Abstract: Before La Cleta Cartonera collective published its first book, their manifesto expressed two main ideas: the expendability of the book and the importance of publishing according to the editors’ literary preferences. Here lies La Cleta’s contradiction between the expendability of their production process and the precious nature of book-objects. Breaking away from the cartonera movement—a movement typically made up of non-profit collective publishing projects that use recycled materials to make their books—it sought to align itself with independent Mexican publishing houses that reflected on the act of publishing and the book as a medium, such as Alias, Tumbona, or Sur+. As one of La Cleta’s members said, their interest in the expendable can be characterized as a rhetorical gesture. This paper analyzes the potentialities and questions La Cleta Cartonera brings to Mexico’s publishing market. Three interviews were conducted for an in-depth perspective of the collective, combined with the examination of various material copies of their books. Finally, the paper takes a theoretical and micro-historical approach to understand La Cleta’s project and its rooting in materiality.
Rodrigo Lichtle Ventosa (Wed,) studied this question.