Past Events

Wake Forest University: Wait Chapel (Lower Auditorium)

Members of the university’s faculty and staff possessing Latino heritage or maintaining Latino interests will sit down with members of the university’s student body to discuss their common experiences and challenges over an authetic Hispanic meal at the first-ever Latino Student/Faculty Dinner.The dinner will provide students with an unique opportunity to network with the university’s faculty, engage them in interesting conversation, and begin to develop relationships of mentorship and friendship. It is a unique opportunity for Latino students to learn more about the personal and academic lives and interests of their staff counterparts.

The dinner will be sponsored by the Wake Forest Organization of Latin American Students, Department of Romance Languages, and Office of Diversity and Inclusion. It will be held in the Lower Auditorium of Wait Chapel on April 22nd from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.m. The dinner is free and open to any member of the Wake Forest community, undergraduate and graduate students, included. Interested individuals should, however, pre-register for the event online through the Professional Development Center by April 13th at 10:00 P.M Questions should be directed towards the President of the Organization of Latin American Students, Nancy Aguillon, at aguina9@wfu.edu or towards the dinner’s faculty organizer, Dr. Irma Alarcon.

Wake Forest University

In recent years, transatlantic approaches to cultural production have gained increasing prominence within academic fields ranging from history and geography to literary studies. Transatlantic perspectives have encouraged fruitful scholarly exchanges among literary critics, historians, linguists, geographers, sociologists, and anthropologists. In particular, a growing number of prominent scholars of Peninsular Spanish and Latin American literature and culture have shown a strong interest in revisiting the circulation of intellectual, political, and cultural influences between the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean. This new and exciting area of intellectual inquiry has also broadened the narrow disciplinary horizons of Hispanic Studies.
“Hispanic Transatlantic Studies: A State of the Art” intends to showcase recent contributions to this emerging area of interdisciplinary interest. The symposium, to be hosted by Wake Forest University on its campus from April 19th through the 22nd, seeks to foster an energetic and productive exchange of ideas between scholars working in Latin American Studies, Peninsular Studies, and post-colonial criticism and theory.

Wake Forest University: Carswell Hall, Annenberg Forum

The Latin American and Latino Studies Program will join forces with Documentary Film Program to host a film screening of “Las Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo,” a sixty minute film produced by media professionals at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The film sheds light on the repercussions of Argentina’s Dirty War and on the War’s on-going cultural, social, political, ethical, and economic consequences. A discussion with the film’s producer will follow the screening.

Wake Forest University: DeTamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall)

The Latin American and Latino Studies Program at Wake Forest University will host Mr. Paul Dix and Ms. Pam Fitzpatrick for a discussion on the effects of the U.S. policy in Nicaragua. The financial support received by Nicaragua’s rebel groups during the 1980s from the U.S. had catastrophic and lasting consequences on the country’s civilian population. Mr. Dix, a professional photojournalist, used his camera to illustrate the effects of the United States’ international policy on the poor of Nicaragua throughout the whole of country’s Civil War. Since 2002, he has worked closely with Ms. Fitzpatrick, a professional community organizer, to reconnect with and document the stories of the dozens of people he photographed. Mr. Dix and Ms. Fitzpatrick will discuss their journey and efforts in a lecture to take place in DeTamble Auditorium on March 22nd at 7:00 P.M. Admissions to the event is free and open to the general public.

Wake Forest University: Z. Smith Reynolds Library Auditorium

Award-winning documentary film maker, Mr. Daniel Devito, will then deliver remarks concerning his experiences with immigration and in the making of his newest film, “Crossing Arizona” on March 21st from 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

This is the third event of Wake Forest’s first-ever Latino Awareness Week. Latino Awareness Week is sponsored by the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, the Organization of Latin American Students, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of American Ethnic Studies. It is a four-day event during which speakers come to campus to share their experiences with and knowledge of Latino culture and politics.

Wake Forest University: Greene Hall, Room 162

Members of El Cambio, a North Carolina grassroots organization, will join the Wake Forest community for a discussion on the search of undocumented students for higher education opportunities as part of the university’s Latino Awareness Week.
The event will take place in Room 162 of Greene Hall from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M on March 20th. Admissions is free and open to the general public.

This is the second of four events held throughout Latino Awareness Week 2012. Latino Awareness Week is sponsored by the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, the Organization of Latin American Students, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of American Ethnic Studies. It is a four-day event during which speakers come to campus to share their experiences with and knowledge of Latino culture and politics.

Wake Forest University: DeTamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall)

Dr. Luis Roniger, Reynolds Professor of Latin American Studies, and Mr. David Inczauskis will kick of the events of Latino Awareness Week with a discussion on two of the most pressing challenges facing modern-day Latin America, education and poverty. Mr. Inczauskis worked closely with Dr. Roniger last summer and Dr. Claudia Gonzalez of the University of Salamanca, thanks in part to a grant from the university’s Richter Scholarship, to prepare a paper on the influence of non-governmental organization’s in Guatemala. The duo will discuss their work and experiences in the field during a lecture in DeTamble Auditorium of Tribble Hall from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on March 19th. Admissions is free and open to the general public.

This is the first of Wake Forest’s first-ever Latino Awareness Week. Latino Awareness Week is sponsored by the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, the Organization of Latin American Students, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of American Ethnic Studies. It is a four-day event during which speakers come to campus to share their experiences with and knowledge of Latino culture and politics.

Wake Forest University

The Latin American and Latino Studies Program and the Organization of Latin American Students will co-sponsor this year Wake Forest’s first-ever Latino Awareness Week from March 19th through March 22nd, with special events designed to spread knowledge as to the challenges and problems faced by the Latino community worldwide held each day throughout the week. The events will feature a series of visiting scholars and experts on the subject matter of discussion as well as presentations from among the university’s own faculty and student body.

Wake Forest University: Greene Hall, Room 145

In a joint effort, the Romance Languages and Latin American and Latino Studies Departments at Wake Forest University are pleased to announce that José María Rodríguez García, Associate Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University, will present a lecture entitled “What is Hispanic Transatlantic Studies?” The presentation will explore the emerging area of Hispanic Transatlantic Studies and the recent contributions in the field. This lecture will act as a preview of the Hispanic Atlantic Conference that will be held at Wake Forest next April which is being organized by Professor José Luis Venegas of Romance Languages and co-sponsored by LALS. The lecture will be held in Greene Hall, Room 145 on February 24th at 4:30 PM.

Wake Forest University: Museum of Anthropology (Wingate Road, Winston-Salem, NC)

The Museum of Anthropology will welcome Elina Hartikainen, Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia, on February 16th for a discussion on her research into African religious and racial identity politics in contemporary Brazil. Specifically, she will examine how Brazilian practitioners of Candomblé, an African diasporic religion, imagine and perform religious ceremonies and address public discourses on African religiosity and race, as well as democracy and multiculturalism. The lecture will be held at the Museum of Anthropology on at 7:00 P.M. Admission is free and open to the general public. More information can be found on the website of the Museum of Anthropology at www.wfu.edu/moa.

Wake Forest University: Benson University Center

The Center for International Studies will host a study abroad fair where students can meet with and ask questions of representatives from affiliate and Wake Forest University study abroad programs. Students particularly interested in study abroad opportunities in Latin America should be sure to attend. Gabriel Libedinsky from the University of Diego Portales will be available to discuss and answer questions concerning Wake Forest’s new program in the Southern Cone. Questions concerning the fair should be directed towards the Center for International Studies. Questions concerning the Southern Cone program should be directed towards the Program’s Director, Dr. Peter Siavelis. More information is available on the website of the Center for International Studies at www.cis.wfu.edu and on the website of the LALS program at www.wfu.edu/las.

Wake Forest University: Museum of Anthropology (Wingate Road, Winston-Salem, NC)

MOA’s annual exhibit will feature a traditional Mexican ofrenda: a home altar with sugar skulls, colorful tissue paper cutouts, food and beverage offerings, marigolds, and photos of deceased relatives to honor the dead. A children’s ofrenda and photographs illustrating different aspects of the celebration will also be on display. This exhibit features text in English and Spanish. Admission is free.

Wake Forest University: Museum of Anthropology (Wingate Road, Winston-Salem, NC)

The Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University invites children and their parents to drop in and visit the Museum to learn about Mexican folk arts. Children will have the opportunity to learn about a variety of crafts and choose one to complete. Participants can draw inspiration from the crafts on display in the Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead) exhibit. The fee is $5 per child, MOA Friends are free. This event is part of Six Days in November.

Wake Forest University: Tribble Hall, DeTamble Auditorium

During this forum, the audience will hear brief remarks from a couple faculty and staff members, and students, from Wake Forest University. Following the brief remarks, the panel will engage the audience in a conversation about what it means to be Latino/Hispanic. The discussion forum hopes to explore the idea of Latino identify, however that is defined for both the panel and audience alike.

Wake Forest University: Museum of Anthropology (Wingate Road Winston-Salem, NC)

As a part of Witness for Peace Southeast’s Colombian Speaker’s Tour, Jon Henry Gonzáles Duque, a Colombian-born human rights organizer working with indigenous communities the Cauca region of that country, will speak about his personal experiences fighting for human rights. Diego Benitez, a Witness for Peace international volunteer, will accompany Mr. Henry as an interpreter. Admission is free.

Stevens Center (405 West 4th Street, Winston-Salem, NC)

Wake Forest University is pleased to welcome the highly acclaimed Cuban theater troupe, Teatro de la Luna, or Moon Theater, to Winston-Salem for a performance of Delirio Habanero, or Havana Delirium, a remarkable musical that, through song, dance, and memory, takes the audience back to the decades of the 1940s and 50s. Teatro de la Luna, will deliver a bilingual performance of Alberto Pedro’s musical under the direction of Raul Martin for one night only on October 6, 2011 at the Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem. The play begins at 7:30 P.M. Amongst the cast members will be Laura De La Uz, Amaryllis Núñez and Mario Guerra. Havana Delirium is set in 1990s Havana during the Special Period in Times of Peace, marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union and Cuba’s free fall into economic, social, and moral chaos. The play embarks upon the Special Period and flashes back to Cuba’s Hey Day of the 1940s and 50s when casinos and cabarets were at their peak, featuring nightclubs such as The Tropicana. Three tattered souls who believe they are Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa, Beny Moré, the King of Rhythm, and Varilla, the famous barman of the Bodeguita del Media, made famous by Hemingway in the 1950s, sing, dance, and banter about their lives and troubles to escape from the crumbling world outside. Memories and song help them to relive glorious experiences as they face an inevitable fate. These interactions comment on political and racial divisions and fragmented societies yearning for reconciliation.

Wake Forest University: Museum of Anthropology (Wingate Road, Winston-Salem, NC)

This exciting event for all ages will feature crafts, music, storytelling, and food related to the Day of the Dead celebration. Join us for an afternoon of educational fun! Admission is free.

Wake Forest University: Tribble Hall, Room C-316

This is an informational reception for interested (and returned) students of the WFU Chile & Argentina Study Abroad Program. The meeting will also offer Latin American Food for all those who attend. Please come to learn more about our wonderful study abroad opportunities!

Wake Forest University: Tribble Hall, DeTamble Auditorium

Join the Latin American and Latino Studies Program for a discussion on the “Women Against Mining” movement in Guatemala. Ms. Victoria Cumes Jochola, a representative of the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), a U.S.-based organization that links Americans and Guatemalans in the grassroots global struggle for justice, human dignity and respect for the Earth, will speak about the struggle indigenous Guatemalan women are undergoing in their efforts to end mining in their local communities. Ms. Cumes has worked as an educator of indigenous rights throughout Guatemala since 1997. In 2005, she accepted a leadership position with an organization called Nuestra Voz. The group helps to coordinate numerous grassroots women’s groups and creates alternatives for women through leadership training and development projects. The presentation will be in Spanish; however, translation will be provided. An opportunity to ask questions will follow afterwards. Items for sale will be available.

Wake Forest University: Tribble Hall, Room 302A

Students interested in studying abroad next year with WFU in Latin America’s Southern Cone are invited to join the Latin American and Latino Studies Program as well as the Center for International Studies for an Informational Reception on April 5th in Tribble Hall, Room C-302. Latin American food will be provided and study abroad representatives will be on hand to answer all of your questions! Already accepted students are, of course, more than welcome to attend. The semester program runs from February to June. Debuting in the Spring of 2011, this will be the second time a group of WFU students travels to the region. Students will be led by Mr. Clay Hipp, Senior Lecturer in Business. They will begin their journey in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they will immerse themselves in the local culture and society. Students will then travel to Santiago, Chile, where they will spend the majority of the rest of the semester studying at the prestigious University of Diego Portales. Several excursions to places such as Easter Island have already been planned. All students will receive fifteen hours of credit for their semester abroad and will live with Argentine and Chilean host families. Spanish experience is not required, though highly recommended.