Translation as Encruzilhada: Jess Oliveira on Afro-Brazilian Art and Language

Translator, professor, and poet Jess Oliveira explores the intersection of translation and contemporary art through the Afro-Brazilian concept of encruzilhada (crossroads). Drawing on Leda Maria Martins' definition of encruzilhada as "the foundation of thought and action" and a translator of African diasporic epistemologies, Oliveira argues that translation is itself an artistic practice of transcreation. She discusses challenges in translating terms like Blackness (preferring "negridade" over "negritude" to expand beyond the Francophone Négritude movement) and encruzilhada, which risks epistemicide if reduced to "crossroads" without its spiritual and ancestral dimensions tied to the Orisha Eshu. Oliveira's decade-long work for transnational art institutions and Brazilian publishers reveals how African diasporic art and thought resonate across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the US. She cites translating Christina Sharpe's "In the Wake" into Portuguese, creating alliterations like "(no) vestígio, velório, (na) vigília, vereda." Oliveira connects her practice to the cocoruto art-translation duo and highlights the role of Pro Helvetia and Looren América Latina in fostering transatlantic dialogues between translators and artists. The text is part of a collaboration between Pro Helvetia and C&AL, emphasizing translation as a space where colonial languages are reshaped and contemporary art is remade.