Cartonera

Cartonera is a social, political and artistic publishing movement that began in Argentina in 2003 and has since spread to countries throughout Latin America and, more recently, to Europe and Africa.

The founders, Washington Cucurto, Javier Barilaro and Fernanda Laguna started Eloísa Cartonera in Buenos Aires in response to the 2001 economic crisis in which the Argentine peso plummeted to one third of its value.

The difficult economic situation led to an increase in the number of cartoneros, people who make their living collecting and selling salvaged materials to recycling plants.

The Cartonera publishers also involve the community in the process of book creation and distribution through a cooperative learning experience, putting aside educational and socioeconomic divides among participants.

While digital media are often used to write about Cartonera, the books themselves are art-objects steeped in the smells and smudges of tempera paint and rough scissor-cut edges.