"Al país de la hierba / a donde hay tierra sobrada": Magallanes como utopía y disolución en Poema de Chile de Gabriela Mistral

This essay is about the section of Poema de Chile by Gabriela Mistral dedicated to the Magallanes region. Considering historical and biographical information and some of Mistral's public and private writings, the aim is to understand the relevance of the period the poet spent in Punta Arenas to recognize Chile as a personal and collective homeland to her during her "exile" abroad. The hypothesis consists in the idea that it is possible to appreciate, in that section of the work, a utopic impulse that projects the future of the national community (impersonated by the Diaguita child) on Magallanes and, at the same time, the slipping and dissolving of the poetic subject (impersonated by the mother) into the natural elements. The analysis shows that both aspects firmly mingle together and stem from their impossibility, generating a paradox that stands at the core of Mistral's artistic and personal project.