Community In Displacement: Las Mujeres Fuertes de Colombia !Please join SOLAS for a Q & A with Jessica Davine! When: March 24, 2017 Time: 2-3 PM Where: Latin American and Iberian Institute (801 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106). Jessica Davine received her master’s degree in Drama Therapy at Kansas State University in 2015 and her B.A in Creative Arts for Social Justice at the University of New Mexico in 2013. Jessica is currently using drama therapy as a creative art healing that utilizes theatrical purpose to achieve therapeutic and educational outcomes. For the past year, Jessica has been conducting therapeutic interventions with internally displaced females and developing a sustainable program that can address the mental health and community well-being of displaced populations across the globe with the use of group drama therapy. She is currently working on a soon to be released documentary about her work. 
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SOLAS will piece together an altar to remember those who have lost their lives due to state violence, genocides, massacres, and war. Our Altar will be displayed in the Latin American and Iberian Institute entrance. If you want to participate, please contact us at solas@unm.edu. Join SOLAS in welcoming ¡Cine Magnífico! to the UNM campus on Friday, September 18th for two amazing films! American DREAMers Friday, September 18th, 10:30 am Documentary / 128 minutes UNM College of Fine Arts, Room 2018 "American DREAMers" tells the story behind the Campaign for an American DREAM (CAD), a group of six undocumented youth and an ally who risk their freedom when they publicly come out as undocumented and walk 3,000 miles to the nation's capital to organize for immigrant rights. These are college students, young professionals, activists, and community leaders. Follow their journey as they come out of the shadows, share their stories, empower communities, and put everything on the line to fight in what they believe is their civil rights movement. They are undocumented and unafraid. And some are UndocuQueer, too. Below is an interview with Jonatan Martinez, one of the immigrant activist shown in the documentary! Guatemala, el Espíritu de la Memoria Friday, September 18th, 12:30 pm Documentary / 65 minutes UNM College of Fine Arts, Room 2018 Guatemala, the Spirit of Memory is a story about justice, memory, and truth in Guatemala. Two members of the clergy, a Catholic and a Protestant, share their experience with indigenous communities attempting to prevent transnational companies from taking over their territories. They fight together to keep social movements from being threatened and criminalized. Films being shown at UNM are FREE and open to the public. For more information on these films, check out the flyer.
¡Cine Magnífico! will be showing films from September 18-20 at both the National Hispanic Cultural Center and The Guild. For more information, a full schedule, and film prices, visit their website. ¡Cine Magnífico! is sponsored by Instituto Cervantes, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Bernalillo County, and the University of New Mexico Latin American & Iberian Institute. Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for the final ¡SOLAS Presents! Lecture Series event of the semester with a presentation from FRG recipients Sarah Leister and Corey Ragsdale. Biological Consequences of Cultural Interaction in Postclassic Mexico  Photograph courtesy of Corey Ragsdale. Corey Ragsdale received his M.S. in Biological Anthropology and is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at UNM. Economic, political, and cultural relationships connected virtually every population throughout Mexico during Postclassic period (AD 900-1520). Much of what is known about population interaction in prehistoric Mexico is based on archaeological or ethnohistoric data. What is unclear, especially for the Postclassic period, is how these data correlate with biological population structure. I address this by assessing biological distances among 28 samples based upon a comparison of dental morphology trait frequencies, which serve as a proxy for genetic variation, from 810 individuals. These distances were compared with models representing geographic and cultural relationships among the same groups. Results of Mantel and partial Mantel matrix correlation tests show that shared migration and trade are correlated with biological distances, but geographic distance is not. Trade and political interaction are also correlated with biological distances in Central Mexico, but not in West Mexico. These results indicate that trade and politics likely played a major role in shaping patterns of interaction between populations, and that the socioeconomic differences between Central and West Mexico allowed for different venues of population interaction. This study also shows that the biological distance data support the migration histories described in ethnohistoric sources. "We Know Where We Stand": Contesting and Constructing Knowledge in Nicaragua's Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemic  Photograph courtesy of Sarah Leister. Sarah Leister is a M.A. candidate in the Latin American Studies program at UNM.
Chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnt) is affecting sugarcane workers in northwestern Nicaragua at extremely high rates. In the last 10 years, it is estimated that 46% of male deaths in the city of Chichigalpa were caused by CKDnt. A variety of global and local actors have converged upon this public health crisis in search of biomedical causes of the disease and methods to prevent devastatingly high rates of premature death. At the same time, ex-sugar cane workers face extreme poverty and illness as many mobilize in protest against harsh labor practices in the local sugarcane company and a lack of governmental support for workers. Based on two months of field research, at La Isla Foundation, a local NGO committed to addressing the epidemic; and 10 interviews with sugarcane workers, family members of CKD-affected individuals, and a scientific researcher, Sarah will present her findings on the politics of knowledge production surrounding this crisis. She will look at how CKD has mobilized local and international actors around workers’ rights and how knowledge production has individualized and interiorized disease, thereby eclipsing structural violence. For a PDF of the event flyer, click here. Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for a ¡SOLAS Presents! Lecture Series event with a presentation from UNM graduate students Grant Florian and Matthew Schwartz. Ayahuasca, Religious Syncretism, and Modernity in the Brazilian Amazon  Photograph courtesy of Grant Florian. Grant is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at UNM. The Santo Daime religion was established in Northwest Brazil in the early 20th century, drawing converts from mixed race "caboclo" communities, which were impacted by the decline of the Amazon rubber boom. The religion blends indigenous practices like the sacramental use of the psychoactive tea ayahuasca with folk Catholicism and Afro-Brazilian religion. In recent decades Santo Daime has begun attracting middle class converts from Brazil's urban centers and abroad. In his presentation, Grant discusses his visit to two rural Santo Daime communities in Northwest Brazil - Céu do Mapia and Colonia 5000 - both of which are home to rural people whose families were involved in the rubber trade, and pilgrimage sites for practitioners of the Santo Daime religion from around the world.  Photograph courtesy of Matthew Schwartz. Matthew is a PhD candidate in Human Evolutionary Ecology in the Department of Anthropology at UNM. Although much has been written about the links between oral health and reproductive status, there is very little consensus on the causal relationship between reproductive status and putative sex differences in oral health. Researchers have identified myriad pathways from reproduction to oral health, such as increases in the consumption of cariogenic foods during gestation and a tendency of females to eat cariogenic foods in general. Pregnancy related changes in female hormonal profiles also increase the likelihood of periodontitis and tooth caries through a decrease in salivary flow and buffering capacity. Despite the abundance of data on the subject, there have been no studies that have definitively linked oral health causally to reproduction using an evolutionary framework. Matt’s research is on the downstream oral health consequences of female reproduction. He investigates the link between reproduction and the behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying oral disease among the Tsimane. For a PDF of the event flyer, click here. One and A Half Teeth Per Child: Tooth Loss and Oral Health Among Tsimane Females
¡SOLAS Presents! UNM Graduate Student: Jennie Greb Tuesday, February 24th, 12:30 @ the LAII2/9/2015 Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for a ¡SOLAS Presents! Lecture Series event with a presentation from UNM graduate student Jennie Greb.Graffiti as Resistance: An Analysis of the Critiques of Capitalism in Bogotá's Street Art  Crisp. "TLC. NADIE GANA." 2012. Photograph. Bogotá, Colombia. Jennie Greb is a M.A. student in the Latin American Studies Program at UNM.
While known for its rainy days and grey skies, Bogotá’s streets are filled with color due to its emerging graffiti scene. The images that fill the blank walls of the city are not the typical scribbling or ineligible messages often associated with graffiti, but are carefully constructed and vibrant works of art. As a result, a sort of clandestine form of resistance has emerged, with many street artists openly critiquing the economic policies of a very neoliberal state. In this sense, the blank wall converts into an autonomous space of resistance, placed within the capitalist-driven setting that is Bogotá. The street art thus acts as a very unique form of protest, existing in the daily lives of the passersby, yet constantly evolving and changing through the culture of graffiti. But most importantly, the anonymity and not-for-profit characteristics of the Bogotá graffiti scene allow for the art to be even more effective in combating a materialistic country dominated by neoliberal policies and private enterprise. In my analysis of the critiques of capitalism in Bogotá’s street art, I examine the work of notable street artists DJ LU, Crisp, and Toxicomano, among others, and draw largely from David Harvey’s Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution. The result is a study of how Bogotá’s street art occupies a unique space of resistance that effectively critiques the neoliberal country in which it is placed. Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for a ¡SOLAS Presents! Lecture Series event with a presentation from UNM graduate students Lean Sweeney and Holly Brause. Contraband and Spatial Negotiation on the Chiapas-Guatemala Border, 1840-1880  Photograph courtesy of Lean Sweeney. Lean Sweeney is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at UNM. She focuses on the topics of criminality, indigeneity, and state-making in 19th century Chiapas, Yucatan, Guatemala, and Belize. Historical studies of contraband trade have focused almost exclusively on the political battle between smugglers and the state. Yet a closer look at specific cases of contraband's policing, the processing of cases and the outcomes of litigation suggest that contrabandists were as often colluding with state officials as they were undermining them, and that the defense and denunciation of contraband served the political ends of local communities as much or more than those of centralized authorities. Lean's examination of contraband cases on the Chiapas-Guatemala border reveals the ways in which the criminalization of certain activities, groups and networks of trade and alliance proved useful sources of local power, not simply for state authorities, but for even the most humble finch laborer or impoverished landless mother. Norteña Music, Public Space, and Representations of Rurality in Northern Mexico  Photograph courtesy of Holly Brause. Holly Brause received her M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, and is currently a PhD candidate in Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at UNM.
As a musical genre with roots in Northern Mexico, norteña music has achieved great popularity on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Scholars have referred to norteña music as the "music of migration" and have recognized its importance as a site of identity formation and community consolidation for Mexican and Mexican American populations living in the United States. Differently, Holly's research asks: What is the social significance of norteña music on the Mexican side of the border? In her presentation, Holly will discuss her findings, with a particular emphasis on the role of norteña music in intervening in contested public space and as an important representation of rural life as government support for rural livelihood dwindles. For a PDF of the event flyer, click here. ¡SOLAS Presents! Graduate Student: Carson Morris Thursday, November 20th, 12:30 @ the LAII11/3/2014 Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for a ¡SOLAS Presents! lecture series event with a presentation from UNM graduate student Carson Morris.Striptease, Respectability, and Shame: The Politics of Sexual Performance in Cold War Chile
Join SOLAS at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice for a very special ¡SOLAS Presents! lecture series and concert event with Karla Lara! Lara, Karla. Photograph. karla-lara.com. Web. 6 October 2014. Respect, Dignity, and Resistance Tour 2014
Karla Lara is a political activist, singer/songwriter, and women's rights advocate from Honduras. She tells the story of many women, and it is her intention for women to see reflections of themselves in her work. Her music portrays the tension between the harsh realities that women face and the hope and persistence required to fight for human rights. She began singing in 1985 with the Choir of the National Autonomous University of Honduras and with the musical group "Rascaniguas." In 1988 she left Honduras to join the musical group "Cutumay Camones" from El Salvador, a musical group that was very important in the revolutionary music scene during the war of liberation in El Salvador. Karla is part of the National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Honduras and has been a prominent voice in the Honduran Resistance Movement that arose in opposition to the 2009 military coup d'état. Karla returned to Honduras in 2002, but continues to travel the world performing and raising awareness for social justice issues in Honduras and beyond. For a PDF of the event flyer, click here. Join SOLAS at the Latin American & Iberian Institute for a ¡SOLAS Presents! lecture series event with presentations from UNM graduate students Sam Johnson and Julia Youngs.
(Dis)Ordering Space: Brazil's 'Garantia da Lei e Ordem" and the Rolezinho Julia Youngs is a dual M.A. student in Latin American Studies and Community and Regional Planning at UNM.
In December of 2013 Brazil’s Ministry of Defense published a document entitled “Garantia da Lei e Ordem,” that serves as a manual for assuring public security by combatting social mobilization by groups considered to be “forças oponentes.” The Garantia permits limited use of force under special circumstances with the nebulous goal of maintaining social order. That same month at the Itaquera shopping mall in São Paulo nearly 6,000 young Brazilians organized the first rolezinho. The rolezinhos are a digitally mobilized social movement in which large groups of (generally) lower income teenagers occupy upscale commercial centers to socialize in these traditionally exclusionary spaces. News media has suggested a variety of reasons behind the rolezinhos including speculation about mass robbery, but the primary aim seems to be simply to reclaim increasingly segregated urban public (malls are not public) spaces. This work analyzes the concurrent publication of the “Garantia da Lei e Ordem” and the creation of the rolezinho to explore how they seek to redefine what public space is and who has the right to occupy it. This examination will show how the perception of insecurity derived from socio-economic segregation and the privatization of public space reinforced through acts like the Garantia perpetuate a system of social and racial inequality in Brazil, and as consequence individuals must seek alternative ways of reclaiming space as seen through the rolezinhos. For a PDF of the event flyer, click here. |
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