Carnaval Fever

Alive, corporeal, and sensory, Carnival Fever is a story told through the eyes of Ainhoa, a young girl growing up in the Afro-descendant community of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, in the 1990s. Ainhoa lives a protected life within the walls of her grandmother’s house, surrounded by a gaggle of aunts who love, correct, and teach her. As she narrates moments with them, with her mother, with her father, Ainhoa invokes the powerful presence of music and dance in her daily life – but especially at Carnival – as the expression of Afro-Ecuadorian culture. Sublimely translated by Madeleine Arenivar, Yuliana Ortiz Ruano explores economic hardship, migration, and the spectre of male violence, as well as enormous cultural richness and the resilience of communities of women.