Center for

Center for Latin American Studies

Podcasts & Publications '08

Retablos: Miracles on the Border

From September 3-30, 2008, Vanderbilt University was pleased to host the art exhibit "Retablos: Miracles on the Border", which wasondisplay at the Vanderbilt Sarratt Art Gallery. This exhibit featured contemporary depictions of "miracles" of the migration experience across the Mexico-U.S. border. Retablos, a genre of folk art deeply rooted in Spanish history, represent the heart and soul of traditional religious beliefs in traditional Mexican culture. Painted on tin, canvas, wood or masonite, retablos are a personal offering that someone makes to give thanks for fulfilling a wish or need. In cultural terms, they represent one of the few means by which common people can give public expression to their anxieties, needs, fears and sufferings.

"Students thank other through art," The Tennessean

Alma Guillermoprieto, "How to be a Mexican"
On September 23, 2008, the Center for Latin American Studies was proud to host guest speaker Alma Guillermoprieto, as she gave a lecture titled "How to be a Mexican". Guillermoprieto has published four books Latin America while working for Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The New Yorker, amongst others. In 1995 she was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (or "genius grant").

Video of the lecture "How to be a Mexican":

WMP and RealPlayer

Are You a Coffee Addict?
Dr. Peter Martin, Director of the Institute for Coffee Studies and Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, is interviewed on NBC's

The Today Show

Surgeons at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Give Toddler New Lease on Life
Joseline Elizabeth Vasquez Santay, a two-year-old from Guatemala, may finally have a chance at a normal childhood thanks to doctors at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Josie had a large lymphatic malformation on the side of her neck that was the size of her head and was hindering her ability to eat, breathe and move her neck normally. Surgeon Steve Goudy spent almost 15 hours in surgery painstakingly removing hundreds of fluid-filled balloons that made up the tumor. Josie came to the U.S. with her mother Veronica Santay, after more conventional treatments in Guatemala failed. The nonprofit Shalom Foundation helped bring her here, and the Children’s Hospital and her doctors are donating surgery and treatments for her.

To view a slideshow of Josie’s arrival and surgery, visit http://www.vanderbiltchildrens.com/atw_blog/.

Contacts: Carole Bartoo or Laurie Holloway, (615) 322-4747,
Carole.bartoo@vanderbilt.edu
Laurie.holloway@vanderbilt.ed

Las Maras:
Street Gangs and Security in Central America and the United States
With gang activity becoming increasingly visible in the United States and Central America, the Center for Latin American Studies co-sponsored "Las maras: Street Gangs and Security in Central America and the United States", a conference held on March 11, 2008 which assembled leading experts to share information about policies to reduce the incidence and influence of gangs. Participants included: Cheryl Maxson, Associate Professor and Director of Doctoral Program, Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine; Geoff Thale, Program Director at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); Elin Ranum, Director, Central American Coalition for the Prevention of Youth Violence; and José Miguel Cruz, Director of IUDOP, (on leave) University of Central America (UCA) and Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt University.

Video of the Gang Conference, March 11, 2008: WMP RealPlayer
Interview with gang expert, Vanderbilt's own José Miguel Cruz: QuickTime

Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamín
From February 7 - March 22, 2008, the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies is proud to present Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamín, in cooperation with the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery and the Fundación Guayasamín of Quito, Ecuador. Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999) was one of the most important Latin American artists of the 20th century, and this Vanderbilt exhibit serves as the first major showing of his work in the United States for five decades.

"Guayasamín vuelve a los Estados Unidos cincuenta años después," El Comercio.
"The View From the Equator," Nashville Scene.
"Works of Oswaldo Guayasamin at Vanderbilt," The Tennessean.
"Guayasamín's art makes a long-delayed journey to America," The Tennessean.
"Después de 53 años, una exposición de Oswaldo Guayasamín regresa a EE.UU.," El Comercio.
Exhibit Catalog
Fundación Guayasamín

Rigoberta Menchú
On February 7, 2008 the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies co-presented a guest lecture by Rigoberta Menchu, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Her lecture, titled "Healing Communities Torn by Racism and Violence," served as the opening of the exhibit "Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamin." The late Oswaldo Guayasamin, one of the greatest 20th century Latin American artists, was close friends with Rigoberta Menchu. This exhibit at Vanderbilt will be the first major showing of his art in the United States for half a century. From Vanderbilt the exhibit will make five additional US stops.

Rigoberta Menchu lecture, February 7, 2008: RealPlayer

"Menchu advocates healing the pain of racism by helping others," myVU News.
"Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu to speak in Nashville," The Tennessean.
"Rigoberta Menchu, Indian rights advocate, Nobel Peace Prize winner and recent presidential candidate for Guatemala, to speak at Vanderbilt Feb. 7," VUCast.
"Nobel winner to discuss healing racism's wounds," The Tennessean.

LAPOP USAID Grant
In January 2008 the United States Agency for International Development granted the Vanderbilt-based LAPOP (Latin American Public Opnion Project) an additional $9 million in funding.

"Vanderbilt's Latin American Public Opinion Project receives major financial boost," VUCast

CLAS and Brazil: Ties that Bind
The front page and feature article in the January 2008 issue of the Vanderbilt View, titled "Ties that Bind," covered the Center for Latin American and Studies and its lengthy and significant relations with Brazil and as pioneers in Brazilian Studies in the United States.

"Ties that Bind," Vanderbilt View.