February, 2021

Why Democrats and Republicans in Congress Work Together to Press President Eisenhower in 1954 to Overthrow Jacobo Árbenz

David Lindwall , Second-Year Masters Degree Student, LAII

David Lindwall will talk about the fall of the progressive government of Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz in 1954 and why Democrats and Republicans in the United States Congress joined forces to support the Eisenhower Administration's use of the CIA to remove Árbenz. The story of Congressional involvement, which is the subject of Lindwall's MA thesis, has been understated in the literature on the 1954 revolution and is a case study of how foreign policy decisions are driven by many players with differing motivations. Lindwall will also talk about the process of researching and writing a thesis, as well as discussing jobs in the United States Foreign Service.

K-12 Educator Workshop: Afro-Latinidad in Mexico

Join the LAII for the Institute’s first-ever teacher workshop series on Afro-Latinidad! Throughout the series, we’ll discuss a variety of Afro-Latinx cultures across Latin America, a range of spiritual and cultural Afro-Latinx traditions, and a diverse selection of historical Afro-Latinx figures. We'll spend our last workshop discussing resources for curriculum about the Afro-Latinidad in Mexico. We'll discuss Afro-Mexicans and the fight to be recognized on the census, the Afro-Latinx towns of Veracruz and Costa Chica, the historical impact of Gaspar Yanga, and more.

Con Alma: Exploring the Creative Process with Paola Prestini & Magos Herrera

Screening of videos from the Con Alma project, including a world premiere video, La Creación de las Aves (The Creation of The Birds), followed by an online discussion and Q&A with Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera. The discussion will be hosted by the National Hispanic Cultural Center via Zoom, in collaboration with the LAII.

Brazilian Rap and the Grammar of the Black Existence

Paulo Dutra, Author, Poet

This talk examines the most famous Brazilian rap group Racionais Mc’s artistic production in order to explore their poetically crafted understanding of how people of African descent experience and negotiate their existence in Brazil.

Queer and Trans Migrations: Dynamics of Illegalization, Detention, and Deportation

Karma R. Chávez (University of Texas at Austin) and Eithne Luibhéid (The University of Arizona)

LGBTQ migrants in the United States and around the world often lack documentation and consistently risk detention and deportation. Eithne Luibhéid and Karma R. Chávez discuss how and why they created an edited collection that explores how LGBTQ migrants and allies negotiate, resist, refuse and critique these processes while working to build futures that foster thriving for all.

Front of the House, Back of the House: Race and Inequality in the Lives of Restaurant Workers

Eli R. Wilson , Sociology Department, the University of New Mexico

Two unequal worlds of work exist within the upscale restaurant scene of Los Angeles. White, college-educated servers operate in the front of the house—also known as the public areas of the restaurant—while Latino immigrants toil in the back of the house and out of customer view. In Front of the House, Back of the House, Eli Revelle Yano Wilson shows us what keeps these workers apart, exploring race, class, and gender inequalities in the food service industry.

Critical Reflections on Chicanx and Indigenous Scholarship and Activism: Querencia Reflections on the New Mexico Homeland

Kevin Brown (University Libraries & Learning Sciences), Tey Marianna Nunn (National Hispanic Cultural Center), and Irene Vasquez (Chicana and Chicano Studies)

Join the LAII and UNM Press for a discussion on Querencia: Reflections on the New Mexico Homeland with contributers Kevin Brown, Tey Marianna Nunn and Irene Vasquez, moderated by Matthew Martinez, Deputy Director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.

K-12 Educator Workshop: The Women of Mexican Modernism

Join the Albuquerque Museum and The University of New Mexico Latin American & Iberian Institute for free professional development workshops focused on the exhibit Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism, which opens on February 6 at the ABQ Museum. The works of art in this exhibition epitomize the vitality and expressiveness of modern Mexican art. They were produced in a pivotal period in Mexican history, when the nation sought to redefine itself through political, social, and cultural reforms.

Book Reading, Discussion, and Celebration: "Joaquín Ortega, Forging Pan-Americanism at UNM" by Russ Davidson

Christine Sierra, Professor Emerita of Political Science at UNM, and Felipe Gonzalez, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at UNM

In this important work Russ Davidson presents the first biography of Joaquín Ortega, introducing readers to Ortega’s life and work at the University of New Mexico as well as his close relationship with then UNM president James Zimmerman and other major figures.

Identifying the dead along our southern border: Immigration, Regulation, Forensic Anthropology, and Human Rights

Bruce E. Anderson, Heather J.H. Edgar, Tessa Lee, and Kate Spradley

Migrants from Latin America cross the U.S. border seeking a better life. To call this crossing harsh grossly understates the difficulties these people encounter. Some lose their lives in the effort. The actual number of border-related migrant deaths cannot be known, but the U.N. estimates over 800 in 2019. Investigating those deaths and identifying the unknown are monumental tasks. Along the border region those who care for the dead, coroners, forensic pathologists, death investigators, and others, face a patchwork of laws that govern medico-legal death investigation. Because of the remoteness and harsh conditions along much of the border, a significant portion of the work identifying migrants falls to forensic anthropologists, specialists trained to analyze skeletal remains. This event is a moderated discussion by forensic anthropologists working on border deaths and border issues in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

“The hummingbird is attached to the flower”: Conceptualizations of Space in the Amazon

Rosa Vallejos , Department of Linguistics, University of New Mexico

How we talk about the location of objects in space varies greatly across communities. This talk offers an overview of the expression of location in two languages: Kukama (Tupian) and Secoya (Tukanoan), both spoken in the Amazon of Peru.