Elva Ambía

Elva Ambía (born 1941) is a Peruvian award-winning educator, Quechua language activist, writer, and founder of the Quechua Collective of New York.

Elva Ambía
Born1941 (age 81–82)
Huancavelica, Peru
OccupationWriter
LanguageQuechua, Spanish
NationalityPeruvian
GenreChildren's literature, non-fiction
Years active2012–present
Notable worksQoricha (2017)
Notable awardsQuechua Award for Lifetime Achievement

Early life

A Quechua native speaker, Elva Ambía was born in the Andean region of Huancavelica and grew up in Chincheros, Apurímac; then migrated to Lima, the country's capital. Due to the country's economic situation and to help her family in Peru, she migrated to the United States at the age of 22.[1] In New York City she worked at sewing factories, social service offices and schools.

Quechua language activism

Ambía said that her activism started when she tried to find Quechua books at her local public library, and realized she couldn't find anyone. Then, she felt the need to promote this language and culture of the Andes.[2] In 2012 she co-founded the Quechua Collective of New York.[3] The organization's mission aims to preserve and diffuse Quechua languages through workshops, cultural events, and educational programming in New York City.[4][5]

The documentary Living Quechua (2015) features Elva Ambía's work on promoting Quechua and Indigenous Languages in the United States.[6][7] In 2018 Ambía received the Quechua Award for Lifetime Achievement by The Quechua Alliance.[8]

Literary works

In 2017 she published Qoricha, a trilingual children's book in Quechua, Spanish and English.[9]

References
  1. "Meet Elva Ambía, the Woman Who Started a Quechua School in NY to Pass on the Language". remezcla.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  2. "Discovering Quechua with Elva Ambia". Discovering Language. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. "Reviving a Fading Language Called Quechua". WSJ. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  4. "Quechua Collective: About". quechuacollective.org. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  5. "Preserving the Language of the Andes in NY". voicesofny.org. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  6. "Runasimiwan Kawsay Viviendo con el Quechua Living Quechua". livingquechua.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  7. "Screening of 'Living Quechua' and a conversation with Quechua-language activist Elva Ambía – Quechua at Penn". web.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  8. "Awardees – The Quechua Alliance". thequechua.org. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  9. "Qoricha: A Book Signing and Reading in Quechua". as.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
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