Topophilia from the perspective of food biodiversity for an island in Chile, Chiloé. The poetry of Sergio Mansilla Torres

Abstract

In the poetry books El sol y sus acorralados danzantes, Óyeme como quien oye llover and Quercún, Sergio Mansilla invents a language that express his topophilia for the natural and cultural landscape of Chiloé. This topophilia weaves a thread that expands trough foods, where the gastronomic heritage includes nalca, chicha, various seafoods, such as choros zapatos, piures, barley’s coffee and the many types of potatoes and their cooking. The poet creates diverse food scene but it memories imbued with a constant melancholy that he cannot solve. The writing of these food scenes is encoded by chilote words, here myths and name of vegetables and seafood are the way of the subjectivity rooted om an island in South of Chile.