Cañaveral: rastros vegetales en paisajes de agua

Águeda Fernández Astorga

Authors

Águeda Fernández Astorga Institute of Human, Social, and Environmental Sciences (INCIHUSA), Executing Unit of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) (Mendoza); National University of San Juan (UNSJ) https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8854-4784

Abstract

The five photographs that make up this work stem from a process of walking, observation, and daily interaction with the plant worlds inhabiting the "Callejón de los Gringos" in Albardón, San Juan, Argentina. It is a territory that emerges alongside the course of the San Juan River, where vital rhythms—of sowing, irrigation, and coexistence—are deeply inscribed in the movement of the water and its gradual recession. In this landscape, plants become presences that tell stories: stories of abundance, recent droughts, silent resilience, and those traces revealed only to those who open their bodies to walking and listening.

Author Biography

Águeda Fernández Astorga, Institute of Human, Social, and Environmental Sciences (INCIHUSA), Executing Unit of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) (Mendoza); National University of San Juan (UNSJ)

Researcher, practitioner, and cultural manager born in San Juan, Argentina. Her work lies at the intersection of ethnography, art, landscape, and relational-ontological studies, deeply rooted in a specific territory and driven by a constant concern for practices of care between human and non-human worlds—particularly the plant world. She holds a degree in Art History from the National University of Cuyo and is a doctoral candidate in Social Sciences at the National University of San Juan, where she conducts her research as a fellow of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Her thesis explores the connections between people and plant worlds in rural territories, focusing on everyday care practices, food production, and landscape construction. Her approach integrates relational theory, decolonial perspectives, and situated methodologies, bringing Latin American authors into dialogue with local knowledge and lived experiences. She has pursued postgraduate training in community feminisms, critical epistemologies, and participatory methodologies, including a diploma program in Community, Peasant, and Grassroots Feminisms in Abya Yala (UNJu – Rodolfo Kusch Institute). She is a member of research teams at UNSJ, CONICET, and INCIHUSA focused on cultural landscapes, sustainability, and situated ethnographic practices. She is a co-founder and producer of "Cinco Elementos – Ecosistema Cultural" and the creator of "Chilka"—a project within the Federal Network of Cultural Hubs (Red Federal de Puntos de Cultura)—which focuses on native plants, phytomedicine, natural nutrition, and community-based workshops involving intergenerational participation. Additionally, she was a member of the Albardón Tourist and Ecological Cooperative (COALTEC). She combines her academic work with participation in collective efforts to defend water and territory in San Juan, taking part in socio-environmental assemblies that have been fighting for the protection of the commons for over two decades. She has participated as a speaker at national and international conferences and gatherings, and has authored or co-authored articles and book chapters on cultural landscapes, autoethnography, ceramic practices, and photographic archives. Her writing combines conceptual analysis with ethnographic narrative, championing a form of knowledge that is situated, sensitive, and ethically committed to life. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Network for Information and Discussion on Archaeology and Heritage.