Fresia y Guacolda

The Mapuche indigenous people represent 12% of Chile’s population. Despite this, the country’s current Constitution does not explicitly recognize them. The Mapuche people achieved recognition of their sovereignty over the territory where today’s southern Chile begins in the Arauco War of the 16th century. The poem “La Araucana” narrated this war, and it mentions Fresia and Guacolda: two Mapuche women, who together with their partners fought in the battles to defend their territory. They are part of the Mapuche women’s identity and their role in the resistance to the Spanish conquest.