Revista de Estudios Hispánicos

Abstract:

In the onomatopoeic song “Xalolilo lelele’” by Humberto Ak’abal, there are tensions between the K’iche’ poet and his audiences in terms of cultural and linguistic access, specifically relating to orality. Ak’abal has transferred many of the oral discourses in his poetry onto the printed page in multiple languages, but he does not translate “Xalolilo lelele’,” limiting non-K’iche’-speaking audiences’ access to the text. In this article, I demonstrate that Ak’abal’s selective translation responds to sociocultural issues of Indigenous language use and economic factors of the book publishing industry, in which publishers and translators also influence the text. Given the complexities of translation and cultural agency, I argue that Ak’abal’s refusal to translate “Xalolilo lelele’” is not a malicious act of exclusion, but rather a decolonial gesture to undermine acoustic colonialism (Cárcamo-Huechante) and advocate for the preservation of Maya languages and their representation in the Guatemalan book market.