THE UNIVERSE OF CARTONERO BOOKS – AVEIRO

Date: October 10, 2023

“THE UNIVERSE OF CARTONERO BOOKS” – AVEIRO

The Fanzineteca of Aveiro is hosting a literary exhibition of “cartonero” books, which is touring around Portugal.

It is a collection of handmade books from all over the world that carry messages from writers and artists who practice outside conventional publishing circuits.

In this collection of publications, we find vehicles for political, social, and creative intervention that give a voice to those who usually do not have one. They represent valuable and active statements by their creators and open doors to the democratization of the acts of writing and publishing.

Having emerged in South America during times of great social unrest and within already vulnerable segments of society, these initiatives found in this medium a way to improve their skills through writing and graphic creation.
They are, therefore, editorial proposals born out of precarious conditions, but which provide their creators with a new personal and creative dimension.

There is also an important ecological dimension in this approach, as it discovered a way to value common materials like cardboard, which here gains a new life cycle with added artistic and economic value.

This initiative fits within the philosophy of the Fanzineteca de Aveiro, as it shares an alternative and irreverent editorial attitude that Cartonero Books have in common with Fanzines.

PROGRAMME:

1 – Exhibition “The Universe of Cartonero Books”, Dates: October 10 to November 17 (Mon – Fri: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM), Location: Fanzineteca de Aveiro – Library of Escola Secundária José Estêvão

2 – Presentation of the documentary “Carretera Cartonera” by Marta Mancusi and Anna Trento, with online commentary by Gaudêncio Gaudério (Vento Norte Cartonero Publisher), Date: Wednesday, October 18, from 2:20 PM to 4:45 PM, Location: Multipurpose Amphitheater of Escola Secundária José Estêvão

3 – Workshop for making Cartonero Books, Date: Wednesday, October 25, at 2:20 PM (For high school Visual Arts students), Location: Escola Secundária José Estêvão

4 – Poetry Reading, Date: Saturday, October 28, at 4:00 PM, Location: Café Amizade – Aveiro

5 – Mini-Exhibition “The Universe of Cartonero Books”, Dates: October 10 to November 17 (Tue – Sat: 11:30 AM – 1:00 AM / Sun: 4:30 PM – 1:00 AM), Location: Café Amizade, Aveiro

Location: Fanzineteca de Aveiro / Library of José Estêvão Secondary School
E-mail: fanzinetecadeaveiro@fanzine.pt
Dates: October 10 to November 17, 2023 (Soft opening on October 10 at 3:00 PM)

Curatorship: Vento Norte Cartonero
Local Organization: Fanzineteca de Aveiro / Edições UV / Miguel Correia
National Organization: CES – Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra / Animar
Partners: José Estêvão School Group / National Arts Plan / Ultra Violenta Fanzine / Café Amizade

CONTEXT

“The story of cartonera publishers begins with a touch of tragic fable.
Once upon a time, there was a country below the famous Equator line, plunged into yet another of its habitual cyclical crises.
It is in this context that the world’s first cartonera publisher emerged; today, it is estimated that more than 150 operate across the globe. Created by small groups of people connected to literary and cultural production, and in some cases by collectives with political and social concerns, cartonera publishers often function as interventionist initiatives to give voice and language to those who have long been silenced, and to make writing and reading practices more present in everyday life — especially among groups historically marginalized from literate culture.”
It can be said that the originality of the cartonero book lies in the material used for the covers and the artistic work they receive, because by employing cardboard (cartón in Spanish), the typical fate of this material in consumer society — ending up in landfills or recycling companies — is reversed through creativity, transforming it into part of an object that aims to be integrated under a different logic within the realm of symbolic goods.
In this sense, the choice of cardboard is linked to an act of ecological awareness in today’s struggle for the planet’s sustainability—a gesture that is also, in itself, a political stance.
Additionally, the result of the artistic interventions on the covers, using different techniques, gives the cartonero book a certain “aura,” as each copy becomes unique due to its singularity.
The exhibition presented here is just a small sample of the diverse universe of cartonero books. Visitors will be able to see what publishers from various countries in Latin America, Europe, and Africa produce, and the unique way they create their books. The guiding spirit is to enable the Portuguese {and Aveiro} public to discover this publishing approach, which was born out of hardship and has now spread across different remote regions of the world.

[Excertos de um texto de Gaudêncio Gaudério, Vento Norte Cartonero]

DETAILS

Publishers: 69
Countries: 18 Books: 194
Plus 25 additional books created in the territories where the exhibition traveled.

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REPRESENTED PUBLISHERS

ARGENTINA

Cartonera Yellow Red and Blue
Year of creation: 2012 City: Córdoba (Argentina)

Cieneguita Cartonera
Year of creation: 2011 City: La Cieneguita (Argentina)

Corazón Reciclado
Year of creation: 2017 City: Necochea (Argentina)

Editorial Cuenteros Verseros y Poetas
Year of creation: 2010 City: Penitentiary of Florencio Varela (Argentina)

Editorial Municipal Chivilcoy
Year of creation: 2016 City: Chivilcoy (Argentina)

Eloisa Cartonera
Year of creation: 2003 City: Buenos Aires (Argentina)

El Piche Cartonero
Year of creation: City: Trelew (Argentina) Various authors: Carpinteras

BOLIVIA

4Nombres Cartonera
Year of creation: 2014 City: Sucre (Bolivia)

BRAZIL

Butecanis Editora Cabocla
Year of creation: 2013 City: Camboriu (Brazil)

Candeeiro Cartonera
Year of creation: 2015 City: Caruaru (Brazil)

Castelar Cartonera
Year of creation: 2019 City: Salvador (Brazil)

Catapoesia
Year of creation: 2009 City: Serra Negra (Brazil)

Chita Cartonera
Year of creation: 2017 City: Aracaju (Brazil)

Clãdestina Cartonera
Year of creation: 2015 City: Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

Dulcineia Catadora
Year of creation: 2007 City: São Paulo (Brazil)

Eureka Cartonera
Year of creation: 2020 City: Igatu (Brazil)

Flora Cartonera (minimum daily)
Year of creation: 2014 City: São Paulo (Brazil)

Licuri Livros Artesanais
Year of creation: 2019 City: Salvador (Brazil)

Maria Preta Cartonera
Year of creation: 2019 City: Ladário (Brazil)

Mariposa Cartonera
Year of creation: 2013 City: Recife (Brazil)

Va Cartonera
Year of creation: 2018 City: São Paulo (Brazil)

Vento Norte Cartonero
Year of creation: 2014 City: Santa Maria (Brazil)

Voz Cartonera
Year of creation: 2017 City: São José dos Pinhais (Brazil)

Yiyi Jambo
Ano de criação: 2007 Cidade: Ponta Porã (Brasil)

COLOMBIA

Amapola Cartonera
Year of creation: 2012 City: Bogotá (Colombia)

La Maestra Cartonera
Year of creation: 2010 City: Bogotá (Colombia)

COSTA RICA

CartoneraTica
Year of creation: 2010 City: San José (Costa Rica)

CHILE

Editorial Cayó La Teja
Year of creation: 2015 City: Santiago (Chile)

Isi Cartonera
Year of creation: 2012 City: Santiago (Chile)

La Grullita Cartonera
Year of creation: 2015 City: Santiago (Chile)

La Joyita Cartonera
Year of creation: 2014 City: Santiago (Chile)

La Vieja Sapa Cartonera
Year of creation: 2012 City: Santiago (Chile)

Loquita Cartonera
Year of creation: 2014 City: Santiago (Chile)

Maniobra Cartonera
Year of creation: 2021 City: Melipilla (Chile)

Olga Cartonera
Year of creation: 2012 City: Santiago (Chile)

Publicaciones Marca Chancho
Year of creation: 2017 City: Santiago (Chile)

ECUADOR

Liberta Cartonera
Year of creation: 2020 City: Quito (Ecuador)

SPAIN

Astromántica Cartoneira
Year of creation: 2014 City: Vigo (Spain)

Cartonera del Escorpión Azul
Year of creation: 2019 City: Madrid (Spain)

Cartonera Island
Year of creation: 2012 City: La Laguna / Tenerife (Spain)

Ediciones Karakarton
Year of creation: 2012 City: Barcelona (Spain)

Meninas Cartoneras
Year of creation: 2009 City: Madrid (Spain)

Nomelibro Nilointento Cartonera
Year of creation: 2018 City: Vigo (Spain)

Pensaré Cartoneras
Year of creation: 2013 City: Valencia (Spain)

UNITED STATES

Aquifer Cartonera
Year of creation: 2020 City: San Marcos (United States)

Memphis Cartonera
Year of creation: 2016 City: Memphis (United States)

FRANCE

La Marge
Year of creation: 2014 City: Angers (France)

GUATEMALA

Proyecto Editorial Los Zopilotes
Year of creation: 2014 City: Antigua (Guatemala)

ITALY

Pangea Cartonera
Year of creation: 2016 City: Padova (Italy)

MEXICO

Cartopirata Editorial
Year of creation: 2014 City: Cuernavaca (Mexico)

Kodama Cartonera
Year of creation: 2010 City: Tijuana (Mexico)

La Biznaga Cartonera
Year of creation: 2013 City: Cajeme (Mexico)

La Cartonera
Year of creation: 2008 City: Cuernavaca (Mexico)

La Regia Cartonera
Year of creation: 2009 City: Monterrey (Mexico)

La Rueda Cartonera
Year of creation: 2009 City: Xalisco (Mexico)

Pachuk Cartonera Editorial
Year of creation: 2014 City: Pachuca (Mexico)

Viento Cartonero
Year of creation: 2013 City: Ecatepec de Morelos (Mexico)

PANAMA

Ediciones Pelo Malo (Cartonera)
Year of creation: 2014 City: Panama City (Panama)

PERU

Amaru Cartonera
Year of creation: 2013 City: Lima (Peru)

El Silencio Cartonera
Year of creation: 2021 City: Lima (Peru)

Puriq Cartonera
Year of creation: 2021 City: Ayacucho (Peru)

Sancho Cartonero
Year of creation: 2021 City: Lima (Peru)

Viringo Cartonero
Year of creation: 2013 City: Lima (Peru)

PUERTO RICO

Coqui Cartonero Editorial
Year of creation: 2015 City: San Juan (Puerto Rico)

PORTUGAL

Biblioteca Clandestina Cartonera
Year of creation: 2022 City: Algarve (Portugal)

Eva Cartonera
Year of creation: 2019 City: Barreiro (Portugal)

Gongon Cartoneira
Year of creation: 2022 City: Lisbon (Portugal)

Pachamama Cartonera
Year of creation: 2021 City: Lisbon (Portugal)

VENEZUELA

Dirtsa Cartonera
Year of creation: 2014 City: Maracay (Venezuela)

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