María Clara Sharupi Jua (born 1964) is an Ecuadorian translator, poet, and radio and television presenter who writes in the Shuar language, an

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

of the Ecuadorian

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

Life

María Clara Sharupi Jua is a native of the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

's Shuar Nation, born in Sevilla Don Bosco in Ecuador's Morona-Santiago Province. She grew up in the forest, working to help grow food for her family. She then attended

Politecnica Salesiana University The Politecnica Salesiana University in Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Eq ...

, where she studied

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. She writes poetry in Shuar, her native language, while simultaneously translating it into Spanish with the goal of attracting a wider readership. She also modifies the writing system of her ancestral language, adapting it to the Latin alphabet. Sharupi Jua's poetry is meant to serve as a reflection of the forest and to share her ancestral stories, as well as the stories of her community today. She is a co-author of the book ''Amanece en nuestras vidas'', and her other works include the book of poetry ''Tarimiat'', written in Shuar, Spanish, and English. In addition, Sharupi Jua is a translator and a presenter in both Shuar and Spanish on radio and TV. She served on the translation team that edited the official Shuar translation of the

Ecuadorian Constitution Ecuador's first constitution as a republic was established in 1830, following the country's independence from Gran Colombia. Ecuador has had a total of twenty constitutions over the course of its history, which can be seen as a symptom of Ecuador' ...

. In 2011 she participated in the

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

International Book Festival, and in 2012 she participated in the

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

International Poetry Festival. She lives in Quito, where she has also worked on indigenous issues for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migration. She was recognized by the

Andean Community The Andean Community ( es, Comunidad Andina, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact un ...

for her work to defend and preserve the Shuar language through her poetry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharupi Jua, María Clara 1964 births Ecuadorian women poets Ecuadorian translators 21st-century indigenous women of the Americas Indigenous writers of the Americas People from Morona Canton Living people 21st-century Ecuadorian women