October 2023 Newsletter
Dear Latin Americanist Community,
Happy start of the 2023-2024 academic year and happy Fall! At the Latin American Institute, we are ready to launch new initiatives and programming dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about Latin America and the Caribbean. I would like to take this opportunity to share details about two exciting new initiatives we are starting this year. Together with the UCLA Center for the Study of International Migration, the LAI is launching the Latin American Mobilities initiative, which responds to the unprecedented levels of cross-border migration occurring in the subcontinent, and that are also connecting Latin America with other world regions and the United States. We start the series with a talk by Professor Alejandra Díaz de León of El Colegio de México on her new book Walking Together: Central Americans and Transit Migration Through Mexico. This will be an online only event (register here).We are planning a second event late in the quarter with New York Times journalists, Julie Turkewitz and Federico Ríos, on their reporting on migration through the Darién Gap, on the Panama-Colombia borderlands. This event is scheduled for December 8, but you can read their recent article and see (heartbreaking) pictures of this migratory stream here.
The LAI’s Outreach Program is also launching a new series dedicated to Latin American children’s literature. As part of this series, editors, authors, illustrators, and scholars will offer lectures to K-12 educators on the most recent trends in and pedagogical uses of Latin American children’s literature. While the talks are primarily aimed at teachers, all are welcome to attend the monthly webinars. This series begins on October 19, with a presentation by Gina Rodríguez, a copyeditor and consultant with more than 17 years of experience in the publishing industry in Mexico and the United States; Gina has worked as managing editor for some of the most prestigious presses in the region, including Penguin Random House/Vintage Español (YA books), Santillana, Castillo, and SM. As the inaugural speaker of the series, Gina will offer an introduction to the varied landscape of children’s literature in Latin America and suggest strategies to use this material in the classroom. Not to be missed! Register and learn more details about this series here. On this note, our Outreach Program provides a stellar example of how the LAI contributes to the local community. Teachers who attend the seminars and workshops of the program use state-of-the-art knowledge on Latin America to create amazing lesson plans, which in turn benefit thousands of children in local public schools. Become engaged and support the vital mission of the LAI’s Outreach Program by donating to the LAI California Community Engagement Fund.
Not surprisingly, we start the academic year with numerous events organized by the centers and programs of the LAI. Make sure to check the LAI calendar to learn about events scheduled for the month of October on indigenous language rights in Mexico, the struggle to preserve the Amazon in South America, sustainable development projects promoted by Guatemalan return migrants, and more!
Finally, if you’d like to support the mission of the UCLA Latin American Institute and its centers, programs, and working groups, you can donate to our general fund. Your generous contributions support the lively intellectual life of the institute. Thanks!
Rubén Hernández-León,
Director of the UCLA Latin American Institute
