Migratory Movements in Life Stories and Literary Writing: A Conversation with Joaquín Mbomío Bacheng on Equatoguinean Literature and Afro-Diasporic Communities in Europe

Abstract

In this interview, Equatoguinean writer Joaquín Mbomío Bacheng talks about his own experience of migrating to and living in Europe, an experience likewise echoed in his literary writing. in this context, the author not only tackles topics such as the discrimination and stereotyping of African immigrants, but also broaches the issue of enriching cultural encounters experienced by the Afro-diasporic subject. Pointing out the essential role Afro-diasporic communities could assume as mediators between European societies and African cultures, Mbomío Bacheng pleads for an open and continuing dialogue of cultures that promotes mutual respect and transcultural dynamics from which everyone might benefit. Moreover, by illustrating the particular colonial and postcolonial relation of Equatorial Guinea to Spain, he explains the originality of Equatoguinean literature, which still tends to be rather invisible in both Spain and Equatorial Guinea.