Racial Others in Spain: The Articulation of Shifting Identities in the Works of Amazigh/Berber-Catalan Writer Saïd El Kadaoui Moussaoui

• Autores: Cristian H. Ricci
• Localización: The Routledge Hispanic studies companion to twentieth and twenty-first century Spain: ideas, practices, imaginings / coord. por Eduardo Ledesma, Luisa Elena Delgado, 2025, ISBN 978-1-032-96468-3, págs. 355-365
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This chapter studies Amazigh authors who not only write in Catalan but have also resided in Catalonia since childhood. Esteemed figures like Saïd El Kadaoui Moussaoui, Najat El Hachmi, Laila Karrouch, Jamila al-Hassani, Karima Ziali, Safia El Aaddam, and Youssef El Maimouni exemplify the intricate processes wherein literary creation becomes a manifestation of migration – a mental journey and an explorative itinerary. These writers navigate the interplay between their native and adopted cultures, maintaining a dual perspective shaped by the experience of displacement. Their narratives, marked by a sense of unhomeliness, challenge prevailing power structures, establishing literary realms that transcend national borders. Identity nuances emerge, influenced by class, gendered perspectives in their narratives, and their position within generational and immigration contexts. While some insightful analyses exist, particularly concerning Maghrebian immigrant writers in the Iberian Peninsula, focusing on Najat El Hachmi’s narrative, a broader scholarly conversation remains absent. This lacuna includes a lack of comprehensive discussions on issues such as Amazigh/Berber race, (sub)ethnicity, religion, nationhood, and diaspora within the narrative of Saïd El Kadaoui Moussaoui. This chapter endeavors to fill these gaps by delving into El Kadaoui Moussaoui’s sense of selfhood in relation to notions of home (both as a nation and a domestic space) and the concept of return. It seeks to unveil the reasons behind his persistent textual exploration of these themes.