9th Annual TUCLA

That's Tulane Undergraduate Conference on Latin America (TUCLA).

Which is taking place pretty much all day tomorrow on Tulane University's campus.

It's always a great event and very exciting to see our senior majors in Latin American Studies present their major research projects from the Capstone Seminar.

More information here.

If you're in the area, have an interest, and can drop by for a session or two, please do: you are most welcome.

But, above all, congratulations to the students for their intellectual achievements that brought them to tomorrow's events.

See y'all there.

Dirty War Atrocities in Argentina

Forget the thousands of "disappeared" and tortured.  What, to me, is the most insidious and most evil of the behaviors of the military regime was the practice of killing the parents of newborns and then adopting the newborns in the households of the parent-killers themselves.

For a chilling story, read that of Victoria Montenegro, who was raised by Lt. Col. Hernan Tetzlaff, the man who killed her parents.

And even more shocking is that the Argentine Catholic hierarchy fully supported this family destroying and life disrespecting practice:

Priests and bishops in Argentina justified their support of the government on national security concerns, and defended the taking of children as a way to ensure they were not “contaminated” by leftist enemies of the military, said Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Prize-winning human rights advocate who has investigated dozens of disappearances and testified at the trial last month.

Ms. Montenegro contended: “They thought they were doing something Christian to baptize us and give us the chance to be better people than our parents. They thought and felt they were saving our lives.”

Church officials in Argentina and at the Vatican declined to answer questions about their knowledge of or involvement in the covert adoptions.

Why would the Vatican decline to answer such questions? Yet another reason why I'm an Exodus Catholic.

Esquipulas, Guatemala

I've been absent from the blog lately, but not intentionally. I have been for the last week travelling in Guatemala exploring the possibility of an alternative spring break social justice/solidarity experience in Esquipulas, Guatemala. It was a wonderful trip. I'll have more to say later when I can collect my thoughts. One interesting tidbit is that I was there during the country's presidential election. The winner seems to be the Otto Perez Molina, a former military general, who ran on the Patriotic Party platform and promised an iron fist policy against gangs/crime/insecurity. "Mano dura" policy inclinations, plus a military background, is a bit concerning for democratic stability in that country. But the people there in Esquipulas are lovely and I'll be posting some photos of my visit soon.

Dia de los Muertos Pachanga

I would like to invite you on behalf of the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University to our "Dia de los Muertos" Pachanga tomorrow. Please see the details below. We're also putting up a communal Day of the Dead altar and, as for me, I'll be setting up a teacup, some toast, and a photo of my grandmother who passed, as well as a cigar and a small bottle of whiskey for my grandfather who passed.

Since this is a communal altar, I invite each of you to consider setting up a little memorial on the altar maybe to someone special in your life who has passed. It's a time to celebrate the lives of those loved ones who have passed on and to welcome them back to the world of the living once again. Please bring a little card with your name and the name of the person you will be commemorating, so that we can know that the altar contribution and items are yours. On the card, you should write something like: "Helen Alphonso [the name of the commemorated person] remembered by her grandson Jimmy Huck." Even if you aren't able to set up a memorial on the altar, you are most welcome to pass by the Jones Hall patio (or the Greenleaf Conference Room in Jones Hall -- 100A, in case of rainy weather), to view the altar.

And then there's the Pachanga (Fiesta) starting at 4pm and going until 6pm. We'll have free food, drink, and music from Los Poboycitos. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow (and hopefully, also, your contribution to the altar)!

Formal announcement follows ...

Friday, October 28
Celebrate Día de los muertos
10:00 am – 6:00 PM
100 Jones Hall
Come out Friday to the Jones Patio to contribute an offering to the Stone Center’s ofrenda or altar. Please consider participating in our campus wide celebration of Day of the Dead. Altar installation will begin at 10:00 am and end at 4:00 pm when our end of the semester pachanga will kick-off with Los Poboycitos paying tribute to el día de los muertos.

Altar:
The altar will be outside in the Jones patio and will only be up Friday 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. If you decide to contribute something, please remember the altar is a special place where we hope vandalism does not occur but we cannot guarantee it will not. Make sure to contribute something of little monetary value. The altar will be taken down by 6:30 pm so please make sure to pick up your items if you would like them back. We will not be responsible for any item left after 6:30 pm.

In addition, special handmade crafts from Antigua, Guatemala will be on sale during the Pachanga.

Capoeira In My Class

I'll be showing this clip in one of my classes tomorrow. We're going to get a brief introduction to the "game" of capoeira:

The PRI Presidential Comeback in Mexico

A young, handsome, and traditional project-promise candidate is poised to help the PRI, Mexico's former long-standing ruling party, win back the Presidency. Will he succeed? Well, it looks pretty likely when one of the chants regarding this man is:

"Peña Nieto, bombón, te quiero en mi colchón." -- "Peña Nieto, sweetie, I want you in my bed."

In a society where the "guapo macho" still holds some sway, how can anyone compete with that? For better or worse, the PRI is back!

Be a DREAMer

And by the way, become a fan of Cuentame.

Mexico Peligroso

I have been watching with much dismay as Mexico, a country for which I have much affection, has suffered the afflictions of all the drug and gang related violence throughout the country, but mostly in the border region. Today, there was a bit of encouraging news as the leader of the Aztecas gang in Ciudad Juarez has been arrested and has confessed to ordering over 80 percent of the killings in this region in recent years. Is this really a good thing, though? I don't know. I hope so. But I just don't know what to make of all this chaos and tragedy in Mexico these days.

Annual TUCLA Conference

My department's 8th annual undergraduate research conference, otherwise known as TUCLA (Tulane Undergraduate Conference on Latin America), is being held this Saturday, November 20, from 9:00am to 3:00pm. The conference features panel presentations of the capstone Core Seminar research papers undertaken by all senior (and a few junior) Latin American Studies majors. The Conference Program and schedule is the following:

Session I 9:00-10:30

Panel 1: Theme: Welfare (Jones 102)
Panel Title: Compromise and Conflict: Recent Policy Debates in Latin America
Carlos Grover, “Property Struggles In Brazilian Cities: ‘Treating The Equal Equally and the Unequal Unequally’”
Abigail Nixon, "Cuba’s Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina: Doctors of Both Science and Conscience"
Jessie Yoste, “Hexed? Vodou Observance of Trauma through the Lens of the 2010 Haitian Earthquake”
Discussant: Dr. Maureen Long, Murphy Institute of Political Economy

Panel 2:Theme: Identity (Jones 108)
Panel Title: The Paradoxes of Perspective: Agency, Identity and Nation in Latin America Film and Literature
Davita Petty, “’Zora, don’t you come here and tell de biggest lie first thing’: Creole Identity in the Writing of Zora Neale Hurston"
Cristina Alvarado-Suarez, “Desenmascarando la identidad nacional: The Problem of National Integration and Nicaraguan Literature”
Phylicia Martel, “Romance and Revolution at a Crossroads: Mapping Zapatista Discourse in Corazón del tiempo”
Discussant: Dr. Roxanne Davila, Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Session II: 10:45-12:15

Panel 3: Theme: Encounter (Jones 102)
Panel Title: Intermestic Identities: Twenty-First-Century Geo-Politics and Cultural Transformation
Stephanie Moore, “Blown Away: Indigenous Rights in Coca-Crazed Bolivia”
Eric Schwartz, “Communism’s Silent Killer: Cuba's Jinetero and the Hustle to Freedom”
Jessica Frankel, “A New Hegemony for Bolivia? Embracing Indigeneity in Response to the War on Drugs”
Discussant: Dr. Raúl A. Sánchez Urribarrí, Department of Political Science

Panel 4: Theme: Nation (Jones 108)
Panel Title: Solidarity Beyond the State: New Concepts of Citizenship in Post-Neo-Liberal Latin America
Eva Canan “Lixo Humano? The Social Transformation of Brazilian Waste Pickers”
Pike, Rebecca “Children of the Revolution: Afro-Brazilian Youth Movements in the 21st Century”
Jane Esslinger, “Slaughter Houses, Factories and Conventillos: New Spaces for Culture-Based Urban Development and Citizen Participation in Neo-Liberal Buenos Aires”
Discussant: Dr. David G. Ortiz, Department of Sociology

Session III: 1:15–2:45

Panel 5: Theme: Exchange (Jones 102)
Panel Title: Our North is the South: How Recent Migration Patterns and Policy Trouble Conventional Wisdom
Kathleen Dunn, “Welcome Home? Consequences of Return Migration in Western Mexico”
Rachel Young, “Salir Adelante: The Curious Case of Peruvian Migration to Chile and the Singularity of the Peruvian Migrant”
Monica Peters, “Immigration is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: The Formation of Mexico’s Immigration Policy and its Role as a Receiving and Transit State.”
Discussant: Dr. Casey Kane Love, Department of Political Science

Panel 6: Theme: Creativity (Jones 108)
Panel Title: A History of Violence: Human Dignity and the Politics of Representation
Emily Gatehouse, “‘Me gustaría saber más. Me gustaría saber todo.’ The Duality of Memorializing Argentine State Terrorism”
Rebecca Chilbert, “Made in Mexico: How the Mexican Media presents Slavery as Something Made in China”
Susie DeLapp, “Failing the Poto Mitan? International Aid Organizations and Structural Violence in Haiti”
Discussant: Dr. Justin Wolfe, Department of History

All are invited to attend, ask questions, give comments, and otherwise support such a fine cadre of undergraduate scholars. And congratulations ahead of time to all our panelists on their fine papers and their hard work. Full program, including panelist biographies and paper abstracts, can be found here.

Halloween/Day of the Dead Mask: Don't Be A Cabrón: Vote!

From Don't Be A Cabrón. Posted with permission.

At LASA

I'm currently in Toronto, Canada, attending the annual LASA (Latin American Studies Association) Convention. It's great to see old friends and respected colleagues. Click here for information on LASA.

Platanos y Collard Greens

Tomorrow, I'm accompanying a group of students to a comic theatrical production that explores the complexities (and the humor) of inter-ethnic relations in the off-Broadway play Platanos y Collard Greens. The play kicks off at 8:00pm in McAlister Auditorium on Tulane's campus. In New Orleans, the subject of black-brown relations is very much a pressing and current topic. Come out and see the play. It's free and open to the public.

David Vitter Demagogues the DREAM Act

For the life of me, I can't understand what could motivate David Vitter to be so viciously and aggressively opposed to the DREAM Act. All this Act seeks to do is to provide a path to regularized immigration status and an opportunity for legal permanent residency for undocumented migrant youth who were brought to the US before turning 16 years old and who have met a slew of other conditions. Many of these youth came to the U.S. at such an early age that the only country they know is the United States. These youth are fully assimilated, speak English fluently, have been educated in U.S. Schools, and have been models of civic responsibility. Some have even put their lives on the line in defense of the United States by serving legally in the US armed forces. For nearly all of them, the choice to come the United States was not made by them, but rather by their parents. Essentially, they are about as innocent of any intentional wrong-doing that can be imagined, are being punished for the "sins" of their parents, and are still forced to live in the shadows of an illegal immigration status. These young people are here and they are for all intents and purposes essentially U.S. citizens in every way that truly matters. How anyone can equate the DREAM Act as an insidious back door amnesty deal for sneaky border-crossing criminals is beyond comprehension; and such opposition has got to be motivated by nothing short of intentional malice. It's disappointing that it would have to be one of my State's Senators who is falling all over himself to be the lead voice in oppositional demagoguery on this issue. And it's reprehensible and shameful behavior on his part.

Herencia Hispana Festival

Taking a group of students to the Herencia Hispana Festival at the New Orleans Museum of Art tomorrow. If you want more information on the event, you can click here. It promises to be fun and entertaining. If you want to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage of New Orleans, and if you are in town, come out and join the fun.

Miss Mexico Wins Miss Universe

In my many travels to Mexico, and particularly to the city of Guadalajara, the people often say that the women of Guadalajara are among the most beautiful in the world. Now, there's some evidence to give credibility to the claim:

A 22-year-old Mexico woman won the Miss Universe pageant Monday night after donning a flowing red gown and telling an audience it's important to teach kids family values.

As Jimena Navarrete of Guadalajara walked during the evening gown competition, her one-strap dress billowed behind her like a sheet. Earlier, she smiled in a violet bikini as she confidently strutted across the stage on the Las Vegas Strip.

Good for Mexico. That country needs some good international press.

Goodbye, Guadalajara!

The fiesta de despedida (farewell party) is completed and my duties as Resident Director for our Summer in Guadalajara program are done. I'll be on a plane back home tomorrow morning. I love Guadalajara (and Mexico overall) and I will miss it; but I'm glad to be saying goodbye for now and returning home. One thing I would like to say is that up until even this very moment, this summer has never been a more relaxing and peaceful time in Mexico in terms of the experience of the Summer Program. In fact, the only real excitement was being here for the World Cup, and that kind of excitement is a happy and neighborly kind. I witnessed not a single act of violence or corruption (and I usually bump up against a "mordida" experience almost every time I'm here). Everything was pleasant. Everyone was gracious and exceedingly friendly. I hope people in the U.S. know that the things they hear about Mexico in the media are exaggerations of the worst that one can find just about anywhere. Mexico is very much a safe, peaceful country. Don't hesitate to visit this wonderful place.

Back from the D.F.

Had a wonderful, but exhausting trip to Mexico City. I've been there more than two dozen times, I'd guess. Many of these visits with a group of undergraduate students. I've seen the sights there repeatedly, and I never get tired of them. One of the places I always take the undergrads is the site of the famous pyramids of Teotihuacan. They are so impressive that every new visit to them is just as breathtaking as the last. And there's generally always a little something new to make each visit unique. This time, there was this:


A bit of the modern along with a bit of the pre-Columbian classic. One of my students was on the top of the Pyramid of the Sun when this balloon passed over.

Mexico City

Heading out to the magnificant capital city of this magnificent country. Will be taking the group on a 3-day weekend excursion. Our schedule is jam packed, so blogging will probably be light to non-existent over the next couple of days. But I'll have a lot to share when we return, so be on the lookout. Some of the sites we'll be visiting include the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, the Zocalo (which has the National Palace and the famous Diego Rivera murals, as well as the National Cathedral), the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Frida Kahlo's home, Chapultepec Park and Chapultepec Palace, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Plaza of the Three Cultures (Tlatelolco Plaza), and the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe -- among others. Fun and busy will be the order of the day for the next four days. Que Viva Mexico!

Thought on Mexican Democracy

Much has been made in the study of Democratic Transition literature in the Latin American region, particularly with regard to Mexico and the end of the 70 year dominance of the PRI of Mexico's Presidency. With the election of Vicente Fox in 2000, many speculated that perhaps Mexico's democracy had matured. And some note that the victory of Calderon (from Fox's PAN party) is further evidence of the consolidation of Mexico's democratic transition. However, I have always believed that it's not the transition away from the PRI that would be the critical reference framework for analyzing the state of Mexico's democracy, but what will lead to the end of the PAN's rule and what a transition back to the PRI (or to another party -- i.e. the PRD) will look like and mean. I think it's the character of the cyclical transition of power that is critical to measuring a democracy's consolidation and maturity. And we still have yet to see that in Mexico. If the PRI returns to the Presidency in 2012, will there be a kind of throwback to the "old" days out of some sense of nostalgia for a more stable situation? If the PRD gains the Presidency in 2012, will this augur an even greater weakness of the stability of Mexico's political system and usher in a kind of unstable minority coalition kind of ruling arrangement? If the PAN wins again in 2012, are we looking at a kind of post-modern variation on the single-party model that is substituting for the old PRI in the minds of the Mexican population? These questions can only be answered if and when the PAN loses the Presidency. And that hasn't happened yet.

Mexican Elections

I can tell you from having been in Gudalajara, Mexico, for the past three weeks, that the perception about the omnipresence of violence throughout the country is very exaggerated in the United States. Yes, there is an increase in violence along the border states; but any signs of violence or instability where I am are simply non-existent. Local and regional elections over this past weekend really varied both in terms of levels of participation and violence, as well as in outcomes. The result, in brief, is that no one political party is ascendent; and Mexico remains an unconsolidated democracy.