El Centro Newsletter - Spring 2023 Issue

EL CENTRO NEWSLETTER SPRING 2023

Cover photo by Rossana Romero

@rossanaromero__

ON THE COVER

Rossana Romero www.rossanaromero.com

Rossana Romero is a Colombian visual artist based in Brooklyn.

Her work reflects themes of family, the history of her culture, migration, laws, politics and intimate details of her personal life and relationships, drawing inspiration from works of artists Kehinde Wiley, Beatríz González, and Gabriel García Márquez. Using portraits and landscapes with oil paintings and sculptures, she explores the stories, history, and folk tales of South America and the United States, creating an experience of surrealism and memories. She also dives into her own narrative and identity using references of important historical moments that created a domino effect in her life but also in most of the diaspora from Latin America. Beyond just a creative process, her work is a result of her spiritual practice, introducing the viewer to her underworld and the offerings she presents to her guides and ancestors. She brings the audience along using symbols like the double headed reptiles, double felines, double shadows, butterflies, parrots, and more. Her creative process also is a form of therapy, revisiting memories that became blurry and recreating a home from what she can remember. Even though each piece is completely different from the other, the viewer will find similarities, consistent symbols, and references that affirm place in this home Rossana created.

COVER IMAGE: "La Última Cena" 30 x 40 Oil Painting 2019 ‘La Última Cena,’ was painted specifically for the generation of kids in the United States who were born in a different country but were brought to the United States for a better life in a fight to keep their relationship with their culture alive. 'La Última Cena’ is the table where we eat, where we gather, where love is present in our mouth and in our stomach.

It's where both countries collide and all generations of women in our family found unity with the stories of our culture, through the food from South America, and the taste of our past. It is the presence of God through bodies of women.

6...... LETTERS FROM THE CLR DIRECTOR & LALS CHAIR 7...... CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND LALS FACULTY 8...... FACULTY & STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS 11..... STRC UPDATES 12.... 2022-2023 CLR FACULTY FELLOWS 13.... 2022-2023: CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT HEATHER MONTES-IRELAND 16.... ARISING: GRASSROOTS WOMEN OF COLOR TAKING POWER 18.... 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF HAROLD WASHINGTON'S ELECTION 19.... DEPAUL ART MUSEUM'S CURRENT EXHIBITION 20.... CLR/LALS EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS 21.... CLR/LALS EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS' SPOTLIGHT - MICHELLE MORALES 24.... LALS SPOTLIGHT - DELIA COSENTINO 27.... PULSO: POESÍA EN ABRIL 28..... HISTORIES OF THE LATINX MIDWEST: A SYMPOSIUM 30.... DIÁLOGO : NEW ISSUE AND 25TH ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM 31.... A CONVERSATION WITH FORMER CLR/LALS GRADUATE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: LAURA PACHÓN 34.... HSI UPDATES 35.... LALS COURSE SCHEDULE - FALL 2023 36.... SPRING EVENTS FROM THE CLR & LALS 41.... UPCOMING EVENTS FROM OUR PARTNERS 43.... THANK YOU FROM THE EDITOR 44.... CONTACT US

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

2...... FÉLIX MASUD-PILOTO, IN MEMORIAM

of

In

M e g m n i ory v o L

FÉLIX ROBERTO MASUD-PILOTO

1950 - 2023

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Farewell to Félix Masud-Piloto, dear friend, colleague and founder of Diálogo Rocío Ferreira, DePaul University Prominent historian and university professor Félix Masud-Piloto passed away at dawn on Friday, March 10, 2023, at the age of 72.

He was a brilliant intellectual and professor, much loved by his colleagues and students, internationally known for his sharp and accurate analyses of Cuban and US politics. He received important recognitions throughout his outstanding career, among which the highest "Distinction" awarded by the Cultura Nacional Cubana in 2007 stands out.

Félix Roberto Masud-Piloto (1950-2023) was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He immigrated to the US in the 1960s. During his years as a university student in Miami, Florida, he participated in editing Revista Aeríto, a magazine produced by Cuban students that offered an innovative political and social perspective on the Cuban Revolution and Latin American history; a vocation that he would continue later while directing our journal Diálogo.

After earning his PhD in history from Florida State University (1985) he began his teaching and academic career in 1990 at DePaul in the Department of History. In 1992, he was elected Director of the Center for Latino Research (CLR), a position that he assumed and fulfilled with tenacity. During this period, Félix founded and directed the journal Diálogo until 2009. He envisioned an interdisciplinary magazine with the mission of building a bridge connecting academia and the diverse Latino communities of Chicago and the Midwest with the rest of the country and Latin America. In an interview conducted by Diálogo in 2017, Félix explained his choice of the title: “It was really difficult to come up with a name that served as an umbrella for a multitude of issues and concerns, while avoiding the traps of focusing too much on one or two countries or regions of Our America. ‘Diálogo’ did all that. I personally liked the name because in Miami, progressive Cuban Americans who advocated for a dialogue between Cuba and the United States were labelled dialogueros” (151).

In 2008, continuing his commitment to strengthening community and social ties between the academic world and Chicago's Spanish-speaking community, he embarked with a group of colleagues from DePaul and members of the Contratiempo collective to sponsor our poetry festival, Poesía en abril, through the Center for Latino Research. Poesía en abril is an international Spanish-language poetry festival that takes place annually in Chicago and now, 15 years into its existence, has become the most prominent Spanishlanguage literary event in the US Midwest.

Félix Masud-Piloto has authored numerous scholarly publications on Latin American immigration, Latinos in the US, and USCuban relations. Among his important contributions his book From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: The Cuban Migration to the US, 1959-1995 —an essential historical contribution on relations between the US and Cuba throughout forty years of the last century— stands out. In addition, his research work Contesting Asylum: Cuba, Peru, the US, and the Refugee Crisis of 1980, is a fundamental contribution to the historical phenomenon known as the Mariel boatlift and the impact it had on US-Cuban diplomacy. Without a doubt, Félix was a permanent defender of a fruitful and mutually enriching relationship between the intellectual communities of Cuba and the US, and a tireless collaborator with Cuban cultural institutions, such as “Fundación Nicolás Guillén”, the “Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba” (UNEAC) and “Casa de las Américas”, among others.

Continuing with his commitment, as a history professor, to disseminate knowledge and promote links between Cuba and the US, Félix created a study abroad program in 2003, together with Marketing Professor Luis Larrea, titled “Cuban Realities in a Changing World.” In this program both professors brought together students from DePaul's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the College of Business for the purpose of examining aspects of these societies from multiple perspectives and with the intention of introducing DePaul students to the history, culture, economy, and politics of Cuba before and after the 1959 revolution that radically transformed Cuban society and its political and economic relations with the world. For Félix it was very important that DePaul students had the opportunity to interact and meet students, professors, legislators, artists, and Cuban citizens, not only in the capital city of Havana, but also in cities of great importance in the interior of Cuba for Cuban history and culture such as Santa Clara, Matanzas and Pinar del Río. Over the years, more than 350 DePaul University students have benefited from the possibility of a unique learning experience in Cuba under the leadership of Felix. His last trip with DePaul students was last summer, in 2022.

With all these initiatives that he developed throughout his academic career, Félix Masud-Piloto saw the possibility of decolonizing critical thinking about the political and social relations between his beloved and always longed for Cuba and the United States, an effort to which he dedicated most of his works and reflections.

The editorial committee of Diálogo deeply regrets the death of its founder and committed intellectual.

Chicago, March 11, 2023.

Works Cited “Early Vision for Diálogo (and Influence from Areíto): An Interview with Félix Masud-Piloto.” Diálogo, vol. 20, no. 2, 2017, pp. 149–155. https://doi.org/10.1353/dlg.2017.0042.

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Doctor Félix Roberto Masud-Piloto (1950 - 2023) Profesor Emérito - DePaul University, Departamento de Historia Ana E. Schaposchnik, DePaul University Siento tristeza mientras escribo para despedir a mi querido colega y amigo el Dr. Félix Roberto Masud-Piloto, quien nació en La Habana, Cuba, el 6 de diciembre de 1950, y falleció el 10 de marzo de 2023 en Chicago, Estados Unidos.

Con su título de Doctor en Historia, otorgado en 1985 por Florida State University, Félix Masud-Piloto llegó a DePaul University en el año 1990. Tenía experiencia docente por haber enseñado en la Universidad de Cornell (Ithaca, NY), entre otras.

Entró al Departamento de Historia como profesor asistente, en 1992 solicitó y obtuvo la promoción a profesor asociado (regular) y en el 2004 solicitó y obtuvo la promoción a profesor titular. Luego de jubilarse en el 2019, fue nombrado profesor emérito. Entre 1992 y 2009 fue director del Center for Latino Research, desde el cual en 1996 fundó la revista Diálogo.

Su nombramiento inicial le requería ofrecer cursos sobre Latinos en Estados Unidos, pero al crecer como docente Félix se expandió, desarrollando una gran variedad de cursos de pregrado y posgrado que enseñaba para alumnos de Historia y de otros departamentos y programas de la universidad. Durante casi treinta años enseñó Historia de América Latina (siglo XX), de América Central, del Caribe, de Cuba, Revoluciones Sociales en América Latina, Migraciones, Relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Cuba, y Cine e Historia Latinoamericana.

Félix vinculó sus inquietudes académicas con la dura realidad histórico-social de América Latina, y abrió las puertas del aula para guiar a sus estudiantes en esa realidad. Fruto de esa apertura fueron cursos que incluían viajes de estudios a Cuba, Argentina, y Chile. Desde el 2003 hasta que se jubiló en el 2019, y aún después de jubilarse, condujo aproximadamente 19 programas de estudios en el extranjero. Compartió estos programas con sus queridos colegas: el Profesor Luis Larrea (recientemente fallecido), y las profesoras Juana Goergen, Rocío Ferreira, y Jacqueline Lazú. Más de 350 estudiantes viajaron en múltiples itinerarios y combinaciones. Años después de haberse graduado, estos estudiantes siguen comentando el impacto que tuvieron los viajes en su formación universitaria.

La carrera de investigación de Félix fue muy prolífica. Publicó libros como autor y como editor, trabajando solo o en colaboración, escribiendo en castellano y en inglés. Entre ellos se destaca su estudio sobre inmigración cubana a Estados Unidos, titulado From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: The Cuban Migration to the US, 1959 - 1995. Contribuyó en libros, revistas, y enciclopedias. Evaluó manuscritos inéditos, presentó en eventos académicos, y dio conferencias como invitado especial. Integró comités editoriales de revistas, entre las cuales quiero mencionar Diálogo y Cuban Studies, y comités de tesis de maestría y doctorado. Como todo profesor, participó en comités departamentales (incluido el comité de selección que me contrató a mí) y en comités de la universidad. Antes de jubilarse dirigió la Maestría en Historia. También participó en entidades de proyección internacional como Casa de las Américas y Latin American Studies Association (LASA), y en la organización de eventos con invitados de gran relevancia como, por ejemplo, cuando los profesores Masud-Piloto y Goergen invitaron a DePaul a Rigoberta Menchú, Premio Nobel de la Paz, y durante esa visita Menchú recibió un Doctorado Honoris Causa.

La labor de Félix se notó dentro y fuera de la academia. En el año 2007, el Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de Cuba reconoció sus esfuerzos en favor del acercamiento entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, y lo condecoró con la Medalla de Distinción por la Cultura Nacional. Y en el 2020, DePaul University le otorgó la distinción Via Sapientiae.

En lo personal, conocí a Félix junto con los profesores Juan Mora-Torres y Roshana Sylvester. Corría el año 2007, había una plaza disponible en el Departamento de Historia, ellos integraban el comité de selección, y yo solicité el puesto. Siempre me habían dicho que la amistad entre gente de Cuba y de Argentina era sencilla, divertida, y profunda; todo a la vez. Lo comprobé al aceptar el trabajo, cuando me hice amiga de Félix y de su esposa, la profesora María Masud. En la oficina la puerta siempre abierta para quien quisiera un cafecito. Félix era conversador y opinaba sin pelos en la lengua, como él mismo decía. Estudiantes de distintas generaciones pasaban a contar sus aventuras. Lo mismo en casa de los Masud, donde recibían a colegas y amistades del mundo entero, en un ambiente animado con música, comida, bebidas, y carcajadas. Todo iluminado por la extraordinaria calidez de María y Félix.

Las despedidas siempre son difíciles, y estas palabras escritas a título personal no son una excepción. Para terminar, creo hablar en nombre de todo el Departamento de Historia, profesores y administradores, cuando digo que lo vamos a extrañar mucho.

Chicago, 21 de marzo, 2023.

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Letter from the CLR Director

Letter from the LALS Chair

As the current director of the Center for Latino Research, I want to acknowledge the great debt that the CLR owes to our colleague, Dr. Félix MasudPiloto, who passed away earlier this year. Félix left an indelible impact on us as his colleagues and friends, and his innovative leadership of the Center for Latino Research forms a legacy that will long be remembered. Felix directed the CLR for 17 years – from 1992 to 2009. During this time, Felix founded or helped to found many of the signature elements of the CLR. Our journal Diálogo, for example, which Félix created in 1996, is publishing its 25th anniversary volume this year. Our annual Faculty Fellowship Program, which Félix established in 2003, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Felix was a visionary leader who had the magic gift of bringing people together; he supported students and colleagues in their work and created bridges between DePaul and communities beyond the university. He will be deeply missed.

As we wrap up the academic year, we should also look back over this year’s major achievements.

Congratulations to our new STRC faculty fellows – Rocío Ferreira and Juan Mora-Torres received fullyear fellowships, and Maria Ferrera and Jacqui Lazú received six-month professional development fellowships. Congratulations as well to our new cohort of STRC graduate and undergraduate student fellows!

Finally, we hope you will join us in celebrating the work of Delia Cosentino, Rose Spalding, and Carolina Sternberg and the publication of their new books!

We’re holding a reception on May 11th.

Estimades lectores! Espero que se encuentren muy bien y disfrutando de los ratos de sol y de más calor que Chicago lentamente nos ofrece. Este es el segundo newsletter del año que el Departamento de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos lanza junto con el Centro de Estudios Latinos y estamos muy contentos de continuar con esta colaboración.

Me gustaría comentarles también que recientemente el Departamento ha incorporado dentro de su cuerpo de profesores a la Doctora Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera como Assistant Professor. Yoalli está especializada en decolonialidad, racismo medio ambiental en las comunidades indígenas de Oaxaca y afro-latinidades entre otros temas. Ella comenzará a dar clases a partir del otoño del 2023. Muy pronto haremos llegar más detalles de las clases que ofrecerá en el próximo año académico.

Finalmente, quería anunciarles que el 11 de mayo, junto con dos profesoras afiliadas al Departamento de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos, haremos una presentación conjunta con motivo de la publicación de nuestros respectivos libros: Breaking Ground: From Extraction Booms to Mining Bans in Latin America (Rose J. Spalding); Resurrecting Tenochtitlan: Imagining the Aztec Capital in Modern Mexico City (Delia Cosentino y Adriana Zavala) y Neoliberal Urban Governance: Spaces, Culture and Discourses in Buenos Aires and Chicago (Carolina Sternberg). Ojalá puedan acompañarnos el 11 de mayo a las 4:30pm en el aula 102 del edificio Arts and Letters.

Esperamos que nos sigan leyendo aquí y estamos a su disposición por cualquier pregunta que tengan.

- Bill Johnson González

- Carolina Sternberg

Published by The Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University

Edited and Designed by Josué Paniagua and Laura Pachón

El Centro, Spring 2023

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

LALS CORE FACULTY

Mission Statement

Carolina Sternberg, Associate Professor & Chair Latin American and Latino Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies

The Center for Latino Research (CLR) strives to open and sustain dialogues which foster the empowerment and advancement of Latinx communities. To that end, the CLR creates learning opportunities for students and supports scholars in their research, while forging collaborative relationships with local, national, and international research partners. We also publish an award-winning scholarly journal, Diálogo, and sponsor many activities on campus, including film series and speaker series.​

Lourdes Torres, Professor Vincent de Paul Professor Latin American and Latino Studies Jesse Mumm, Professional Lecturer Latin American and Latino Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies Meloddye Carpio Ríos, Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) Post-Doctoral Fellow Latin American and Latino Studies

LALS AFFILIATED FACULTY

Marisa Alicea, Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies

Marisa Alicea, Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies Luisela Alvaray, Associate Professor Media and Cinema Studies

Carolina Barrera Tobón, Associate Professor Modern Languages

Glen Carman, Associate Professor Modern Languages & Spanish Program Director Delia Cosentino, Associate Professor History of Art and Architecture

Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor Modern Languages & Associate Dean College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Rocío Ferreira, Associate Professor Modern Languages & Department Chair of Women's and Gender Studies Bill Johnson González, Associate Professor English Department & Director of the Center for Latino Research Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor Modern Languages & Associate Dean College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Martha Martinez- Firestone, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program Sociology

Martha Martinez- Firestone, Associate Professor Sociology & Director of Undergraduate Sociology Program Susana S. Martínez, Associate Professor Modern Language & Director of Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies Program Elizabeth Millán, Professor & Chair Philosophy

Julie Moody-Freeman, Associate Professor African and Black Diaspora Studies

Juan Mora-Torres, Associate Professor History Heather Montes-Ireland, Assistant Professor Women's and Gender Studies

Elizabeth Ortíz, Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

Xavier Perez, Professional Lecturer Criminology & Director of the Criminology Program

José Perales, Director of Operations Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

Monica Reyes, Assistant Professor Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse

Rose Spalding, Professor Political Science

Jose Soltero, Professor Sociology

Ana Schaposchnik, Associate Profesor History

Sonia Soltero, Professor & Chair Leadership, Language and Curriculum

Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science

Rose J. Spalding, Professor Political Science Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science

Ionit Behar, Associate Curator DePaul Art Museum

Christopher Tirres, Associate Professor Vincent de Paul Professor of Religious Studies & Inaugural Endowed Professor of Diplomacy and Interreligious Engagement Religious Studies

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FACULTY AND STAFF

ANNOUNCEMENTS DELIA COSENTINO Delia Cosentino is pleased to announce the release of her latest book, Resurrecting Tenochtitlan: Imagining the Aztec Capital in Modern Mexico City, co-authored with Dr. Adriana Zavala (Tufts University), and published by University of Texas Press (Spring 2023).

Abstract: The book explores how and why artists, intellectuals, and government officials attempted to revive the Mexica capital as part of a reassessment of post-revolutionary national identity. We describe these processes as a conceptual excavation of Tenochtitlan with a distinct urgency to explore the capital’s deep layers as a response to the rapid industrialization and expansion of the city, starting in the first half of the 20th century. In the midst of looming threats to scarce traces of the capital’s native origins, archaeologists scrambled to identify fleeting material remains, art historians studied historic maps, and artists designed murals to capture a sense of the Mexica urban past in the present. All of these efforts naturally reinforced a state-driven project to promote a shared national identity under the umbrella of mestizaje, now spatially bound to Tenochtitlan and to the hybrid Spanish city seated on top. This was therefore a complex construction of a fresh identity for Mexico’s capital in the first half of the twentieth century—a process that in many ways continues to this day.

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El Centro, Spring 2023 XAVIER PEREZ Dr. Perez recently published and article, "COVID 19 and Public Safety: A Study of Community Resiliency" Abstract: The existing literature on community resiliency and more recently COVID-19 and public safety suggests that community contextual factors are important to our understanding why some communities fared better than others during the pandemic. The complexities regarding COVID-19 have led some to call for a national research program to understand how the pandemic affects crime and shapes public safety responses (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). Studies that examine local context and the impact of the pandemic on non-governmental agencies must be included in this agenda as they provide a notable portion of violence and recidivism reduction occurs through community-based, non-governmental agencies (Sharkey, 2018). The abilities of these agencies to weather large-scale events while supporting community well-being and public safety efforts is therefore important to not only understanding the differential impact the pandemic had on neighborhoods but to identifying strategies to better prepare communities for future large-scale events. Based on qualitative interviews with community-based violence prevention and intervention programs and community members, this study examines community context and its relation to public safety during the pandemic in a Latinx community in a large Midwestern city. Specifically, the study explores the unique challenges faced by community-based agencies working within a Latinx community during a time of heightened social isolation where residents also experience language barriers, fears associated with immigration status, the immigrant journey and resulting complicated health outcomes, and/or high rates of poverty and crime. The findings highlight lesson learned as community agencies and resident adapted to the challenges of COVID-19. The findings offer policy suggestions to better equip community agencies and residents to better prepare for large scale crises.

HEATHER MONTES IRELAND After many journals experienced publishing timelines disrupted by the pandemic, Dr. Heather Montes Ireland is happy to announce that her article, ""She's Been Doing Everything Right:" Mothers of Color and Economic Violence" was published in the journal Women, Gender, and Families of Color (vol 10:1) in March 2023.

This article explores the ways that Black and Latina low-income mothers experience compounded harm via the confluence of withdrawal of U.S. anti-poverty assistance and the criminalization of racialized motherwork. Additionally, her book review of Intersectional Chicana Feminisms: Sitios y Lenguas, by Aída Hurtado, was published in the recent issue of Diálogo (vol 24:2).

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SUNIDHI KULKARNI The Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies would like to welcome our new Graduate Student Assistant, Sunidhi Kulkarni. Sunidhi, a UX designer by profession, was born and raised in India and is fueled by her passion for designing exceptional user experiences. With an undergraduate degree in user experience design and two years of experience in the design industry as a lead UI/UX designer, she has demonstrated her expertise in the field and believes to create designs that influence emotional engagement and usability. Currently pursuing her master's in Human-Computer Interaction, Sunidhi was recently selected to work at the Innovation Development Lab at DePaul University as a UI/UX designer. Beyond her work, she loves expressing herself through dance, music, and creating one-of-a-kind artwork. ¡Bienvenida Sunidhi!

JOSUÉ PANIAGUA The Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies would like to welcome our newest Student Assistant, Josué Paniagua. Josué was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University. He is currently a Junior majoring in Film and Television but is interested in graphic design in areas such as 3-D modeling and animation. He was recently selected to be a featured Latine artist in Tepeyac's Sixth Annual SOMOS Latine Art Festival and hopes to continue to be able to share his work with others. ¡Bienvenido Josué!

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Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates

El Centro, Spring 2023

From Program Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Alejandra Delgadillo

The Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) is in its second year with a new theme: Stories for Racial Justice and Healing.

Our undergraduate fellows are: Gabriela Córdova, English Jael Davis, History, African and Black Diaspora Studies Laszlo Katona, Philosophy, History, Environmental Science, German Studies Krystal Morgan, African and Black Diaspora Studies, Public Policy Lila Nambo, Latin American and Latino Studies, Film Production Samara Smith, Political Science, History

We are happy to share that the second iteration of our Summer Institute for New Students is underway, and it will be co-taught by Dr. Michele Morano (English) and Dr. Tara Betts (The Theatre School).

We are preparing to welcome our students on Sunday, July 16th, to settle into their dorms and begin the program on July 17th until the 21st.

The fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend each and take a tuition-free, credit-bearing humanities research methods course during the Summer I term, co-taught by Dr. Stone and Dr. Poirier. They will continue to develop their projects throughout the Fall 2023 term and present their research at our annual fall symposium.

We would like to congratulate the recipients of the 2023-2024 Faculty Research Fellowship: Dr. Rocío Ferreira (Modern Languages), “Women Shoot: Poetics of Political Violence in Contemporary Peruvian Culture” Dr. Juan Mora-Torres (History), “Mexicans in Babylon: Barrio Making in Chicago’s West Side, 1917-1983”

Speaking of our fall symposium, this year it will take place on Thursday, October 19th, so please save the date! In alignment with our 2023 theme and relevant to current issues, the title for the symposium is “The Right to Story: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in an Age of Banned Books.” We will hear from this year’s graduate and undergraduate student fellows, the 2023 Summer Institute cohort, and our 2022-2023 faculty fellows: Dr. Susana Martínez (Modern Languages), Dr. Chernoh Sesay, Jr. (Religious Studies), Dr. Lori Pierce (African and Black Diaspora Studies), and Dr. Lourdes Torres (Latin American and Latino Studies). Our keynote speakers will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more information.

As well as the recipients of the 2023 Professional Development Fellowship: Dr. Maria Ferrera (Social Work), “Journey to Safety and Belonging: Narratives of Asylees” Dr. Jacqui Lazú (Modern Languages), “Archival Collection Development and Management” The STRC is also excited to announce that the six recipients of our first-ever Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) have been selected, and they will be working alongside Dr. Ashley Stone (African and Black Diaspora Studies) and Dr. Lisa Poirier (Religious Studies) during the fellowship period.

For more information please contact STRC Coordinator Alex Delgadillo a.delgadillo@depaul.edu

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2022-2023 CLR Faculty Fellows HEATHER MONTES-IRELAND Assistant Professor | Dept. of Women’s and Gender Studies “Decoupling Work and Dignity in Latina Visual Culture”

ANA SCHAPOSCHNIK Associate Professor | Dept. of History “Did the Holy Office Leave Room for Agency?: The Trial of Faith of Francisco Vázquez (Lima, 1600s)”

MONICA REYES Assistant Professor | Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse "Shelter Rhetorics: Storytelling within the U.S. Asylum Process”

The 2023-2024 CLR Faculty Fellows will be Announced Soon!

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2022 - 2023 CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Heather Montes-Ireland Dr. Heather Montes-Ireland is an Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and affiliated faculty in Critical Ethnic Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University. She studies race, gender, class, and sexuality in global economic, finance, and labor systems through interdisciplinary and intersectional methods.

Dr. Montes-Ireland’s research and teaching interests include transnational and women of color feminisms, intersectional economic justice movements, racial capitalism and the global economy, queer of color critique, and Latina/Chicana/Boricua studies. Dr. Montes-Ireland is currently working on her book manuscript that examines the cultural formation of entrepreneurialism and practices of global finance as these bear upon the lives of women of color in the U.S. and transnationally. She recently published the article ""She’s Been Doing Everything Right:" Mothers of Color and Economic Violence" in Women, Gender, and Families of Color vol. 10 (1).

Interview conducted by Josué Paniagua

The topic of your fellowship project, “Decoupling Work and Dignity in Latina Visual Culture,” sounds fascinating. Can you please tell me a little bit about the project?

It was really to work specifically on a chapter for my book, for my monograph. The chapter is about the concept of dignity. Thinking about human dignity specifically as it impacts Latine and Latinx communities, particularly in the U.S. I’m looking for texts out of visual culture or film texts that are by and for Latina viewers and feature Latinas, which, you can imagine, are too rare.

resources. I couldn’t understand why there should be shame or stigma in getting to be able to feed your children, getting food stamps. This is really always falling on the bodies of women of color, the bodies of Latina, Black, and Indigenous women. I really wanted to understand why women of color in particular were being demonized and that is really at the heart of my work.

How do you understand the concept of “dignity” in your research?

I’m interested in human dignity for several

In addition to your own experience as a Latina, what part of your work resonated

reasons. One of the biggest being that so often politicians and people in the mainstream who have power, who are typically not from

with you the most?

Before I even got to know that much about the amazing history of my ancestors, I had always heard that Latinos come to the U.S. to take wealth. This is a powerful narrative. There

communities of color, are ultimately saying: “To claim your dignity as a poor person, low income person, working class person, person of color, you need to work for it. You need to work for your dignity.” This has led me to conversations and

were people in my family that were economically insecure, single mothers in

research, thinking about the way that Latine and Latinx communities think about work generally

particular, and in general people without a lot of economic

and how we are pegged as workers. The brown 13

El Centro, Spring 2023 body is a labor body. At the same time, Latinx communities also participate in these narratives in a particular way. And it makes sense because it is a way of trying to claim a place in this society. At the same time, why do have to make that claim? Why, before our humanity can be seen or acknowledged, do we have to be able to do something for the person who’s in power?

Which films have you been able to explore in your research?

One of the films I look at is called Mosquita y Mari, directed by Aurora Guerrero. She is a feminist from the L.A. area and it really shows in her film. In it, we see two young Chicanas as well as their families struggling in their own ways. There’s these tensions that show both of their moms having their own dreams but we don’t really get to see them.

These films are showing us that human dignity is much more complex and beautiful than what is often allowed by mainstream political discourse for Latina workers, and particularly, Latina moms. What has been amazing to me is to see similar themes come out of these films as well as very different stories. That’s often what researchers are looking for when writing, to see what brings this archive together.

The brown body is a labor body.

What has your experience been exploring this archive?

One of the issues that does come up for me working in this field is what I term economic violence. It is certainly sobering and often painful to experience, in some ways, the vicarious trauma the subjects of my research are experiencing. So for me, there’s two things that I typically hold on to. One is that it is my duty, in a way, and an honor to retell the stories and to highlight these

Dr. Heather Montes-Ireland

lives. Then, I can offer insight for folks to help them understand more about these lives. Part of what I am trying to do here is bring these elements of the humanities and visual culture together so that we can think about issues within political economy and policy.

Usually, the folks that are in economy and policy are economists and political scientists. This is another part of why I’m writing this particular chapter too, which is to say, if we look at the visions and the envisioning of Latina creators about Latina lives, it's going to reflect very differently on the ways we think about policy and politics. We need to look at these other sites. We need to look at the sites of cultural creation, cultural production, film, and other types of culture that folks from our community are making to see the ways they are envisioning more inhabitable worlds. That is where we’re going to find the inspiration to create the kind of world we want to live in.

We have seen the violence that migrant and undocumented women experience. There are definitely issues that come directly from the policies that we have in the U.S. And it doesn’t need to be this way. At the end

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El Centro, Spring 2023 of the day, the hope is to influence policy because it’s helping people change their minds.

How has this kind of work influenced your pedagogy, specifically pertaining to your students?

I’m interested in student reactions to these films because sometimes their reactions are both disconcerting yet sobering. It’s also amazing because if a student is telling me they have never seen that before, they have no idea what is going on out there in the world, in this country, then this is so necessary. Necessary for our democracy. For young people to be able to see and understand that “human beings deserve dignity”. It opens up entire ways of being able to relate to other human beings when you can see and experience and know their stories. This is why I also continue to keep doing this work, exposing more people to these texts and these films.

Mosquita y Mari (2012), Directed by Aurora Guerrero

communities and how important our cultural work is, our cultural productions, to be able to theorize from and to change the world. And I think I want to take that very seriously and change that with others.

Do you have any more recent or upcoming work you’d also like to share?

I recently published a piece in the University of Illinois Press on economic violence. It’s a piece called “She’s Been Doing Everything Right: Mothers of Color and Economic Violence.” I would love to highlight that work because it has been so important to me. I’ve worked a long time on it and it is a different type of

At the end of the day, the hope is to influence policy because it’s helping people change their minds.

work. In that piece, I look at a variety of case studies where I cross historical moments. I start with

Do you have any closing thoughts?

At the end of the day, this is what we’re all trying to do. That’s what theory is too. When we think about critical theory, critical ethnic studies theory, Latine/x

highlighting the police killing of Eula Mae Love in 1979. She was a black, widowed mother. I connect that to how Black and Latina single mothers experience economic violence today.

theory, feminist theory, it’s really about trying to problem-solve for our lives. To be able to create solutions to human problems. It’s not something that

I have another article that will be coming out soon where I’m writing about the decoloniality of Boricua feminism. I’ve also been able to finish that piece because of my time with CLR in the fall. I would just

should stay in the academy. It should be something that we are able to apply in order to help our communities and just help ourselves. Sometimes to literally just see ourselves open up to more ideas and understand why.

like to share the power of the humanities. I hope that people really think about that within marginalized 15

El Centro, Spring 2023

ARISING: Grassroots Women of Color Taking Power RECAP

by Laura Pachón On Thursday, February 16th, DePaul University’s Department of Latin American and Latino Studies had the honor of hosting four amazing women of color who have been working hard to take back political power in Illinois. The event, ARISING – Grassroots Women of Color Taking Political Power, was moderated by Yareli Cortez and Claudia Peralta Acevedo. The panelists included four inspiring women: Delia Ramírez, Congresswoman for the 3rd District of Illinois, a Guatemalan American and the first Latina to represent the Midwest in Congress; Lakesia Collins, Illinois State Representative for the 9th District, representing North Lawndale, the Near West Side, and Old Town; Josina Morita, Cook County Commissioner for the 13th District, the first Asian American woman on the Cook County Board; and Lilian Jiménez, Illinois State Representative for the 4th District, a Puerto Rican and Mexican woman representing Humboldt Park and the Near Northwest Side.

Yareli and Claudia did a wonderful job at guiding

the conversation and engaging the audience as well.

The event was attended by a diverse audience that almost filled up the room. We got insight on how these women ended up in their positions. Congresswoman Delia Ramírez shared her journey; she started out as a case manager at an organization that served migrants and worked her way up to becoming the executive director. This was followed by her colleagues and friends empowering her and suggesting she run for public office. Congresswoman Ramírez stated that she was always against working on behalf of the government, so she would have never imagined taking on such a challenge. Nevertheless, she took on the challenge and got into office swiftly and gracefully.

One theme that was made clear throughout the night was the origins of all these women’s interest in running for public office; it was their personal experiences. Each woman stated how certain situations in their personal lives led them to want to make a change to support their families who were being neglected by government and public services.

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El Centro, Spring 2023 I have always been one who is also against working for the government. However, after attending this panel, the gears are turning regarding my opinion on this. I expressed this sentiment to the panelists when the floor opened up for audience Q&A. They all answered wonderfully. In summation, they expressed the importance of people like me, untrusting of the government, to be working within the government. It is important to get a seat at the table within the public sector because it is people like our four amazing panelists – and possibly myself one day – who will be the most critical of government policies, both domestic and foreign. This can then lead to more people who are uninterested in working in government getting involved in public office. Congresswoman Ramírez closed this discussion with a thoughtful statement on how you will know someone is meant to run for office because they have the history and experience to do so, rather than people who run only in order to be in a high government position.

Delia Ramírez, Congresswoman for the 3rd District of Illinois

Update: On April 27th, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson appointed Congresswoman Delia Ramírez to the Chicago for the People Transition Committee and State Representative Lilian Jiménez as Immigration Subcommittee Co-Chair. Congratulations!

Lakesia Collins, Illinois State Representative for the 9th District

Lilian Jiménez, Ilinois State Representative for the 4th District

Josina Morita, Cook County Commissioner for the 13th District

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El Centro, Spring 2023

40th Anniversary of the Harold Washington Election

Event RECAP On April 13th and 14th, Dr. Gordon Mantler, Associate Professor of Writing and of History at George Washington University, gave two lectures focused on his recent book, The Multiracial Promise: Harold Washington's Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan's America (University of North Carolina Press, 2023), at DePaul University and at Casa Michoacán.

Drawing on a rich array of archives and oral history interviews, the book offers a bold reexamination of the movement that elected Harold Washington mayor in 1983. Mantler argues that the election bolstered hope among Democrats that the party could win elections by pulling together multiracial urban voters around progressive causes. However, Mantler also discusses how white supremacy, deindustrialization, dysfunction, and voters' own contradictory expectations stubbornly impeded many of Washington's proposed reforms.

Dr. Gordon Mantler at DePaul University

Dr. Gordon Mantler and community activists at Casa Michoacán

The event was sponsored by:

Co-sponsored by: Dept. of African and Black Diaspora, Center for Black Diaspora, and the Dept. of History

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El Centro, Spring 2023

Current Exhibition:

Future: Artists Ca e h t r o f ll Art

merican Solidar A l a r t n e ities and C 23 - August 6, 2023 March

Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities focuses on the seminal 1980s activist campaign, Artists Call Against US Intervention in Central America. Growing out of the friendships, solidarity networks, and political organizing amongst artists and activists such as Daniel Flores y Ascencio, Lucy Lippard, Doug Ashford, Leon Golub, and Coosje van Bruggen, the campaign resulted in exhibitions, performances, poetry readings, film screenings, concerts, and other cultural and educational events in over 27 cities across the United States and Canada, including Chicago. The exhibition highlights Artists Call’s history through a selection of activities and works from the 31 exhibitions and over 1,100 artists who participated in New York City and references Artists Call’s legacy today in new forms of inter-American solidarity networks and visual alliances.

This exhibition is organized by Tufts University Art Galleries (TUAG) and curated by Erina Duganne, Associate Professor of Art History, Texas State University and Abigail Satinsky, TUAG Curator & Head of Public Engagement.

Upcoming Public Programs Thursday, May 11, 6 P.M. at DPAM Screening of Yvonne Rainer's 1985 film, The Man Who Envied Women, followed by a conversation with Art for the Future co-curator Erina Duganne and Professor Daniel R. Quiles

Events co-sponsored by the CLR Thursday, May 18, 6 P.M. (online) Art Projects For The Now: LL Proyectors & Casa Ma - A panel discussion on Central American Based Art Spaces

Installation view. Photo: Chiara Conner

Saturday, July 15, 5 P.M. at DPAM Revolutionary Filmaking and Historical Memory in El Salvador: Seizing the Means of Projection, curated by Jacob Lindgren (Inga Books)

Dona Ann McAdams, Procession for Peace with Artists Call banner, New York City, 1984. Silver gelatin print.

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El Centro, Spring 2023

Maria G. Arias Principal, Maria Arias Solutions BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1983

Leonard Domínguez Secretary, Little Village Rotary Club of Chicago BA, Economics, DePaul University, 1967

Yvette Flores Managing Partner/Director, Cardinal Green Investments LLC BA, Sociology, DePaul University, 1986

Marisol Morales Executive Director, Carnegie Elective Classifications, American Council on Education BA, Latin American Latino Studies; MA/MS International Public Service Management, DePaul University, 1999

Michelle Morales President, Woods Fund Chicago BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1997

Maria Pesqueira President, Healthy Communities Foundation BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1990

Edgar Ramírez President/CEO, Chicago Commons Association BA, Political Science/Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 2000

Lou Sandoval President/CEO, Halo Advisory Group BS, Biochemistry, DePaul University, 1988

Lucino Sotelo Chief Digital Officer, Northern Trust Corporation BS, Accounting, DePaul University, 1993

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El Centro, Spring 2023

CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members' SPOTLIGHT - Michelle Morales Interview Conducted by Josué Paniagua Over the past three years, the CLR and LALS Department have been working with Dr. Marisa Alicea to identify a group of DePaul alumnae/i and community members to serve our units as an External Advisory Board. This volunteer group serves as advocates, advisors, and resources for CLR & LALS faculty and students. The group meets quarterly to remain informed about CLR & LALS activities and to establish a plan to assist in our efforts.

The board’s work is grounded on a common understanding of the importance of the opportunity to study and research Latin American and Latinx communities. In this spotlight, we conduct personal interviews with our alumnae/i to shine light on what they have done since graduating DePaul University and the work they do outside of serving on out External Advisory Board.

Can you please tell me about yourself?

My name is Michelle Morales and I'm the president of Woods Fund Chicago. I've been living in Chicago for almost 30 years now, and I am involved with the DePaul CLR/LALS Advisory Committee because I'm an alumnus. I graduated from the undergraduate program at DePaul in 1997 as a Latin American and Latino Studies major.

Can you tell me about your work as an organizer at DePaul?

A friend of mine and I started a student organization that's unfortunately no longer around. It was called “Junta de Acción Latina.” We tried to form a student

experience of Latinx students at DePaul, and trying to organize around issues that resonated with us.

organization that was going to organize on campus, lead demonstrations, etc. "Junta de Acción Latina" was designed to organize and advocate. We did that with a lot of help from the Center for Latino Research (CLR), and from Dr. Félix Masud-Piloto, who was the director

Why did you feel it was necessary to start this organization?

The population of Latinx students at DePaul was pretty small back then. We were

of the CLR at that time. We were organizing for a Latino Cultural Center and we were co-organizing with a black-led student organization that was also doing organizing and advocacy. We were doing a lot of actions of solidarity, but mainly it was an organization that was trying to really think about how to advocate for Latinx students on campus, the

Michelle Morales

trying to raise awareness of issues affecting the Latinx student body. We were doing events in solidarity with organizations that supported undocumented students, trying to see what resources were at DePaul at the time to support undocumented students. We were advocating around financial issues as well, 21

El Centro, Spring 2023 since many of us at DePaul were on some pretty robust financial aid packages given the cost of dorms and the cost of tuition. The main push was a Latino Cultural Center, which was something that we were pretty passionate about. Having a place that would be

myself as a Latina in the practices of solidarity and acts of solidarity, which became really important for me as an organizer later on.

It (LALS) really strengthened my identity as a Latina and as a Puerto Rican woman by learning about different Latin American countries and learning about their issues.

in addition to the Center for Latino Research.

What did the CLR mean to you while attending the university?

It’s the place where we would hang out, the place where we would receive mentorship, and it became a home to so many of us on campus. That's what kind of sparked the conversation of what would it look like to have a dedicated cultural center, particularly since so many of us were first-generation college students, where we could get the support we needed, the resources, etc. It was really important and transformational for me to have that space at DePaul. I think that if I hadn’t switched my major to Latin

I would love to hear more about your work after graduation.

I started working in the Puerto Rican community as soon as I graduated, organizing in the Humboldt Park area. I taught at an alternative high school in Humboldt Park for about five to six years, fresh out of DePaul. My major and the CLR really informed that work because it was teaching at a school that had a Puerto Rican focus.

Also, through the work that I did organizing for Puerto Rican political prisoners, we had to work in solidarity with other people of color, and other communities that have been marginalized in order to get a grassroots uprising. What became really important for me was understanding the realities and the experience of other Latinos, and other Latinx people, for people to call for the release of political prisoners, for example. Learning of different Latino experiences and lived realities helped to inform that organizing work as well. In my role now

American and Latino studies, which I switched at the end of my sophomore year, I don't know if I would have graduated from DePaul. Through my LALS major I found the CLR. Switching my major and the CLR really cemented for me that I did belong at DePaul and really helped with that process.

That’s amazing. Could you tell me more about how majoring in LALS impacted you?

There were aspects of the Latin American and Latino Studies program that resonated with me, that gave me the language about my lived experience that I didn't have. It also taught me a ton of stuff I didn't know. It really strengthened my identity as a Latina and as a Puerto Rican woman by learning about different Latin American countries and learning about their issues, seeing that they paralleled in some ways with the same issues as Puerto Rico. It was an important inflection point in my development because it just strengthened my identity in a way of looking at 22

El Centro, Spring 2023 at Woods Fund, we fund organizing and advocacy in general. And what we prioritize is organizing and

Thank you so much for your time. Do you have any closing thoughts for students here at DePaul?

advocacy that is led by people of color and that is led by the folks that are impacted.

Just stick with it. I know how hard it is. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart. I know that sometimes spaces like DePaul may not seem like spaces for us.

And I want the undergraduate and graduate students at DePaul that are part of the Latino/Latinx community to really see themselves. It's important for you to be in that space. Even though it's a struggle, it's important for you to emerge from this space in a way to add your voice to the leadership of Chicago.

How was it taking on a leadership role at Woods Fund during the beginning of the pandemic?

It was interesting, to say the least. Philanthropy is a very interesting space to be in. I think it has a tremendous amount of potential for solving problems and yet tends to be a space that's very risk-averse and doesn't like to step out there. I think what was difficult was making sure that our grantee partners had what they needed to be able to weather the pandemic, which we found out very quickly that they didn’t. They were not set up to work remotely. They didn't have laptops.

They didn't have a lot of folks with home internet. We had to switch around resources to make sure that folks had what they needed to be able to work remotely and be safe. We've done a lot and made a lot of changes and it was predominantly because of the pandemic.

Update: On April 27th, Michelle Morales was appointed by Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson to the Chicago for the People Transition Committee. She will be serving alongside local business, activist, and government leaders.

What have you been focusing on now?

I just joined the board of trustees at Northeastern Illinois University. My son attends there so it'll be an interesting experience. But mainly, Woods Fund. We've been doing a lot of restructuring and rebuilding in my foundation. Now that I've got a super strong team in place, a really great board of directors, I can probably start putting my focus on other areas in addition to

C ong ra tu l a t

Michelle!

Woods Fund. One of the things that we're really wanting to think about is how we can be advocates in the philanthropic space and hopefully advocate to other foundations.

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El Centro, Spring 2023

LALS Spotlight Dr. Delia Cosentino: Speaking at La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México on Early 20th Century Art Historians in México Interview Conducted by Josué Paniagua Delia Cosentino (PhD, UCLA) is Associate Professor of Latin American Art History, specializing in the visual culture of Greater Mexico. She is author of Las Joyas de Zinacantepec: Arte Colonial en el Monasterio de San Miguel (Colegio Mexiquense, 2007), editor of Cartographic Styles and Discourse (Artl@s Bulletin, 7[2] 2019), and co-author with Adriana Zavala (Tufts University) of Resurrecting Tenochtitlan: Imagining the Aztec Capital in Modern Mexico City (University of Texas Press, 2023 ). She curated Ceramic Trees of Life: Popular Art from Mexico (Fowler Museum, 2003), Reverence Renewed: Colonial Andean Art from the Thoma Collection (DPAM, 2009), and Nexo/Nexus: Latin American Connections in the Midwest (DPAM, 2016) with Bibiana Suárez (The Art School, DePaul).

To start, I would love to hear how it went at the recent conference of the Association for Latin American Art (ALAA) at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)?

It was fantastic. Let me say this, the more scholars in the U.S. that can partner with scholars in Mexico and vice versa, the more we can make progress on our scholarship, and the more we can share and make connections. Our reception in Mexico was very positive. They were extremely receptive to the book that I have just co-authored with Adriana Zavala, called Resurrecting Tenochtitlan, which looks at the way that intellectuals, artists, and government officials brought awareness of the ancient Aztec capital to the modern Mexican state. Whereas Mexico City had long been thought of as a Spanish city, in the book we show how

the foundations of art history in Mexico with Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, the department of art history at UNAM.

the thinking began to change as more and more people understood that Mexico’s capital actually had its urban origins in Tenochtitlan. Dr. Zavala and I were very gratified that our Mexican colleagues even proposed that we come to do a book presentation in Mexico maybe later this year, which was just very exciting because the more we open up avenues of

Dr. Delia Cosentino

communication, the better for all of us. And it was really fun sharing some of what we discovered about

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El Centro, Spring 2023 That’s so great to hear. Could you tell me a little more about the work you presented?

fuse my two interests in Mexican culture and Mexican art and art history. In fact, it was during college that I

The conference theme was "Opening the Archives" and it was about how our thinking shifts, or some of the

studied in Spain my junior year and while I loved that, I thought “I really want to understand the relationship

thinking might shift, when you have access to new between Spain and Mexico.” So when I graduated information. So, Adriana Zavala and I talked about the college, I went to Mexico and I decided I really subjects of our study, including artists, scholars, and wanted to understand Mexican culture from the inside. government officials, and how their minds shifted when I think Mexican art is more prevalent and more they saw new documents and new information. We studied now, but it wasn't then. But I'm very happy to focused on especially the contributions made by see my classes so filled with students, especially Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, a very important Mexican-American students, but also all students from Mexican historian who went and lived in both Italy and every place and every interest because I think there's Spain in the late 19th century and early 20th century. an increasing recognition that Mexican art is part of He went to the archives in both Italy and Spain, and he U.S. culture and that we should all know it. found these documents that had to do with colonial You’ve described your work about Mexico. And he made copies and he sent them back to Mexico. It was the first time that a Mexico being transhistorical. Can you tell me more about that? lot of Mexican scholars had ever There's an increasing known this information, including My co-author and I realized that recognition that Mexican art is both textual documents about the one of the things that made it urgent part of U.S. culture and that we colonial past, as well as plans and for the origins of Mexico City to be should all know it. understood in the early 20th century maps that had not been seen in was the fact that the city itself was Mexico for hundreds of years. This starting to change. It was starting to industrialize, and was the “aha!” moment that a lot of Mexicans had at the beginning of the 20th century. Seeing new the more it started to industrialize, the greater the fear information helped to begin this shift of identity and an that what did remain of the Aztec city would be understanding of the past especially, we argue, related completely lost if people didn't consciously try to hold on to it. So, the more things change, the more urgent it is for many people to say, wait a second, we have to hold on to the past. We have to see those connections to the past and maintain and preserve those

to Mexico City’s origins.

That’s so fascinating. I would love to hear more about your own interest in researching Mexico in general.

More than any place, I'm from California, so Mexico

connections. The Mexican art historians in the 20th century who were most interested in the 16th century maps of the city became interested in those maps

was always right next door. And of course, California was Mexico so there's continuity of culture that

because they were worried about preserving, ironically, the oldest churches. So, the more they were interested in preserving these early churches, the more they recognized that the locations of the churches and

immediately captivated my interest when my family first moved there. When I went to college, I started to study art history and I really was looking for a way to

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El Centro, Spring 2023 what I know and to get students excited about understanding the Mexican past through its visual culture.

I want to thank you for your time. Do you have any upcoming work you’d like to highlight?

This book project has been dominating the last five years of my life so I'm still very much enjoying the process of talking about it because I love and I really believe in the work that we did, and especially the fact that it was collaborative with a really dear friend of mine. But it is also exciting to think “what now?” And actually, my new research project has grown out of the book project. It's different, but it's rooted in one of the images that I analyzed for the book. It's one of the most famous images of the center of Tenochtitlan which is an illustration by an archeologist and an architectural designer in the early 20th century named Ignacio Marquina. I looked more closely at the image, and I understood it in a way that made me interested in getting to the origins of the image. This has led me to a really important indigenous narrative about a gladiator called Tlahuicole, a revered gladiator. It goes over an epic battle that took place in Tenochtitlán with The study of art is not Tlahuicole against the actually only about soldiers of Moctezuma.

Cover of Dr. Cosentino's book

the organization of the city was based on Aztec choices, which again is mind blowing and exciting. So our work is trans historical in the sense that it investigates shifting dynamics across various periods, from the Aztec past, through colonial change, to modern Mexican history.

art. It's about history.

It's about politics, culture, and identity.

How has this kind of work affected you personally?

I feel emotional about Mexican art. I don't think you have to be associated with any particular national or racial identity to want to understand the implications of

And really my project is talking about how the image of that gladiator has

changed over time. And I was just awarded a fellowship for it for next year from the Humanities Center at DePaul, so I’m really excited about this project and I’ll be working on that for the next couple years. Thank you for your interest in my

European colonization of the Americas. It's painful, but in many ways, it just makes me more determined to call attention to power dynamics, to call attention to historical realities, to engage my students in why the

work and for your great questions.

study of art is not actually only about art. It's about history. It's about politics, culture, and identity. If anything, it just puts more of a fire under me to share

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Pulso

El Centro, Spring 2023

Poesía en abril Event RECAP

Poesía en abril celebrated its 14th festival on April 20th - 22nd, 2023 Opening night was held at DePaul University. Honored poets, Gioconda Belli and Luis Muñoz, and guest poets from Latin America and Spain, gave a lively reading of selected works. On April 21st and 22nd, poets engaged in readings and interviews at Instituto Cervantes, and closing night was held at Coprosperity Sphere.

Poesía en abril is an international Spanish-language poetry festival, presented annually by Contratiempo and DePaul University, recognized as the premier Spanish-language literary event in the Midwest. The festival brings together poets from Chicago, other U.S. cities, Latin America and Spain.

Honored Poets Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua) Luis Muñoz (Spain)

Guest Poets Malú Urriola (Chile) Rafael Ortiz-Calderón (México) León Salvatierra (Nicaragua) Ethel Barja (Perú) Carlos Aguasaco (Colombia) Olivia Maciel (México) Manuel Tzoc (Guatemala) Yolanda Nieves (Puerto Rico) Ruth LLana (Spain) Jamila Medina (Cuba) Eduardo Arocho (Puerto Rico)

Music La Paula Herrera (Chile) with Chris Ferrer (Venezuela)

Sponsored by:

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El Centro, Spring 2023

Histories of the Latinx Midwest: A Symposium EVENT RECAP

Dr. Delia Fernández-Jones, Dr. Carolina Ortega, Dr. Antonio Ramírez and Dr. Juan Ignacio Mora

On April 20th, historians Dr. Carolina Ortega (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi), Dr. Juan Ignacio Mora (Indiana University), Dr. Delia Fernámdez-Jones (Michigan State University), and Dr. Antonio Ramirez (Elgin Community College) presented their research to the DePaul Community.

For more than a century, Latinas/os/xs have transformed urban and rural spaces across the U.S. Midwest. Whether through creating vibrant communities in large or mid-sized cities, contesting state violence and U.S. colonialism, forging political coalitions, producing powerful artistic works, or sustaining various industries with their labor, the historical impact of Latinas/os/xs on the Midwest has been far-reaching. The work of these historians brought together the newest generation of scholars of the Latina/o/x Midwest who are working to deepen our understanding of the region’s importance within the larger field of Latina/o/x History.

Dr. Carolina Ortega presenting her talk titled: ""Hispanics put down roots:" Labor Religion, and Placemaking in Wisconsin"

Dr. Juan Mora-Torres introducing the symposium panel

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El Centro, Spring 2023 Dr. Delia Fernandez-Jones discussing her book Making the MexiRican City: Migration, Placemaking, and Activism in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dr. Antonio Ramírez presenting on the Chicagolandia Oral History Project

Photo of an article piece by The Associated Press used by Dr. Juan Ignacio Mora

Dr. Juan Ignacio Mora presenting his talk titled: "Migrant Rights, Migrant Justice"

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El Centro, Spring 2023

New issue of Diálogo

Building Latina/o/x Studies: Case Samples from the Midwest Volume 24, Number 2 / Fall 2021 Guest Thematic Editor: Lucía M. Suárez

Diálogo's 25th Anniversary Symposium - Event RECAP On Thursday, April 27th, we celebrated Diálogo's latest issue, "Building Latina/o/x Studies: Case Samples from the Midwest," Volume 24, Issue 2, with a panel discussion featuring the guest thematic editor Dr. Lucía M. Suárez (Iowa State University) who joined us in person at DePaul, and contributors Dr. Frances R. Aparicio (Northwestern University), Dr. Sylvia Martínez (Indiana University Bloomington) and Dr. José Cuello (Wayne State University), who joined via Zoom. The panelists shared highlights from their contributions to the issue, and discussed the current state of Latinx Studies programs across the nation.

Guest thematic editor, Dr. Lucía M. Suárez

Dr. Frances Aparicio

Dr. Sylvia Martínez 30

Dr. José Cuello

El Centro, Spring 2023

A Conversation with former CLR/LALS Graduate Editorial Assistant: Laura Pachón Interview Conducted by Marcela L. Reales Visbal Laura Pachón is a second-year master's student in the Refugee and Forced Migration Studies program. She is a former Graduate Editorial Assistant at the Center for Latino Research. We talked about her time at DePaul, her work at the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the importance of Latina representation in these experiences.

Can you tell me about yourself?

I’m originally from Colombia, and I immigrated to Miami, Florida when I was about nine months old and was raised there. I studied International Relations at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, with a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I am currently finishing up my master's in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at DePaul. This came about because a lot of my classes had a human rights focus.

Whenever you're studying human rights, you start to pick your favorite ones, and mine were education equity and accessibility and migrant rights. I wasn't intentionally looking to study Refugee Studies. I was looking in big cities, political cities, where I could do a masters, and I came across DePaul. My dad, though raised in Bogotá, Colombia, was born in Lombard, IL, so I had connections to Chicago already. I have family in the North Shore suburbs, so I grew up coming to Chicago. I felt really confident in making the decision to come here, and I think it was the right choice. I plan on staying in Chicago for the foreseeable future. I like to run, I like to play soccer, I like to work, I like to read a lot. That's pretty much me.

Laura Pachón

family in Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and in Chicago, but we still have our extended family in Colombia. We grew up being really close to my dad's cousins, and we still interact. I'm really close with that family. My dad studied in Los Andes University, in Bogotá, and his best friends from college are there. Their kids are some of my best friends, I consider them like my cousins. It’s also helpful to have friends in Latin America so I can get their point of view on certain things, especially in terms of gender identity because in Spanish everything is gendered. It definitely is helpful to know I can reach out to those friends whenever I need to.

Do you still have connections and relationships with Colombia?

My mom and dad are both from Colombia; my mom is from Santander and my dad is originally from Villavicencio and was raised in Bogotá. Their siblings and their parents are all in the United States. We have

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El Centro, Spring 2023

What has been the most rewarding part about your time at DePaul?

I'm a graduate student, and across the board, any graduate school you go to, we're always going to be kind of on the back burner in terms of services. But I've enjoyed DePaul. I've actually been able to be more involved in the DePaul community because I've been doing work-study since the minute I arrived in Chicago. I started off being a receptionist for the residential halls and then I ended up finding a fellowship in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. LAS got a Carnegie Mellon Foundation grant to start a project called Humanities X, and the topic for the cohort of fellowships was migration and immigration, so it was a great way of segueing into something in my field. It was a step up, it was the first small step that helped me get into this work. However, the position was only for the winter and summer quarters. In the fall of 2022, I was able to find a job with the Center for Latino Research. I was asked to be on a panel for an orientation for graduate students of color. There, I met Billy and we talked about the center, which I had never heard of until that moment, which was a year later from me starting my program.

And that's how I found this job.

Work-study really helped me to be involved and get to know the DePaul community a little bit better. I have enjoyed my time a lot. I think the most rewarding part of DePaul has been the connections I've made, and I'm all about my networking. I was able to connect with the Executive Director of my current job because one of my professors, Craig Mousin, had started the organization. It started very small, and it turned into the big legal service that it is today. I was able to connect with the Executive Director locally, which is a big step because she is a big name in the immigration field.

Working at the Center for Latino Research was such a positive experience for me. I came to Chicago with

my roommate, who is my best friend. But I lacked the Latine culture. Being able to connect with my Latine friends in my cohort and working at the Center for Latino Research is kind of like scratching that itch of wanting to have Latine connections because I did come from such a diverse place. Having that outlet felt really like home to me, to have Latine people around me, it was really comforting. That's been the most rewarding experience for me. Being able to find Latine friends in Chicago as well, to support that part of my identity.

There was a point when I moved here that I felt like I was losing it a little bit, it was an identity crisis, basically. So, it was really helpful to be able to make these really strong connections with other people and help me root myself in my identity as well.

At DePaul, 20% of the students identify as Latinx: 23% of undergraduate students and 12.5% of graduate students. What can you share about your experience navigating DePaul as a Latina graduate student?

I found it more pleasant as a Latina to be at DePaul rather than my undergrad because my undergrad was in a small, predominantly white town, which was a culture shock for me coming from Miami. Orlando has a large Latine community but I was in the one little bubble that was very white. My college wasn't necessarily antiLatine, but they didn't have the same Latine-ness that DePaul has. While working at the Center for Latino Research my mind was blown, and I learned about the Latinx Cultural Center, which is awesome. So, I definitely don't feel left out or sticking out like a sore thumb, like I experienced sometimes as an undergrad. I see girls who look exactly like me, who have the same curly hair. You don't think about it until you're away from it. And it does feel like an “I do belong here” kind of thing. It’s helpful to be at an institution that have people who look like me and talk like me.

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El Centro, Spring 2023

What have you been working on since you left the CLR? I am currently working at the National Immigrant Justice Center. I am the Project Coordinator for the Recent Arrivals Project. My role is coordinating community-based organizations, pro-bono attorneys, and pro-se clients, which are clients without representation.

My role also focuses on creating presentations and workshops for those clients to help them understand what exactly is the process they are going through and, in case they don't have representation and they can't afford a lawyer because they don't meet the requirements for having a pro-bono attorney, or in the case that a pro-bono attorney drops their case, the client knows what the process is rather than just being lost once their attorney leaves. But currently, I'm doing administrative work; shadowing intakes and filling out employment authorization documents. I'm also working on my practicum at Heartland Health, where I'm an intern shadowing medical case management, filling out documents, conducting home visits and accompanying clients to their medical appointments, whether it's drawing their blood or their psychiatric evaluations.

How is your Latina identity represented in your work?

The majority of our clients are Latine and Spanish speaking. So, it's honestly really helpful to be Latina because our clients will have a familiar looking face when they come to us for services. We might be in the position to support you and be the helping hand, and we also look like you and we speak like you. I think that's a place of comfort for most people, especially refugees and asylum seekers. I think it's really helpful to go to an organization where everyone can communicate with you without a translator, without having to motion with your hands or have someone talk to you loudly and slowly and making you feel less than. I feel that definitely having

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someone who speaks the same language as you is really helpful for our clients and it creates a safe space.

Being fluent in Spanish also helped me get the job.

It's important to be a Spanish-speaker for my job, and it also makes me feel really empowered as a Latina. As an immigrant, I definitely came from a place of privilege because I have a United States passport; I was just lucky that my dad was born in Lombard, Illinois. He could have easily been born in Colombia.

My grandfather was doing his masters here and coincidentally met someone and had kids in the United States. My dad could have been born in Colombia and then it could have been a whole different situation. I acknowledge the privilege that I have, and I acknowledge the passion and the drive that I have for human rights work. So, if I can do something to help, I will do it. If you understand the hardships that a lot of Latin American countries have gone through as a result of colonialism, specifically colonialism and imperialism inflicted by the United States, you feel this sense of wanting to support the people who have been put in poverty and that have been displaced.

My last question, from colombiana to colombiana living in Chicago, do you have any recommendations for delicious Colombian food?

There's a store in Rogers Park called “La Única,” where you can get Colombian snacks and Postbón, Pony Malta and Colombiana drinks. Other than that, the restaurant “La Brasa Roja.” That one is really good as well.

El Centro, Spring 2023

HSI UPDATES

On January 30, 2023, in a university-wide communication ("Moving Forward, Together"), President Robert L. Manuel stressed DePaul's commitment to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Following this communication, on March 31st, the CLR/LALS External Advisory Board hosted a meeting with President Manuel to discuss DePaul's commitment to its Latinx community and the next steps for this important initiative.

For this reason, this new section of El Centro will offer general information about the HSI designation, the process of becoming an HSI, and the ways in which DePaul is engaging this process.

What is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)?

The U.S. Department of Education defines HSIs as institutions of higher education that have an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic, and enrolls low-income students: “The classification of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) was formally recognized in federal legislation for capacity-building support to improve the access and quality of education for Latino and other low-income students.”

There are 571 HSIs in the U.S., which represent 19% of all colleges and universities and enroll 62% of all Latinx undergraduates.

Emerging HSIs (eHSI) are institutions with 15-24.9% of undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) Hispanic enrollment. eHSIs represent a growing subset of colleges and universities; there are 401 eHSIs in the U.S.

DePaul is an eHSI, with 23% of undergraduate FTE Source: Excelencia in Education. (2023). Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Fact Sheet: 2021-22. Washington, D.C.: Excelencia in Education.

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El Centro, Spring 2023 LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES

Fall 2023

This interdisciplinary department explores the broad dynamics shaping Latin American & Latinx experiences and draws courses and insights from multiple fields. The Department of Latin American & Latino Studies also serves to deepen Latinx students’ awareness of their cultural heritage.

LST 201: Struggle and Resistance in Latin America

T/TH: 11:20-12:50 PM

Carolina Sternberg

LST 202/AMS 297: Constructing Latino Communities

M/W: 1 :00- 2:30 PM

Lourdes Torres

LST 307/AMS 397: Growing up Latino/a

T/TH: 2:40-4:10 PM

Meloddye Carpio Ríos

LST 303/AMS 397: The U.S.-Mexico Border

M/W: 11:20-12:50 PM

Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera

CES 401/LST 310: Intro to Critical Ethnic Studies

W: 6-9:15 PM

Lourdes Torres

CES 402/LST 310: Mobility and the State

T: 6-9:15 PM

Jesse Mumm

LSP 110: Discover Chicago: Puerto Rican Latinos

F: 10-12:40 PM

Jesse Mumm

LSP 200: Latinos in the US

T/TH: 2:40-4:10 PM

Jesse Mumm

HON 203: Seminar in Social Justice: Coloniality and Resistance

M/W: 9:40-11:10 AM

Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera

M/W: 1-2:30 PM

Delia Cosentino

M/W: 9:40-11:10 AM

Ana Schaposchnik

HAA 248/LST 268: Mexican Art

HST 121/LST121: Latin America to 1765

CORE FACULTY AFFILIATED FACULTY

@DePaulLALS @LALS_depaul

For more information, contact storre38@depaul.edu

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El Centro, Spring 2023

Quarterly Events Calendar April: 11-12 4:30-6:00 pm Focus Group: Political culture of Latinx students in Chicago 13 5:00 pm 40th Anniversary of the Harold Washington Election, Lecture by Dr. George Mantler 20 9:40-2:30 pm Histories of the Latinx Midwest: A Symposium 20 5:30-8:30 pm Poesía en abril 27 4:30-6 pm Latinx Studies Programs in the Midwest Diálogo's 25th Anniversary Symposium

May: 2 6:00-7:00 pm Virtual Q&A with Dr. Helen Yaffe 4 2:40-4:10 pm Research Talk with Dr. Yuriko Takahashi: Political Culture of Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. 11 4:30-6:00 pm LALS Core and Affiliated Faculty Book Launch 25 4:00-5:30 pm Fatherland: Culture, Violence, and the Peruvian Landscape 31 4:30-6:30 pm Wicklander Symposium Presents: Prof. Carolina Sternberg Stay tuned for future events

For information on location please see the respective flyers.

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El Centro, Spring 2023

Virtual Q&A with Dr. Helen Yaffe Join our guest speaker for a discussion over revolutionary Cuba!

Be sure to first watch her presentation on "Democracy and Participation in Revolutionary Cuba" on YouTube. https://youtu.be/9tX_n3w2QBQ *watch until 1:24:15

Tuesday, May 2nd 6-7 P.M. Arts & Letters Hall Room 102

El Centro, Spring 2023

~ Research Talk with ~

Dr. Yuriko Takahashi Associate Professor of Political Science, Waseda University, Japan Visiting Scholar, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California San Diego

Political Culture of Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. Thursday , May 4th // 2:40 - 4:10 P.M. Arts & Letters Hall Rm. 102

Dr. Takahashi will present ongoing research that explores the political attitudes and political participation of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and in their countries of origin, highlighting archival research on Mexican immigrant leaders and activists, focus group interviews with the leaders, and community surveys. The lecture will also discuss a research plan to expand its scope to the political culture of the Latinx community in the US, which is politically underrepresented relative to their share of the population.

Questions? Email mrealesv@depaul.edu

El Centro, Spring 2023

Book Launch

Come and join us as we celebrate the book releases from our LALS core and affiliated faculty!

Thursday, May 11th

Arts & Letters Rm 102 from 4:30 - 6:00 pm

Breaking Ground: From Extraction Booms to Mining Bans in Latin America

by Rose J. Spalding

Resurrecting Tenochtitlan: Imagining the Aztec Capital in Modern Mexico City

by Delia Cosentino and Adriana Zavala

Questions? Email storre38@depaul.edu

Neoliberal Urban Governance: Spaces, Culture and Discourses in Buenos Aires and Chicago

by Carolina Sternberg

El Centro, Spring 2023

FATHERLAND

CULTURE, VIOLENCE, AND THE PERUVIAN LANDSCAPE In this presentation artist, Andrew Mroczek will discuss his photographic series Virgenes de la Puerta and Fatherland May 25th, 4:00-5:30 pm Hybrid, Arts and Letters Hall “To embrace all aspects of self: the masculine and the feminine, the divine and the human, the resilience and the vulnerability, this is the core of [Barboza-Gubo & Mroczek’s Canon]. And it’s important to remember that these aren’t issues that belong to Peru exclusively, these are issues of humanity that belong to the world.”

– Maria Brito, Huffington Post

Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo and Andrew Mroczek, Maricielo, from the series: Virgenes de la Puerta, 2014.

“Canon, an exhibition by collaborative artists Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo and Andrew Mroczek, functions on two very different levels. On one hand, it’s a celebration of Peru and its people, landscapes, and traditions. On the other, it’s a scathing critique of the country’s alarming disregard for LGBT rights.”

– Bridget Gleeson, Artsy

REGISTER HERE Andrew Mroczek and Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo at The Museum of Sex, New York

Questions? storre38@depaul.edu

El Centro, Spring 2023

Thank You from the Editor Hello everyone who has read this Spring issue of El Centro!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the conversations I got to have with some amazing people.

I hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter just as much as I enjoyed planning and designing it. I was fortunate enough to meet all of my interviewees for the first time and learn about some of the incredible work that they have done recently. Listening to them speak about issues directly impacting the Latine and Latinx community and what they have done about it is truly inspiring to say the least. Creating a newsletter was new territory for me as well, so I wanted to make sure that I did right by everything that was included within this quarter's issue.

It goes without saying that trying to balance a life between school and work can be challenging for anybody, but I'm happy to have gotten an amazing position such as this one. Starting out as LALS and CLR's new undergraduate student assistant has given me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and gain new experiences I might never have gotten before. Part of this comes from the fact that this is an environment that is primarily focused on empowering and uplifting Latine and Latinx voices. This has been both wonderful and enlightening as it touches on a part of my identity that I haven't gotten to explore nearly enough. I'm proud of the work I have been able to do here so far and can't wait to see what this job has in store for me in the future.

-Josué Paniagua, Student Assistant

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Contact Us Carolina Sternberg LALS Chair csternb1@depaul.edu

Sara Luz Torres Department Assistant storre38@depaul.edu

Bill Johnson González CLR Director bjohns58@depaul.edu

Josué Paniagua Student Assistant jpaniag5@depaul.edu

Marcela L. Reales Visbal CLR Assistant Director mrealesv@depaul.edu

Sunidhi Kulkarni Graduate Student Assistant skulka12@depaul.edu

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