publishing collectives take their name from cartoneros: urbanites who earn their living by collecting recyclable materials from the streets of Latin Americas sprawling cities.Most of the collectives are based on Eloisa Cartonera, the model established by writers and artists in Buenos Aires in 2003 during the aftermath of Argentinas 2001 debt crisis and default. The cartoneras invite cartoneros, authors, neighbors, and visitors to participate in painting the covers of books. Although the specific operations of each cartonera vary by city, the general idea is the same: unite form and content in the task of making heard the voices of the marginal, the emerging, the poor, the other.The cartoneras highlight the plight of the masses of jobless and homeless urban dwellers in contemporary Latin America. They also call attention to the environmental effects of globalization. Trade pacts that ultimately spelled the relocation of Northern manufacturing to points South also exported industrial pollution beyond the view and concern of Northern consumers, as well as beyond the strictures of Northern environmental protection standards. The cartonera books signal the compromises of consumer capitalism by bearing signs of their origin: the bar codes, logos, decals, and writing on their cardboard covers are often incorporated into the covers design, or remain visible through layers of paint.The cartonera initiative also addresses the persistence of the colonial relationship inscribed in the structure of the Spanish-language publishing industry. Dominated by large publishing conglomerates in Madrid and Barcelona, the industrys bureaucratic tastemakers continue to determine which Latin American writers are read, and which are consigned to oblivion. Cartoneras tend to publish unknown and unpublished writers, experimental prose and verse stylists who would otherwise remain out of print, as well as established writers who lend their names and writing to the cause of democratizing literary culture.Founded in Sao Paulo in 2007, Dulcineia Catadora (Catador is the Brazilian Portuguese term for cartonero) is one of the most productive and politically active of the cartoneras. In addition to publishing books, the Brazilian collective also performs street demonstrations and maintains close ties with the syndicates formed by Brazilian catadores to protect the rights and safety of urban gatherers. Lucia Rosa, a sculptor based in Sao Paulo, is one of the collectives founders and longtime participants.Adam Morris (AM): How did a cartonera project develop in Sao Paulo?Lucia Rosa (LR): There was a period when I used a lot of iron scrap metal in my sculpture, so I was always visiting the catadores cooperatives looking for material to use in my work. Then, in 2006, I was invited by a group of artists to participate in the artists occupation of the Biblioteca de Pari, an exhibition that brought local art directly to the public at a library in central Sao Paulo. I ended up making a sculpture out of cardboard as a reflection on the tremendous quantity of cardboard and catadores in the neighborhood. My sculpture caught the attention of other artists who knew about Eloisa Cartonera in Buenos Aires. A group of us initiated contact with Eloisa, and the collaboration resulted in their invitation to participate in