Maria Clara Sharupi Jua

Maria Clara Sharupi Jua (1964) was born in Sevilla Don Bosco, in the province of Morona Santiago, Ecuador, and is a member of the Shuar Nation. In her poetry and prose, she seeks to transmit the magic of nature, the universe, and the ancestral wisdom found in Shuar cosmology. She is the co-author of several books, including Amanece en nuestras vidas (2011), Collar de historias y Lunas (2012), My Voice (2014), and Sin Alegría no hay esperanza (2021). During the pandemic she has written articles for the EURAC Institute (2019), given talks on diversity among the Shuar and ancestral architecture at universities in Nashville and Temuco (2021), and received the “Aurelio Espinoza Pólit” Award for literary accomplishment (2021). She has also worked as a translator and a radio/television presenter in her language, Shuar Chicham, and in Spanish. Her verse collection Tarimiat (2019) was published in bilingual Shuar Chicham/Spanish edition. She is a human rights activist who works in the field of cultural rights and towards the eradication of violence against women.