈥淣acional Peasant Drawing and Painting Contest鈥� in Peru (1984-1996). 

Since 2021, Dr. Elguera Olortegui has been the Indigenous Literature correspondent for Latin American Literature Today (LALT). As part of his responsibilities, he has invited Amerindian writers to publish their works and translated their poems from Spanish, Portuguese, and Quechua into English. As a literary translator, Dr Elguera Olortegui underlines the crucial role translation plays in cementing global encounters. In his classes, students have translated indigenous poetry from Spanish and Portuguese into English, creating a collaborative network. Finally, he chooses, edits, and publishes the most outstanding translations to emerge from this activity in LALT. For Dr. Elguera, creating opportunities to share students鈥� intellectual work is one of his principal tenets as an instructor and translator. See the recent Marist student鈥檚 translation in the following link:

His teaching practice is dedicated to educational excellence, incorporating innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance intercultural dialogues. Therefore, his methodology diverges from a traditional approach that views students as passive recipients of knowledge. As an instructor, he aspires to provide high-quality education and expand students' academic and professional opportunities. 

As a creative writer, his first novel Los espectros (The Specters), won the IX Novel Biennial Cop茅 Award in 2023. In 2022, Dr. Elguera Olortegui won another accolade in a literary contest: the Cop茅 Silver for his short story 鈥淓l 煤ltimo sortilegio de Fernando Pessoa鈥� (鈥淭he Last Conjuring of Fernando Pessoa鈥�). In addition, he received an honorable mention in the XXI Short Story Biennial Cop茅 Award for his narration 鈥淓l extra帽o caso del se帽or Panizza鈥� (鈥淭he Strange Case of Mr. Panizza鈥�) in 2020. He has also received another honorable mention in the XIII Concurso Nacional de Cuento 鈥� Premio Jos茅 Watanabe Varas 2024. 
 

Education

PhD, Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures, University of Texas at Austin, 2020
BA, Literature, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2013

Research Interests / Areas of Focus

Indigenous Literatures in Abiayala, Quechua Poetry, Decolonial Methodologies, Critical Race Theory, Literary Translation (Theory and Practice), Brazilian Studies, Environmental Humanities, Hispanic Writers in the US.

Selected Publications

Territorial Translation in Contemporary Quechua Poetry: Translating Andean Spatialities in Jarawi by Dida Aguirre. Literary Translation in Latin America in the 21st Century: Bridging Experiences, Theories and Cultures, edited by Dirce Waltrick and Leticia Goellner. University College London. Forthcoming. 

Genealogy of Indigenist Translations: from Colonized Methodologies to Indigenous Self-determination in Peru, 20th and 21st centuries. Mapping Diversity in Latin America, edited by Miguel Valerio and Mabel Mora帽a. Vanderbilt University Press, 2025, pp. 348-378.

Alianzas afectivas y traducciones territoriales: La masacre Ticuna (1988) en el Programa de 脥ndio.  Met谩fora. Revista de literatura y an谩lisis del discurso. Vol. 8, No. 13, 2025, pp. 131-157.

鈥淥s rios, os peixes, as matas, est茫o pedindo socorro鈥�: Davi Kopenawa y las soberan铆as Yanomami en el Programa de 脥ndio. Revista de Estudios Brasile帽os, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 33鈥�46, 2023.

Traducciones territoriales en la poes铆a de Ch鈥檃ska Anka Ninawan, Dina Ananco, Gloria C谩ceres y Dida Aguirre. Vivir la violencia en el Per煤 del nuevo milenio, edited by Oswaldo Estrada and Carlos Villacorta. Ediciones MyL, pp. 153-176, 2023. 

(with Daisy Saravia). Octavio Paz, The Task of an Unknown and Modern Translator: Matsuo Bash艒 and Alberto Caeiro's Poetry According to Paz鈥檚 Versions. Routledge Handbook of Latin American Literary Translation, edited by Denise Kripper and Delfina Cabrera. Routledge, pp. 222-240, 2023. 

Antiracist Spatial Narratives in Daniel Munduruku鈥檚 Cr么nicas De S茫o Paulo: Indigenous Place-Names and Migration in the Paulista Capital City. Poetics of Race in Latin America, edited by Mabel Mora帽a. Anthem Press, pp.185-200, 2022. 

Cities of Rivers, Mountains and Serpents: Non-Human Territorialities in Jaime Saenz and Jos茅 Mar铆a Arguedas. Bolivian Studies Journal, no. 17, pp. 1-27, 2021.

Ontological Migrations in Jos茅 Mar铆a Arguedas鈥檚 Tupac Amaru Kamaq Taytanchisman: The Triumph of Runa Migrants Against the Colonial Violence in Lima. 顿颈谩濒辞驳辞, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 119-132, 2020. 
 

Translations

Three poems in Quechua by Javier Pariona Salvatierra. Latin American Literature Today, no. 34, 2025. Translation from Quechua to English. 

Two poems in Quechua by Gloria C谩ceres Vargas. Latin American Literature Today, no. 33, 2025. Translation from Quechua to English. 

鈥淩etomada origin谩ria鈥� and 鈥淢atriarcal cunh茫鈥� by Renata Machado Tupinamb谩. Latin American Literature Today, no. 32, 2024. Translation from Portuguese to English and Spanish. 

Two poems in Quechua by Dida Aguirre. Latin American Literature Today, no. 31, 2024. Translation from Quechua to English. 

Three poems by Trudru谩 Dorrico. Latin American Literature Today, no. 30, 2024. Translation from Portuguese to Spanish and English. 
 

Creative Work

Los espectros. Ediciones Cop茅, 2025.

El 煤ltimo sortilegio de Fernando Pessoa. D铆as de prueba esperando a Paradise y los cuentos ganadores y finalistas de la XXII Bienal de Cuento Premio Cop茅 2022. Ediciones Cop茅, 2023, pp. 37-68.

El extra帽o caso del Sr. Panizza. El dedo en el disparador y los cuentos menciones honrosas y finalistas de la XXI Bienal de Cuento Premio Cop茅 2020. Ediciones Cop茅, 2021, pp. 63-84.
 

Selected Presentations

Infancia y territorialidad andina en Wi帽ay suyasqayki y Muqu patapi de Gloria C谩ceres Vargas. I Coloquio Nacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil: Voces del Ande. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru, September 23, 2025 (Conference Paper).

Literatura infantil en Brasil desde una perspectiva ind铆gena: las traducciones ecol贸gicas de Daniel Munduruku. II Congreso Internacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil: Ambiente y Nuevos Medios. Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Lima, Peru, August 29, 2025 (Conference Paper).

鈥淎dubados com sangue ind铆gena鈥�: Traducci贸n territorial y pensamiento medioambiental en la obra de Trud煤a Dorrico.  XLV Congreso Internacional Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana (IILI), Pontificia Universidad Cat贸lica del Per煤, Lima, Peru, July 19, 2025.  

Traducciones territoriales en la literatura quechua. Casa de la Literatura Peruana, Lima, Peru, January 16, 2025  (Guest Speaker).

Huellas del archivo colonial andino: Guam谩n Poma de Ayala en la novela Muchas veces dud茅 de Luis Nieto Degregori. LASA 2024, Hybrid Congress: Reacci贸n y resistencia: Imaginar futuros posibles en las Am茅ricas, Bogot谩, Colombia, June 12鈥�15, 2024 (Conference Paper).

Perspectivas Quechua, Tsotsil y Macuxi sobre el canon literario latinoamericano. Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Lima, Peru, December 1, 2023 (Guest Speaker).

Jos茅 Mar铆a Arguedas, traductor de textos quechuas del periodo colonial: Apu Inka Atawallpaman y el archivo de la traducci贸n. I Congreso Internacional Jos茅 Mar铆a Arguedas. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru, December 1, 2023 (Conference Paper)

Editar literaturas ind铆genas hoy: antolog铆as de poes铆a quechua y n谩huatl. VII Encuentro Intercultural de Literaturas Amerindias (EILA). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Monday, August 21, 2023 (Guest Speaker).

La funci贸n de la literatura quechua en Bolivia: memoria, saberes ancestrales y componentes sobrenaturales en las narraciones de Gladys Camacho R铆os y Noemy Condori Arias. LASA 2023, Hybrid Congress: Am茅rica Latina y el Caribe: Pensar, Representar y Luchar por los Derechos, May 24鈥�27.

Media Links

 

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Contact Information

Academic School

School of Liberal Arts

Office

Fontaine 316

Email

christian.elgueraolortegui@marist.edu

Phone

845-575-3000 ext. 2581