N T H E C O V E R
OCarlos A. Benitez Cruz (they/he)
IG: @xismoso
COVER IMAGE: “Mi mamá y yo”
Acrylic on canvas 2020
Carlos was born in Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico in 1998 and immigrated to the United States at age 4 as their family reunited. They grew up in the Northwest side of Chicago in the BelmontCragin neighborhood in a queer micro-community after their mother came out as a lesbian when Carlos was 8. They studied psychology, women and gender studies, and philosophy at Dominican University (class of 2021) and received a M.A. in Community Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago (class of 2024).
Carlos’ work is deeply introspective, exploring themes of the self in relation to various complex realities. As such, each piece in their body of work functions as a diary entry, reflecting on personal history and relationships, dominant and insurgent narratives, social conditions, inner subjective states, and, most recently, metaphysical ones.
Letters from the CLR Director & LALS Chair
CLR Advisory Committee and LALS Faculty
Faculty & Staff Announcements
Graduating Announcements
Book Launch - EVENT RECAP
Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates LALS Spotlight: Dr. Jesse Mumm
The People’s Teach-In: Education for Liberation - EVENT RECAP 2024 - 2025 CLR Faculty Fellows
2023 - 2024 CLR Faculty Fellows Spotlight: Dr. Joe Tafoya
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board News
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members' Spotlight: Leonard Domínguez
Poesia en abril - EVENT RECAP
Latinx Graduation CelebrationEVENT RECAP A reading & conversation with Dr. Cristina Rivera Garza - EVENT RECAP
New Student Assistants: Gigi Lara and Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
STATEMENT CLR MISSION
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.
ABOUT LATIN AMERICAN & LATINO STUDIES
The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) explores the myriad contributions of Latin Americans and Latinx people to the global community. The department’s programs emphasize the profound linkages that have emerged between Latin America and the United States, particularly through the construction of Latinx communities in the U.S. We also critically analyze the complex intersections with Indigenous, African, European, Semitic, Arab, and Asian communities throughout the Americas.
Edited and Designed by:
Josué Paniagua Sunidhi Kulkarni
Published by:
The Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University
Letter from the CLR Director
Estimades lectores,
is once again that bittersweet time of year when the academic year comes to an end, students walk across the stage at graduation, friends bid each other farewell, and everyone looks forward well-deserved summer vacation. It’s also at this time of year when we as faculty take a deep breath and hope that the values we have strived to teach – the need for rigorous critical thinking, historically informed awareness, compassion, and the courage to stand up for social justice – will take root and become a strong grounding for our students as they navigate the challenges and uncertainties of the future.
This past spring, we commemorated a half century of the civil rights work of the Young Lords in Lincoln Park and held a teach-in that connected their demands for social justice to present struggles.
This summer, the STRC is cultivating a new cohort of graduate and undergraduate fellows engaged in research, and in July we will be hosting a new group of freshman and transfer students for our 3rd Summer Institute on the theme, “Anti-Racism, Transformation and Healing through the Humanities.”
In August, the CLR will be collaborating with colleagues from Lewis and Northwestern universities to host a Curriculum Development Workshop on Latinx Studies for Chicago area teachers interested in diversifying their classrooms.
Best wishes for a restful and happy summer!
Letter from the LALS Chair
Estimadísimes,
- Bill Johnson Gonzalez
Espero que se encuentren muy bien! Aquí me encuentro nuevamente escribiéndoles para saludarles y desearles un muy buen fin de año académico.
Este fin de año académico muy especial para mí por ser mi último año de servicio como directora del Departamento de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos (LALS). Son muchos los esfuerzos y los logros que hemos realizado juntes durante seis años en LALS, y El CENTRO ha sido un canal muy especial para documentar cada uno de ellos. Estoy muy orgullosa de haber asumido este rol de liderazgo y de haber contado con el apoyo y la constancia de todes ustedes, staff, profesores y estudiantes durante todo este período
Esta edición de primavera de El Centro es también una linda oportunidad para darle la bienvenida a la nueva directora de LALS, la profesora Lourdes Torres, quien está muy entusiasmada de servir en este rol y de comunicarse con todes ustedes a traves de este hermoso newsletter, a partir del otoño de 2024
Voy a extrañar escribirles desde esta primera página, pero seguiré compartiendo experiencias con ustedes desde mi rol como profesora
Les deseo entonces un excelente fin del quarter, muchas felicidades a todes quienes se gradúan este año y un excelente comienzo de las vacaciones!
Hasta siempre!
- Carolina Sternberg
CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Marisa Alicea, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Carolina Barrera Tobón, Associate Professor Modern Languages
Ionit Behar, Curator | DePaul Art Museum
Martha Martinez-Firestone, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program | Sociology
Julie Moody-Freeman, Associate Professor, African and Black Diaspora Studies | Director, Center for Black Diaspora
Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor | Modern Languages
Core Faculty
Carolina Sternberg, Associate Professor, Chair Latin American and Latino Studies
Jesús Pando, Associate Professor, Chair Physics and Astrophysics, College of Science and Health
José Perales, Interim Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity
Rose Spalding, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor Political Science
Carolina Sternberg, Associate Professor, Chair Latin American and Latino Studies
Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor | Political Science
LALS FACULTY
Lourdes Torres, Professor, Vincent de Paul Professor Latin American and Latino Studies
Yoalli Rodriguez Aguilera, Assistant Professor Latin American and Latino Studies
Affiliated Faculty
Marisa Alicea, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Luisela Alvaray, Associate Professor Media and Cinema Studies
Glen Carman, Associate Professor Modern Languages
Delia Cosentino, Professor History of Art and Architecture
Rocío Ferreira, Associate Professor Modern Languages Department Chair, Women's and Gender Studies
Bill Johnson González, Associate Professor, English Director, Center for Latino Research
Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor Modern Languages
Jordan Levy, Assistant Professor Anthropology
Martha Martinez-Firestone, Associate Professor, Sociology Director, Undergraduate Sociology Program
Susana S Martínez, Associate Professor, Modern Languages Director, Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies Program
Elizabeth Millán, Professor, Chair Philosophy
Jesse Mumm, Professional Lecturer Latin American and Latino Studies
Meloddye Carpio Ríos, Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) Post-Doctoral Fellow | Latin American and Latino Studies
Juan Mora-Torres, Associate Professor History
Heather Montes-Ireland, Assistant Professor Women's and Gender Studies
Vincent Peña, Assistant Professor Journalism and Sports Communication, College of Communication
Xavier Perez, Assistant Professor Criminology
Monica Reyes, Assistant Professor Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse
Ana Schaposchnik, Associate Professor History
Jose Soltero, Professor Sociology
Sonia Soltero, Professor, Chair Leadership, Language and Curriculum, College of Communication
Rose J. Spalding, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor Political Science
Joe R Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science
Christopher Tirres, Associate Professor, Vincent de Paul Professor Religious Studies; Inaugural Endowed Professor, Diplomacy and Interreligious Engagement
Faculty & Staff Announcements
DELIA COSENTINO
During the Spring Quarter, Delia Cosentino taught an honors class on Aztec Art and its Afterlives, for which she planned a class visit from the artist Salvador Jiménez-Flores whose most recent show, "eagle, serpiente, nopalli," just closed at Pilsen's National Museum of Mexican Art. Her seminar surveys a range of political, social, and artistic contexts in which Aztec art and its descendants have helped to create specific meaning for different people, often negotiating a balance between admiration and exoticism.
On April 19th, Delia delivered a public lecture entitled "México-Tenochtitlan Transcendent" for the Art History Colloquium Series at UIC. It was based on material from her book, Resurrecting Tenochtitlan (co-authored with Adriana Zavala, UT Press, 2023), which was a finalist for the 2024 Charles Rufus Morey Award (College Art Association) and received an Honorable Mention for the ALAAArvey Foundation Book Award from the Association for Latin American Art.
HEATHER MONTES-IRELAND
Dr. Heather Montes Ireland's co-authored chapter "'Don't Say Gay' and Can't be Trans: Behind the Anti-LGBTQ Schooling Agenda" was published in the book, The Right To Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom (Beacon Press, April 2024). This year, Montes Ireland is a also 2023-24 HumanitiesX Faculty Fellow with DePaul's Experiential Humanities Collaborative, co-teaching a course on the theme of Democracy and Rights entitled, "Do Say Gay: Banned Books and LGBTQ Freedoms."
This summer, she looks forward to presenting her paper “Autohistoria-teoría and Chicana/Latina Feminist Approaches to Self-writing” with colleagues at the 3rd Conference on Writing Through the Lifespan.
CAROLINA STERNBERG
Professor Sternberg has recently received the 2024 STRC Professional Development Fellowship for the research project titled “Inclusiveness and equity in Chicago? An analysis of Lori Lightfoot’s and Brandon Johnson’s rhetoric and policies.”
In addition, on March 28 she was interviewed in Spanish by Univision Chicago for their Saturday newscast, “Al Punto Chicago,” aired on March 31, 2024. She was asked to talk about the current status of gentrification in Latinx communities in Chicago and the problems the communities would face if this problem is not addressed in the short term.
Faculty & Staff Announcements
YOALLI RODRIGUEZ AGUILERA
In March, Yoalli went to the University of Buffalo as a guest speaker to a conference entitled “Landed Solidarity,” organized by the Department of Indigenous Studies In the conference they talked about their work on grief, land and resistances in the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico Approximately 10 scholars from all over the country were invited to share their work
In June 2024, they will be traveling to the university ITESO-Guadalajara in Mexico, as a guest speaker to a conference entitled Coloquio Internacional Bienes comunes, extractivismo y sistemas de seguridad (International Colloquium on Common Goods, Extractivism and Security Systems) They are very excited to share part of their work with Mexican scholars working about environment, security and human rights
VINCENT PENA
Dr Vincent C Peña, a second-year assistant professor of sports communication and journalism, was recently granted a University Research Council research leave for the Autumn 2024 quarter He will work on a project titled, “Different Quotes for Different Folks: Analyzing Race and Gender Stereotypes in Sports Press Conferences ” The project is aimed at understanding how the race and gender of college athletes (and journalists) impact their interactions in interview settings such as press conferences. Focusing specifically on men ’ s and women ’ s college basketball, he’ll explore athlete and media perceptions and analyze the content of their questions. Recently, Dr. Peña’s research has been published in journals such as Communication & Sport and the Sociology of Sport Journal.
JESSICA POLOS
Dr Jessica Polos presented findings from her CLR-funded research project titled, “Decomposing Hispanic-white and Black-white Disparities in Infant Prematurity by Maternal Age and Maternal Education in the U S , 2001-2021” in the “Health “Paradoxes” and Their Underlying Mechanisms” session at the Population Association of America’s Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio Her preliminary findings suggest that biological weathering attributable to returns to maternal age explains Hispanic-white gaps in infant prematurity from 2001 until 2008, though does not explain the gap between 2009 and 2022 Rather, education endowments, i e , the difference in the educational distribution between Hispanic and white mothers, explains most of the prematurity gap over time She looks forward to presenting the final results of this work at next year ’ s CLR Tertulia
Faculty & Staff Announcements
MONICA REYES
This year, Monica had her co-authored book chapter published in the book Grassroots Activisms: Public Rhetorics in Localized Contexts. The chapter, "Enacting Invitational Rhetorics: Leveraging Networks of Care in the US Asylum Process," discusses the development of a grassroots initiative that was collaboratively designed with staff and clients at an emergency shelter for displaced people in the Rio Grande Valley border region of Texas. Through the initiative, volunteers provide writing consultation services for shelter clients as they compose displacement stories for their asylum applications with agency and dignity. Volunteers also provide counseling services, support shelter staff on writing and translation projects, and conduct professional writing workshops. These services enact the disciplinary expertise of rhetoric and composition to leverage and diffuse asymmetrical networks of institutional, political, and individual power in ways that benefit asylum-seekers and the shelter as a whole.
JOSUE PANIAGUA
One of Josue’s most recent projects, a short animation titled Just Say No, was selected to be a part of DePaul’s Experimental Film Showcase aka D E F Showcase 2024 The 3D animation focuses on subverting the feeling of shame associated with drug addiction and its direct impact towards the user With imagery of sparkly diamonds, martini glasses, and blood, Just Say No explores a facet of drug addiction and how challenging it can be to listen to those three words The 8th D E F Showcase program was screened at DePaul Art Museum on May 18th 2024
Felicidades to our graduates!
Alejandra Delgadillo
MA IN SPANISH
Achieving a master's degree as both a staff member and part of our Latino community fills me with immense pride and gratitude. This journey has been enriched by the camaraderie and shared experiences within our university. I am eager to apply my newfound knowledge to make a meaningful impact and inspire others in our vibrant community.
Sara Luz Torres
MA IN WRITING AND PUBLISHING
Getting my master’s degree while working here has been an incredible experience, especially with the support of our tight-knit LALS and CLR community. I am incredibly excited to marry my interests in writing and editing with my multi-lingual and multi-cultural background. This journey has been transformative, and I can't wait to see where it takes me next.
Josue Paniagua
BFA IN FILM AND TELEVISION
Being part of the CLR and LALS has been one of the best opportunities I could have asked for while at DePaul Not only have I learned so much about myself and my identity as a Latino, but I’ve also been fortunate enough to meet so many amazing people who have shaped and guided my journey during my time here I will miss this place dearly, but I will always cherish my time here. ¡Muchas gracias!
Sunidhi Kulkarni MS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
I would like to thank the CLR and LALS department for all the support, guidance and friendship you guys provided throughout my tenure here. This was my first time working in a multicultural environment and I never felt like I was away from home. I am going to miss this place and I’m hoping to staying in touch with everyone.
The Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American & Latino Studies
Book Launch
EVENT RECAP
To learn more about Spanish in Chicago, please check out Dr. Kim Potowski’ s article “Spanish Language use in Chicago,” published in Diálogo, Volume 9, Issue 1 (2005) on page 31!
Spanish in Chicago Oxford University Press, 2023 Lourdes Torres and Kim Potowski
The Employable Sociologist: A Guide for Undergraduates
Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
Martha Martinez-Firestone
Latino Studies: A 20th Anniversary Reader Palgrave Macmillan, 2024 Lourdes Torres and Marisa Alicea
On May 15th, LALS core and affiliated faculty and staff celebrated the recent publications by Lourdes Torres, Marisa Alicea, and Martha Martinez-Firestone. The event included brief presentations by each author, followed by celebratory drinks. Felicidades to our esteemed colleagues for their great accomplishments!
LALS SPOTLIGHT: DR. JESSE MUMM
BUILDING COMMUNITY IN LATINX CHICAGO AND DEPAUL
Interview Conducted by Sara Luz Torres
Jesse Mumm is a cultural anthropologist interested in gentrification, race and racism, Latino community formations in Chicago, and the intersections of latinidad and whiteness. He has articles in CENTRO Journal and Focaal: The Journal of Global Anthropology, and is collaborating on a comparative GIS mapping project on race, housing and property value, and a digital ethnography of online gentrification discourses in Humboldt Park.
When did you start working at DePaul?
I was an adjunct my first year, then I became term faculty the following year. So altogether, it's been nine years. I'll be having my little 10-year anniversary soon. Before arriving at DePaul, I was part of so many conversations across the city. I tried to introduce myself to everybody working on anything related to urban development, Chicago neighborhoods, race and racism, and issues around gentrification.
I was there when a couple of friends of mine at UIC started forming this collective, collaborative research group It was about all kinds of forms of displacement, and I really enjoyed that We hosted a bunch of sessions that were collaborations between community leaders, people working on issues of immigration, deportation, evictions, gentrification, and anything that was about people being forced to move in some way, shape, or form, and we saw a lot of correlations in our work. We hosted one event at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. I had lots of great conversations with folks there, so when this adjunct position opened here at DePaul, Lourdes Torres put the word out. Amalia Payares recommended me right away and said “Oh, you should hire this guy. He's really good. He really knows his stuff about the community, he's done all this work,” but I knew Lourdes because she was good friends with my close friend Roberto Sanabria We had drinks together in Roberto's gigantic apartment Roberto and I had worked together at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in the 90s
Is there a lecture that you specifically can think of that you love to teach and that gets students fired up? What do you often tell students who want to get involved?
I'll talk about the topic from this week, which I titled “Living Against Gentrification.” The reading was on the crucible of this long battle over space, how people grow up in neighborhoods they love, where kids play on the street. They go out the door and look for a paleta or an elote, and how all those things they love about the place-making in their communities disappear over time
One piece was about the Lower East Side by Caitlin Cahill, and one was Merida M Rua’s work She has a book called A Grounded Identidad: Making New Lives in Chicago’s Puerto Rican Neighborhoods about Logan Square and all the issues surrounding her family. The book then extends outward to the community, centering on the people living and dealing with it.
That was the focus of my piece, “Stomping Ground: Living Against Gentrification in Humboldt Park,” which is coming out in Diáogo later this year. It focuses on two incredible storytellers I interviewed: Roslyn Velasquez and Rafael Lugo. They describe conditions in their neighborhoods with the depth of insight and analysis real analysis just phrased in casual talk
I see students get excited thinking about those undegreed scholars who are out there around us in the
world
As someone who teaches people to go out and talk to people, that gets me excited because then they start submitting interviews with people that, up until that moment, they might not have thought of as an expert in life but they are. Sometimes the expert is their mom, or someone they've known or lives in their building. They get excited about bringing that to class. My own teaching around this is changing too, and I'm trying with two classes this year more and more to have students gather things and then share them with each other.
I see students get excited thinking about those undegreed scholars who are out there around us in the world.
Where do you get the inspiration for this style of teaching? How does this relate to your personal research?
I wouldn't have gotten into anthropology if I hadn't been an English teacher at an alternative high school that was completely activist in its outlook and approach. I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't been involved in spoken word performance poetry and hip-hop. I did that when I was a late teen. By the end of that, as I was thinking about what to do with my life, I was thinking about how spoken words can transform people's lives.
If you listen to your life course, those things push you towards the very next step in your life in a really dialectical way I couldn't have guessed at any stage that it would lead me into anthropology and teaching I don't know where exactly it goes next, but all the issues that came out of it matter, like belonging, claims to space, and how people find their way in this country.
All of that led me in a roundabout way to a new research project in Kankakee County, and this came out of our own interests. My wife Lily and I bought a cottage with two other couples on the river near some forest. It's beautiful. Part of the wetlands that's just an hour South of Chicago, and for about a year, I didn't know what it was that was obsessing me with learning the history of that area, specifically on Black native and Latino history of Kankakee County Also, their intersections and how these communities find each other, share space, and collaborate in majority-white rural America.
There I was in Kankakee, just playing in the water with my son, boating, and examining these beautiful terrains of Savannah and Prairie, and then it started coming back to me. Everyone I tell this to thinks I've lost my mind because, I mean, it's nothing to do with gentrification. It's nothing to do with Chicago neighborhoods, but to me, it's some of the same stuff.
Something unique is happening more in Chicago and Kankakee; Latinos are no longer staying away from Black neighborhoods That does not mean they have conquered all of their internal racism or antiblackness, but something has changed in the next generation they are building community. They’re sometimes having conflicts, but they are moving
Dr. Jesse Mumm
into Englewood. They're moving into the parts of the Back of the Yards that are Black. It's interesting that the next generation could see some kinds of partnerships arising that people are still just talking about on an organizational level happening on a block level.
Quick segway: You’ve spent time in Ireland. What was that like? How does it relate to your research interests?
I spent a year in Ireland, and this was really because of my own inspiration from ten years of working with Puerto Rican, Latino, Mexican, and Black teenagers and helping them think through issues of their identity growing up, families, migration, and community through writing about them because that's the stuff that was most relevant to people.
My students were challenging me as I was in my late 20s. “What do you know about your origins, Jesse? What do you know about where you're from?” And I'd be like, “I read some books about Ireland, but I didn't grow up in an Irish neighborhood.” I grew up in Logan Square, where it was 70% Latino, which it isn't now, of course My closest friends when I was a kid were Puerto Rican
I came to the conclusion that I wanted to live in Ireland long enough that it would become normal for me. I wanted to understand its ways and not just visit it or read about it. I had already visited Ireland three times, but I didn't want to stay with my family. We have a farm on the West Coast and County Mayo and more family members who live in Dublin. I wanted to find another place, another community, where I could continue to do activist work. I spent half a year working in Derry at a place called the Pat Finucane Center, which did human rights work in the wake of all this horrible violence sponsored by the British Government. That was 2000/2001. I spent the other half of the year in Galway, on the West Coast, working with the Galway One World Center, which is their one-stop activist center At the time, they mainly did a lot of work around refugees and asylum seekers I spoke on panels about immigration in the US. I spoke at this gigantic
welcoming event for migrants, but mostly I just did everyday work trying to hook people up with apartments, and I was the go-between.
Our final question: Are you still writing poetry?
Why do you want to make me cry? I wrote a poem last year just one I still write in my journal quite a bit I did something else I went through all my old creative writing and put together a collection of about 100 pages that I thought was the best I don't know what in the world I'm thinking of doing with it, but I want to at least type it all up.
It's pretty amazing. I got this job here at DePaul, and then everything in my life got better. I found the love of my life, bought a house, and had a baby. Then, she got elected to the Illinois House. I still write, and I would like to write more creative stuff because that was always my joy.
I had a friend of mine, John Cologne, whom I grew up with in Logan Square. He challenged me to write a poem, and he was going to do an art piece, which we were going to share with each other because that's what we loved so much when we were teenagers So I wrote a poem and sent it to him He sent me a photo of a piece he did that week It was great
Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates
From Program Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Alejandra Delgadillo
The Social Transformation Research Collaborative is delighted to share its 2024 fellowship cohorts!
2024 Professional Development Faculty Fellows:
Dr Kalyani Menon, Religious Studies
“Making Hindus Right: Hindu Supremacy in the Diaspora”
Dr. Sanjukta Mukherjee, Women’s and Gender Studies
“Pedagogies of care: An oral history of service workers at DePaul University”
Dr. Carolina Sternberg, Latin American and Latino Studies
“Inclusiveness and Equity in Chicago? An Analysis of Lori Lightfoot’s and Brandon Johnson’s Rhetoric and Policies”
2024 Graduate Student Fellows:
Sophia Burns, Sustainable Urban Development
“Redlining, Redevelopment, and Resilience: Engaging Urban Policy History to Imagine an Equitable Sustainable Future in Atlantic City”
Claudia Cisneros Méndez, Women’s and Gender Studies
“Art and Culture as Resistance: Indigenous Communities Defying State Violence and Repression in Peru”
Samira Kassem, Sustainable Urban Development
“The Power to Move: A Comprehensive Analysis of Black Chicagoans’ Access to Public Transportation from 1915 to Present Day”
Elizabeth Wallace, Modern Languages
“With an Empathetic Lens: Understanding the Impacts of Forced Migration in Mexico through Film’s Storytelling”
2024 Undergraduate Student Fellows:
Abigail Flores, English, Latin American and Latino Studies
Naomi Love, Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, African and Black Diaspora Studies
Sifa Muderhwa, International Studies
Chris Sifri, Sociology, The Art School
Aidan Tennant, Philosophy, Religious Studies, School of Public Service
Jo Trasowech, Criminology, International Studies
We are also thrilled to announce that Dr. Chernoh Sesay, Jr. (Religious Studies) will be leading this year ’ s Undergraduate Student Fellowship, teaching a research methods course and mentoring all six fellows through the end of the Fall quarter
We will host a Summer Kickoff on Tuesday, June 18th at 4pm in the Arts and Letters Patio to celebrate our 2024 fellowship cohorts and the start of our summer programming. Stop by to grab a bite and say hello!
The plans for the 2024 Summer Institute are moving along smoothly, and we expect to host a total of 22 freshmen and transfer students from across all colleges. This year, we will have a series of guest lecturers representing different units within DePaul University, with all lectures centered on our theme: “Anti-Racism, Transformation, and Healing through the Humanities.” Our guest lecturers are Mónica Reyes (WRD), Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera (LALS), Laura Kina (The Art School), Taurean Webb (ABD), Amor Kohli (ABD), Mia Park (TTS), and Mark Turcotte (ENG). Our lunch to celebrate the end of the Summer Institute will be on Friday, July 26th at 1:30pm in the Quad; you are most welcome to join us!
Lastly, a reminder to save the date for our third annual symposium, scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, 2024. We will hear from our 2023-2024 faculty fellows, Rocío Ferreira, Juan Mora-Torres, María Ferrera, and Jacqui Lazú, as well as our student fellows from our 2024 cohort, mentioned above. Stay tuned for more updates!
THE PEOPLE’S TEACH-IN: EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION
E V E N T R E C A P
On May 14th, the CLR hosted a teach-in commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Young Lords Organization's (YLO) historic takeover of the McCormick Theological Seminary, which is now the DePaul School of Music. The event was co-organized by Dr. Jacqueline Lazú (MOL), Paul Mireles (CES Graduate Student) and CLR staff.
The event, hosted at the Schmitt Academic Center and the Latinx and Black Cultural Centers, included two keynote presentations by Luis “Tony” Báez (YLO Minister of Education) and Felicitas Nuñez (Co-founder of Teatro de las Chicanas), and 30-minute concurrent sessions led by original members of the YLO, members of the New Era Young Lords, institutional and community partners and organizers The sessions focused on topics including faith-based activism, prison activism, memorializing urban spaces, and the legacy of the YLO in Chicago. Attendees included Lincoln Park High School students and educators.
In April, the university placed a historical marker at DePaul’s School of Music commemorating the YLO’s takeover on May 14, 1969 and their origins and legacy in Lincoln Park. An unveiling ceremony will take place in the fall. Stay tuned for more information on the event!
CENTERFORLATINO RESEARCH
2024-2025FACULTYFELLOWS
SYMONEJOHNSON
AssistantProfessor|African&BlackDiasporaStudies
"ReintegrationasaSacredPoliticalProject"
Pre-colonial African and Indigenous philosophies hold core beliefs about the continuities between the material and the immaterial qualities of nature and how they are mirrored in the body In a contemporary U S context which is historically founded on divisive ideologies and manufactured material scarcity for many, alternative healers of color consider: How can we adapt our traditional methods and tools for healing to reflect the truths of nature and the truths of our discontent as marginal subjects? “Reintegration As a Sacred Political Project”, supported by the Center for Latino Research, is an ethnographic project centering stories of Black, Latinx, and Asian acupuncturists, psychics, diviners, herbalists, reiki masters, counselors, designers, artists, and musicians working in New York City Our collective objectives healer and researcher, personal and political are to help restore wholeness to modern bodies fragmented by social division, poverty, and violence which alienateusfromeachotherandthelaboroflovingthatisoursacredduty
JORDANLEVY
AssistantProfessor|Anthropology
"ReadingthePoliticalLandscape:Resistance,State,andTransnationalMigrationinPost-Coup Honduras"
This CLR fellowship will support my book project, which examines the current exodus from Honduras as a form of resistance to state practices and governing policies since the June 2009 military coup The monograph I plan to write is based on qualitative data collected during ethnographic research in Honduras during the overthrow and aftermath of the coup; interviews with Honduran migrants to the U S ; and reflections on the shifting nature of Honduran asylum cases, for which I regularly serve as an expert witness The analysis put forth emphasizes how Hondurans attempt to change post-coup policies of governance within Honduras, while also reading political landscapes of uncertainty in Central America and the U S –forming strategies for migration and asylum abroad My aim is for the book to contribute to Political Anthropology, Latin American Studies,andLatinoStudies,whilealsoservingasaresourceformigrantrightsadvocacygroups
YOALLIRODRÍGUEZ-AGUILERA
AssistantProfessor|LatinAmericanandLatinoStudies
"AHistoryofAfro-IndigenousWomenAgainstEnvironmentalRacismontheCoastof Oaxaca,Mexico"
My project is the first one in Mexico to look at how environmental racism affects an Afro-Indigenous community It focuses on the efforts of women in the communities around the Chacahua Lagoons, on the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico to protect and fix the water and land This research aims to fill a gap in understanding how gender, race, and the environment intersect in Mexico I want to study old documents about the Chacahua Lagoons, which became a National Park in 1938 I'll look at records and maps in Mexico City's National General Archive to see how the lagoons became a National Park and its repercussions in the Afro-Indigenous communities These documents will help me show how despite being declared a National Park, the lagoons are now polluted due to toxicity and pollution Studying this willhelpmeunderstandwhyAfro-Indigenouscommunitiesaretryingtocleanandfixthewaterasaform ofdefendingtheirancestralwaterandland.
2023 - 2024 CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT: DR. JOE TAFOYA
THE LATINO VOTE IN 2024
Interview conducted by Josue Paniagua
Dr. Joe Tafoya is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. His teaching has been focused on the dignity of individuals, their relationship to complex institutional designs, and using evidence to identify opportunities for social progress. His research has focused on topics such as Latinx Politics, Immigration Policy, Race/Ethnicity Relations, and Public Opinion. As part of his research, he has explored opportunities for Latino political engagement and attitudes towards immigrants by the American public. We discussed his most recent project for the CLR Faculty Fellowship, in partnership with Dr. Yuriko Takahashi, in which he delves further into what is dictating voter turnout for communities of color while finding strategies to increase political engagement for groups that have been politically invisible.
I'm a political science professor on the tenure track, focusing on the Latinx/é community My classes and research revolve around the politics of people of color and participatory democracy I examine the involvement of Latinos and African Americans in the political system, particularly in relation to voting and representative government. The aim is to protect and uphold democracy and its values. Currently, our communities are growing and that is a gift. Communities of color show a strong interest in utilizing available tools, such as voting, to increase our political power and actively defend the less fortunate. Through this process, my academic work is on the various aspects of our identity, exploring our shared sense of peoplehood, migration experiences, and the challenges our families and ancestors overcame to establish themselves in the US
What is your CLR Faculty Fellowship project focused on and what has your experience been like with this fellowship so far?
My fellowship began with the establishment of an international research collaboration with Dr. Yuriko Takahashi from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Our joint effort focused on uncovering gaps in our understanding of the Latino vote. To begin, we conducted a comprehensive review of existing literature on the subject. In one paper we recently presented in Vancouver, Canada, I put forth the argument that, election after election, Latino voters
are consistently 20% less likely than non-Latinos to participate in voting The reality is that less than 50% of Latinos vote, in contrast to the 65-70% turnout among white and African American voters
So, I asked, what are we missing? During our research, Yuriko discovered instances in political science where young Latinos were overlooked and systematically excluded from voter outreach lists employed by political campaigns. These lists serve as the foundation for mobilizing voters. However, we found that these lists were incomplete. Consequently, Yuriko and I collaborated on this project, with me focusing on statistical data analysis. Through my analysis, I uncovered that Latino men
Dr. Joe R. Tafoya
between the ages of 18 and 30 have an 80% likelihood of being classified as politically invisible. This means that they do not appear on the campaign lists and are consistently left out of essential voter mobilization efforts crucial for increasing overall voter turnout.
As we delved deeper into our research, a significant question arose: How do we effectively communicate with the politically invisible? When examining the voting patterns of communities of color, we often find that voting behavior is community-oriented Therefore, we realized the importance of raising awareness about the community itself, its size, and the ongoing conversations within it. Thus, the central focus of our paper shifted towards understanding how to engage the politically invisible. Our key finding from this project, which I find particularly exciting, is that if we can persuade Latino youth, especially Latino men, that exercising their right to vote is a way of honoring their community, they are more likely to do so. In essence, we have identified a systemic issue within the community and proposed a solution by instilling self-belief. This research allows us to delve into multiple fields, including political science and Latino studies, making it intellectually stimulating and exciting to discuss
What have been the biggest takeaways you have uncovered from researching Latinos as politically active?
The main aspect of my research focuses on voting and developing innovative strategies to increase voter turnout. Additionally, I explore the political dynamics surrounding undocumented individuals. While political science traditionally emphasizes the concepts of citizenship and voting, I sought to investigate the lesser-explored aspects. I questioned the extent of people's political knowledge and examined the political engagement of those without voting rights. Often overlooked are individuals without proper documentation, their ability to assert their agency, effectively communicate their beliefs and desires, and achieve their goals Initially, there was limited literature on this topic five to ten years
ago. However, through experiments, data collection, and interviews, we discovered that undocumented individuals and DREAMers were actively engaged in politics. Despite being unable to vote, they could mobilize others to vote, volunteer, contribute to campaigns, and participate in various political activities, indicating their significant presence in American politics.
How has the political landscape changed for Latinx people in this country and in Chicago? In what ways has their relationship to voting evolved?
We are genuinely enthusiastic about increasing voter participation, and we strongly believe that it is crucial to approach Latino voters and individuals residing in communities facing unique challenges with compassion and empathy. Having spent significant time in Texas, I was personally taken aback by the apparent apathy among people. However, it is essential to recognize that this indifference is largely a result of systemic factors rather than individual shortcomings. Rather than placing blame on individuals for not voting, we should direct our attention towards examining the institutions that have shaped the existing incentives
By starting with this compassionate and empathetic perspective, we can then focus on developing more effective strategies to mobilize the community to vote. Our ultimate objective is to convey these insights to influential entities such as the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Through our research, we aim to devise tested and proven strategies that will enable the inclusion of marginalized individuals and outsiders. Notably, this year, the Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago (from August 19 to August 22), and our city serves as a representation of the very best of America. Latinx groups will have a significant presence in the national conversation, offering a platform to promote our goals and engage in constructive dialogue
As this year’s election gets closer, what should voters, especially Latinx voters, keep in mind before stepping into the voting booth?
Latinx voters currently hold a significant and impactful presence in electoral politics, which is more meaningful and important than ever before. Republicans are recognizing that they cannot rely solely on their existing constituency to secure victory, prompting them to actively appeal to and engage with Latinos who have previously been overlooked in political conversations Notably, Republicans are particularly effective in reaching out to Latino men, who show a higher level of persuadability and openness to considering Republican candidates. As Latinx voters participate in the upcoming November elections, they will be motivated and enthusiastic, knowing that the political system is capable of recognizing their significance and that both parties are actively seeking their support. Now more than ever, Latinx voters have a powerful voice, and the parties want to be responsive to their concerns. Their opinions and perspectives now hold weight, and the parties are interested in hearing what Latinx voters have to say
Has this fellowship revealed the next phase of what your research will be based on?
In the next phase of this project, the international collaboration with Dr Yuriko Takahashi from Waseda University in Japan will be central. Both DePaul and Waseda University have become key players in this project, allowing us to advocate for and secure meaningful resources. These resources include grants in the tens of thousands of dollars. In January, I applied for a grant of $138,000 to implement the lessons we have learned. Our goal over the summer is to engage with approximately 1,500 politically invisible Latinx young adults. To accomplish this, we require various resources such as space, staff, phones, and phone banks. We are eager to acquire everything we can to support our efforts Nos vamos a involucrar más
There are things we don't know that we don't know. What does the dark side of the moon look like for Latinx voters? I intend to apply the lessons we have learned about voter exclusion to those who have not even been invited to the conversation about political choices. How can we better understand them? How can we extend invitations to address the 20% gap between Latino and non-Latino voters in national elections? I firmly believe that this collaboration and the project I am working on will have significant ramifications in our understanding of Latino voters for the next 10 or 20 years
I am deeply grateful for the faculty fellowship provided by the Center for Latino Research. The fellowship has given me the time and encouragement to apply for major grants, write a 30-page paper on this topic, and present it at academic conferences. The CLR has truly been a game changer in enabling the progress of this project. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive community of scholars who generously contribute to my research agenda, further enriching my academic endeavors.
Is there a book or piece of media outside of your research that you have been enjoying recently?
Aside from my research, one source of enjoyment and inspiration for me lately has been a podcast called "The Latino Vote " It brings together prominent Latino voices in the country to provide insightful and unbiased information on voting patterns among Latino voters.
In terms of non-academic media, I have been particularly enjoying cumbia music. Artists like Los Angeles Azules have been on my playlists. Whenever I find myself running out of energy during the day while working on statistics and administrative tasks, I play a cumbia track, and suddenly I'm energized and moving along with the music I've been trying to infuse that momentum and vibrant spirit that Latinos have into my work
This project has also inspired me to explore the unseen aspects, akin to the dark side of the moon
Cristina Rivera Garza
EventRecap
On April 17th, the Center for Latino Research in partnership with the DePaul Art Museum, the Women’s Center, the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and the Department of English, hosted a reading and conversation with internationally renowned author and scholar, Dr. Cristina Rivera Garza. The conversation, moderated by Dr. Rocío Ferreira (WGS/MOL), centered on Dr. Rivera Garza’s work, particularly her award-winning non-fiction book Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice, a 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner and 2023 National Book Award Finalist. Dr. Rivera Garza shared her experience writing the book both in Spanish and in English, the connection of the book with her broader work, and the impact it has had in communities around the world, particularly those actively working towards raising awareness about femicides. After the talk, she signed books sand chatted with the audience. It was a wonderful night!
Dr Cristina Rivera Garza and Dr Rocío Ferreira (MOL/WGS)
Dr. Cristina Rivera Garza and Dr. Yoalli Rodriguez Aguilera (LALS)
In May, 2024, Columbia University announced that Dr. Cristina Rivera Garza was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice under the “Memoir or Autobiography” category. The Pulitzer Prize is regarded as the highest national honor in journalism, letters and drama, and music.
¡Felicidades, Dr. Rivera Garza!
During the Winter and Spring quarters, the Center for Latino Research, in partnership with the Latinx Cultural Center and University Counseling and Psychological Services (UCAPS), organized a book club to prepare for Dr. Cristina Rivera Garza’s event. The book club met 4 times during the year to discuss Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice.
Jade Walker, one of the students who participated in the Book Club, wrote an article for Newsline about the activity. Scan the code to check out the full article!
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members
Maria G. Arias
Principal, Maria Arias Solutions
BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1983
Martin Arteaga
President, Green Building Partners, Inc.
BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 2000
Trish Brown Cordes
Master of Public Service Management, 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
Ulises Iván Sánchez
Human Resources Officer/U.S. Department of State
BA, Leadership and Human Resources Management, DePaul University, 2015
MS, Human Resources, DePaul University, 2016
Lou Sandoval
President/CEO, Halo Advisory Group
BS, Biochemistry, DePaul University, 1988
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board NEWS
In April, Lucino Sotelo, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Northern Trust Corporation, was appointed to DePaul University’s Board of Trustees. Sotelo stepped down from the CLR/LALS External Advisory Board in order to fulfill this new role. Scan the code below to read more about his appointment.
We’re grateful for Lucino Sotelo’s service to our board and wish him the best in this new endeavor! ¡Felicidades, Lucino!
This quarter, we welcomed two new members to our advisory board: Martin Arteaga (BA, Political Science, 2000) and Ulises Sánchez (MS, Human Resources, 2016/BA, Leadership and Human Resources Management, 2015). Arteaga is the President of Green Building Partners, Inc., and Sánchez is a Human Resources Officer for the U.S. Department of State, currently posted in Bangkok, Thailand. Welcome to our new board members!
Lucino Sotelo
Martin Arteaga
Ulises Sánchez
CLR/LALS EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS’ SPOTLIGHT: LEONARD DOMÍNGUEZ
A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
Interview Conducted by Josué Paniagua
In 2022, the CLR and LALS Department worked with Dr Marisa Alicea to establish an External Advisory Board made up of DePaul alumnae/i and community members 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
Leonard Domínguez earned a BA in Economics from DePaul in 1967. Before focusing on community organizing and leadership, he started his career as an educator for Chicago Public Schools. His mission has been to serve the children and families in various communities around Chicago as a teacher at three different elementary schools, a Principal of two elementary schools and a high school, the Chief of Policy for the Chicago Public Schools, and the Deputy Mayor of Education for the City of Chicago, appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley. Leonard has now dedicated his life to service through the Little Village Rotary Club of Chicago, promoting the health and welfare of children and families locally and around the world.
When I talk to people, I want to hear their origin story because to me that's a big part of who you are. Knowing where you come from, your family and your background sets the stage for everything later. For me, it's all about my parents. I owe them everything. My dad was from Michoacán, Mexico. My mother was born in Mexico City. As a young boy, my dad, along with his sister and brother lost their parents during the Mexican Revolution. They went to Texas to live with cousins. My mom ’ s parents, my grandparents, left Mexico seeking a better, safer life for their family
So at a young age, both my mom and dad came to the United States where they found each other and got married in Chicago. My dad left Texas looking for work and eventually got a job in the steel mills. At the time, my parents were living through the Great Depression. Then, during WWII, my dad volunteered to become a medic in the Army and served all over Europe. He earned a Bronze Star for bravery during the Battle of the Bulge and a Purple Heart for being wounded a few days later. My mom was a brilliant student and the Valedictorian of her high school. She went on to business college, got a job as an Executive
Secretary at Sears, and was sent to Philadelphia to be in charge of all South American accounts. Despite my dad only finishing fifth grade, he was a successful businessman who bought some real estate, and this is the reason that I, my brother, and two sisters were able to go to college. My parents also stressed the importance of being proud of our Mexican culture and traditions.
What was your experience like as a Latino student at DePaul?
My first experience at DePaul was being interviewed by Father Richardson He was really nice and later became President of DePaul I was transferring from the City Colleges after having attended the University of Illinois. He was Dean of Students at that time and after reviewing my test scores said that I was admitted to DePaul. I found that my classes and Professors were really great, and I enjoyed all of them. I especially appreciated the economics and philosophy courses and professors. They made me think and write with thought and precision. The English courses were also interesting with lots of reading and discussions about great literature.
Having studied English, Economics, and Philosophy at DePaul, what led you to eventually pursuing your master’s in Education Administration?
In high school, I had an English teacher who was the best. He was a real philosopher himself. We read great literature and went on field trips to see films about Shakespeare. He also pushed us to read one book a week and write an analysis of those books He was a real mentor to me as I developed my own sense of what it means to be educated I also loved English, literature, and philosophy For me, they fit perfectly together for a well-rounded education During that time, the Vietnam War was going on. As a young man, you were susceptible to being drafted for what I knew was a useless, terrible, immoral, unethical war. I decided to become a teacher because I had been very fortunate to get a great education and would be able to share that with young children. I thought it was an honorable thing to do. Luckily, my father agreed and was proud that his son was a teacher.
I started teaching 5th grade, which is a great age because at that age, children are excited about everything; and just hungry for knowledge I would take them on trips, trying to show them more about the city since they rarely left their neighborhood because it was unsafe for them to do that Fast forward and bilingual education was starting and I wanted to serve the Latino community in this way. I taught bilingual students for about 10 years and then returned to school for a master’s in education administration. A Master’s degree in Education Administration prepared me to become a Principal. I subsequently passed a difficult Principal’s exam which only 168 people passed out of 1,800 who took the test. Of the 168, only 11 were Latino.
Throughout the multiple leadership roles you have taken on, the importance of education and the arts are always at the forefront. Could you tell me more about what connects the two as well as what they mean to you?
I have had an appreciation for the arts since high
Leonard Domínguez
school, where I played trumpet in the school band and was elected Band President in my senior year. During my teaching career, I started an arts magazine that featured poetry, short stories, articles on music, art, books, theater, and other forms of artistic expression. I also started teaching students in the different grades I taught how to write original plays which we sometimes performed at school assemblies In my first year of teaching kindergarten, I closely followed the curriculum Everything in the book that I was supposed to teach, I taught But I realized something was missing What was missing in the curriculum was the arts. So, we started providing experiences in art, music, dancing, and singing. By infusing the arts in the curriculum, we had so much more fun at school and I realized that kids learn faster with rhythm and melody. I developed an alphabet song in Spanish while teaching kids how to speak both English and Spanish. Having taken Latin for four years in high school, I saw the connection between Spanish, Latin, and English. By showing how English and Spanish are connected, this became my fundamental strategy for teaching bilingual students When I became a Principal, I designed a curriculum where students were learning to speak both languages simultaneously I also found the funds to have two music teachers and an art teacher I knew that a well-rounded curriculum
must include the arts. Our test scores shot up and our school was top in the District
On top of having a wide spectrum of experience and roles within the education system, you are someone who has championed for a more inclusive and diverse curriculum to be put in place for schools and have intentionally served the Latinx community in Chicago. In the context of DePaul’s commitment to become a Hispanic Serving Institution, what insights do you have in leading diversity initiatives at large institutions?
When I was the Chicago Deputy Mayor for Education, I was invited by a Professor at Northern Illinois University to tour the campus and then meet with the President. They wanted to attract more Hispanic students and asked for my thoughts on achieving that goal. After touring the campus and talking to some Hispanic students there, I told the President and his senior staff that they needed to address several issues. Among the issues were: more Latino/a faculty, more Latinos in the Administration, specific strategies on how to attract Latinx students, and more strategies to support the Latino students currently enrolled to help them graduate Over a few years, they did those things and now have a large Latinx student population and a good percentage of Latinx faculty I have served on the Latino Advisory Council for the UIC campus and the issues are the same. UIC is also addressing those issues and the Latinx student population and number of faculty have grown. Attaining HSI status requires more than simply having a twenty-five percent Latinx student body. It requires the University to demonstrate that it is already implementing programs and support structures to assure academic success for the students. I am honored and proud to be a part of the Advisory Board for the Latinx programs at DePaul University. I know that President Manuel has a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that will make a positive difference for the current and future Latinx students and faculty alike. Good things don’t happen by chance. You have to think about all the different things that are impeding progress and remove the obstacles for positive change to happen I know that working together with the great leadership in the Administration and the Faculty, DePaul University will be a model Hispanic Serving Institution
Good things don’t happen by chance. You have to think about all the different things that are impeding progress and remove the obstacles for positive change to happen.
Is there a piece of advice you would like to give to students currently enrolled at DePaul?
I'd say don't be afraid. You are here because you belong here. Many students lack the self-confidence to take chances, to raise their hand, volunteer, or try something a little different I know that to get the best out of professors, you need to ask them questions Just let your mind go to those places to create something and do something that’s a little out of the ordinary I’d also advise students to become a part of a Latinx student organization and work as a group to help each other succeed. Join a club or a team to develop yourself in every way. The national percentage of the Latinx population is growing quickly and the opportunities for talented, educated Latinx University graduates have never been better. DePaul University has courses of study for anything you wish to accomplish. So, follow your dreams and make it happen. Now is the time to step up and be part of the growing number of Latinx leaders in every industry and profession of our society. Enjoy your unique journey.
LAZOS, the 16th Annual Poesía en abril
by
Celebración de Nuestra América
EVENT RECAP
From April 18 - 21, Poesía en abril held its 16th annual Spanish-language poetry festival. The opening reception was on Thursday, April 18th, where we celebrated eleven poets at DePaul. The event featured poets from Cuba, Spain, Perú, México, Bolivia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Chicago. Chicago singer/songwriter Vivian García performed live during the intermission. The Honored Guests of the festival were Nancy Morejón (Cuba) and Aurora Luque (Spain).
POETAS HOMENAJEADOS
Nancy Morejón | Cuba
Aurora Luque | España
POETAS
José Antonio Villarán | Perú
Marta Collazo | EEUU - Puerto Rico
Miguel Méndez | México
Camila Urioste | Bolivia
María Auxiliadora Álvarez | Venezuela
José Ernesto Hernández | Puerto Rico
Angélica Dávila | México
José Bono Rovirosa | EEUU–México-Cuba
Marina Perezagua | España
LATINX GRADUATION
CELEBRATION
Event Recap
On Friday, May 24th, the Latinx Graduation Committee, composed of members of DePaul’s Latinx Employee Resource Group, Latinos Empowered at DePaul (LEAD), and students, collaborated to host the 28th Annual Latinx GraduationCelebration.
The event was attended by students, family and friends, and members of the DePaul community. The bilingual ceremony, conducted by Diego Galloza (Student President of Tepeyac) and Flor Reza (Coordinator, Latinx Cultural Center), included remarks by José Perales (Interim VP, Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity), bilingual speeches by two graduating students, Emily Vallejo (B.A., Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies) and Joana Diaz (B.A., Philosophy), a keynote address by Laura Rodríguez Preza (B.A., Journalism; Class of 2014), and musical performances by LaPaulaHerrera andDJEvaLoma.
After the ceremony, attendees shared a meal and had the opportunity to purchase mementos and snacks from student organizations.
We are extremely grateful to the students, staff, faculty, and student organizations that made this event possible. Congratulations to the Latinx Classof2024! Todoesposible.¡Buenasuerte!
Dr Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera (LALS) and Dr Joe Tafoya (Political Science) presenting the certificates to the graduating students
Members of the Latinx Graduation Committee: Emily Vallejo, Diego Galloza, Alonso Bueno, Rosalinda Cano
From the Archives
Delve into an article from our 9th Issue (No. 1), which includes articles, personal narratives, and creative works focused on Latinos in the Midwest.
Volume 9, Issue 1, 2005: "Spanish Language use in Chicago" by Kim Potowski
Scan the QR Code to access the full article and all of our past issues!
LATINAMERICANAND
LATINOSTUDIES
This interdisciplinary department explores the broad dynamics shaping
A Curriculum Development Workshop for K-12 Educators
Joinusforadayofexploringandexchanging curriculumideasinU.S.LatinxHistoryand Culture.GuestpresentationsbytwoDePaul faculty,JuanMoraTorres,AssociateProfessor ofHistory,andHeatherMontes-Ireland, AssistantProfessorofWomenandGender Studies.
Facilitators/Conveners:Dr.JoannaMaravilla (LewisUniversity),Dr.MyrnaGarcía (NorthwesternUniversity),Dr.BillJohnson González(DePaul),andMarcelaRealesVisbal (DePaul).
AUGUST 8, 2024
BYRNE HALL RM 202
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS 9 AM - 5 PM
SCAN THE QR CODE TO REGISTER
REGISTER BY AUGUST 1ST!
Participants will receive: $100 Stipend Professional Development Credit Lunch and Parking will be Provided!
Questions? mrealesv@depaul.edu
¡ B I
E N V E N I D A S A L E Q U I P O !
Gigi Lara
UndergraduateStudentAssistant Major(s):English+Latin American&LatinoStudies
“I love to read, listen to good music, cook, and spend time with my loved ones. I am excited to join the LALS & CLR Team because of the constructive work they do. I look forward to helping create, compile, edit, and publish information that uplifts Latinx students, staff, and communities beyond DePaul.”
Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
GraduateStudentAssistant MasterinEducation, Culture,andSociety(MEd)
"I enjoy a good book, friendly spaces, and bonds with other people! I look forward to connecting with the Latinx community at DePaul and finding my place in this new environment. I aspire to learn from different cultures and societies and contribute to mi comunidad."
Contact Us
LALS | CLR
Carolina Sternberg
LALS Chair csternb1@depaul.edu
Bill Johnson González
CLR Director bjohns58@depaul.edu
Marcela L. Reales Visbal
CLR Assistant Director mrealesv@depaul.edu
Sara Luz Torres Department Assistant storre38@depaul.edu
Gigi Lara
Student Assistant alara26@depaul.edu
Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
Graduate Student Assistant yyuivarv@depaul.edu
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Call us (773) 325-7316 (773) 325-4818
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The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies-DePaul University
