Erica F. Alio Warr

Since when do you write?

As far as I can remember, reading and writing have always been there by my side, accompanying me. One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting in my highchair while watching my mother deal with the daily housework. She used to wash the window panes and mirrors with sponges soaked in soap and, while cleaning, she would use the foam to draw random letters and syllables on the surfaces and read them aloud. It was such a challenge to repeat after her and learn to write them!

Later, I discovered little colourful books and then comics, songs, short stories, novels... They all seemed to be bridges into parallel universes where adventure was endless. Writing was a game where you were allowed to be the creator of some of those worlds. Of course, I am not talking of literary quality or any kind of prodigious child: you just begin by writing a lullaby for your teddy, a poem for kindergarten, or a love letter to the boy who has stolen your heart. I used to have an imaginary publishing house in my garden where I created my own magazines, illustrated them and stitched them together with woollen thread. Writing was the game I loved to play, my way of materializing fantasies just by moulding words together.

Why do you write?

For pleasure, habit, the need to do it…

Where does the idea of this book come from?

This book comes from my wish of reviving some of the ancient legends that fascinated me as a child. However, I wanted to tell them in two different languages so their magic could reach other cultures beyond the Spanish speaking world without missing the enchantment of having the original text at hand. The stories are narrated from a fresh point of view, with the incorporation of new stories made up from anecdotes and popular tales and the addition of new characters and situations that developed from reading different versions of each legend.

Which are the main themes in the legends?

The legends are mythical, historical. The themes of the stories are mainly aetiological, rural and eschatological. During our journey through the pages of Legends of the South, we will be accompanied by visitors from the underworld, warned by messages delivered in prophetic dreams; we will fight monstrous creatures, we will witness the resurgence of life after death, we will be redeemed by our protector spirits and, at the final destiny of the soul, we will have to abide by the divine judgment.

Which working methodology have you used?

I have basically applied the same methodology we used to work with as translation students when dealing with compared structures. Both texts have been created simultaneously, on two parallel pages, one for each language. The challenge of working this way is to decide which structures to adapt, or not, in order to maintain the natural flow of each language without being unfaithful to the twin version. The final correction was mostly proof reading the texts aloud in order to adjust their rhythm.

What have you learnt from the experience of writing this book?

Well, I´ve had such a wonderful time working on this book that I am already fully engaged in the next one.

Which has been the biggest challenge?

I´m not quite sure. I suppose the biggest challenge has been making the final decision whether or not to publish this work.

Which effect do you want your book to have on the readers?

I would like the readers to be awakened by these millenary ancestor voices into a new way of perceiving the world around them, a magical perception of reality.

How would you define your style?

For this book, I have tried to achieve a clear and simple style. I was working with legends so my main goals have been to maintain a concise language and to make clarity more prevalent than anything in the narrative.

How long did it take you to finish this book?

From the very first conception of the idea until the last correction, it has taken me about five months. Drawing and painting the right illustrations to accompany the book has been particularly time consuming. It was difficult to make a final decision for any particular style. In the end, I can only say that I have really enjoyed playing around with my watercolors, brushes and pencils and that, now, I keep a very eclectic portfolio of non used sketches as a reminder.

Which one is your favorite legend and why?

As a child, I was fascinated by the legend of Huiñaj, the messianic princess, the eternal rebirth. Also, when playing with my cousins ??by the river, we used to fantasize that one day, despite our fragility, we would be able to capture the evil Curupí. From my book, however, it is Maria and the Zupay the one that manages to grab me into its dark underworld. I have conceived this story based on some real-life anecdotes you hear around, where women like Maria never managed to have a better ending than the ill-fated character in this legend. Maybe they also held the Zupay by the hand.

Do you follow any schedule? Where do you write?

I do not follow any particular work schedule. I always write at my office desk during times there are no patients in my practice. It is a small office -furnished in white, with orange and gold walls- where I feel absolutely at ease. To my left, there is an archway to the music therapy room and, on the other side, a large window opens onto a wooded stepped garden. I could say that I write at my tiny place in the world from where I allow myself to fantasize and escape to enjoy my inner universe.

What would you advice those who are starting to write?

I would advice new writers to be nobody but themselves, to write from their own essence and to always be faithful to this transparency.

How do you rate the publishing process?

The publishing process has been fascinating. I must admit it made me work on aspects of the book that I would have never imagined without the support of Caligrama.

15.End the sentence: Caligrama is

... a lucky discovery that has brought me a lot of joy during this most delightful working process hand in hand with its team.

Random questions:

The author says: "It is impossible to choose only one book or one author. In one way or another, each book that reaches our hands has some sort of impact on us. Moreover, I honestly must confess that, in the last years, I have not devoted myself to reading fiction but living it! (she laughs) ». «Along my path, I have found captivating Jorge Luis Borges´s stories, Hermann Hesse´s Demian, James Joyce´s Dubliners, Peter Shaffer´s Amadeus, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz´s poems, T. Lobsang Rampa´s The Third Eye, Margaret Edson´s Wit and my beloved Little Prince, eternal on my night table even in several different languages ??».

AN INSPIRATIONAL PLACE:

the infinite universe that lies beyond our own closed eyelids.

A PHRASE OF YOUR BOOK:

“Legends reach for us pulsating from our ancestors’ memory, whispering a reality that can only be explained from a magical conception.”