The Puerto Rican literature and culture discussion group of the MLA 2009 Convention will consider proposals for its session on:
Puerto Rican Culture and (Post)Work: Symbolic and social value of (im)productivity in this transnational community: cultural activism; commodification of artistic labor; local/global socioeconomic dynamics.
Submit 1-page abstracts to guillermo.irizarry@uconn, by 1 March 2009.
“Puerto Rican Matinee pt. 2: Contemporary Films from the Island”
Sunday, December 7
12:00 p.m. —2:00 p.m. “Cayo” (2005) by Vicente Juarbe
3:00 p.m. —5:00 p.m. “Maldeamores” (2007) by Carlos Ruiz Ruiz and Mariem Pérez Riera
McEvoy Auditorium / Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture
8th St. and G St. NW
Washington, D.C.
Set on the island of Culebra, “Cayo” is a touching love story about friendships lost and regained. With stellar acting, “Maldeamores” is the award-winning film produced by Benicio del Toro. A dark comedy about love and relationships, “Maldeamores” will be followed by a short discussion on filmmaking in Puerto Rico. Tickets are available one hour before each show (or after 11:30 a.m.) and are subject to availability—be sure to arrive early for a good seat!
———–
“Puerto Rican Art Now – with Antonio Martorell”
Friday, December 12
7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum
Independence Avenue at Seventh Street SW
Washington, DC
Admission is free
The Smithsonian Latino Center presents one of Puerto Rico’s best known artists, Antonio Martorell, who will discuss the work of Puerto Rican artists since the 1980s and their presence in international museums, galleries on the island and in the global art market.
For more information about this and other upcoming programs, please visit http://latino.si.edu/newsevents/ – Look out for next week’s Ambulante at the Smithsonian: New Documentaries from Mexico.
Photography exhibit showing works from the protest that unfolded in Prague, Paris and Mexico in 1968.
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
From 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Mexican Cultural Institute 2829 16th NW, Washington, DC 20009
Please RSVP at icmdc@instituteofmexicodc.org
For carpooling contact me at lgoulias@umd.edu
Apply by December 1, 2008, for early notification; March 1 is the final deadline.
Writers’ House students:
If you’re interested but have some questions please don’t hesitate to call the Director, Johnna Schmidt, directly at 301-405-0671.
You can access an application at our website, which is under construction: www.writershouse.umd.edu
December 5th @ 3:30pm Maryland Room, Marie Mount Hall. For directions click here.
Sponsored by the Comparative Literature Program, Dept of English, Dept of Spanish & Portuguese, LGBT Studies, and Latin American Studies.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Judith Freidenberg, Immigration and National Identity in Argentina ;
Memoirs of Villa ClaraPlace: Latin American Studies Center ,
0128B Holzapfel Hall
Memorias de Villa Clara – Published by Antropofagia, Buenos Aires , Argentina , 2005
In “Memorias de Villa Clara” (“Memories of Villa Clara”) Judith Freidenberg synthesizes the oral, material and written histories of Villa Clara to depict the village’s unique heritage. Situated in northeastern Argentina , Villa Clara was founded by Jewish colonists brought to the country by the Baron de Hirsch at the end of the 19th century. Freidenberg’s ethnographic and ethno-historic studies which form the basis of “Memorias” consider the strong history of other European immigration to Villa Clara later in history, as well as the experiences of the native gauchos. The book is directed towards a general public audience in order to encourage members of the Villa Clara community to reconstruct the village’s past. “Memorias,” written in Spanish, is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Film: Nueve Reinas/Nine Queens
Place: Latin American Studies Center , 0128B Holzapfel Hall
“Nine Queens” is the story of two small-time swindlers, Juan (Gastón Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darin), who team up after meeting in a convenience store and become involved in a half million dollar deal. Early one morning, Marcos… “Nine Queens” is the story of two small-time swindlers, Juan (Gastón Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darin), who team up after meeting in a convenience store and become involved in a half million dollar deal.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 10:00 am
Sandra Cypess, “NEW ‘STAGES’ FOR MOTHERS IN ARGENTINA – From Politics to Theatrics.”
Place: Latin American Studies Center , 0128B Holzapfel Hall
Come to hear how Mothers in Argentina , including the “Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” –whose children “disappeared” during the Dirty War of the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983 are represented on stage.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
“Borges and the Kabbalah: Seeking Access” by Mirta Kupferminc and Saul Sosnowski.
Opening Reception.
Place: Art Gallery, Art and Sociology Building , University of Maryland, College Park .
Their collaborative work comprises several original etchings and aquatints by Kupferminc, and text by Sosnowski.
Exhibit opens from: November 12 – December 20, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Saúl Sosnowski in conversation with Mirta Kupeferminc.
Place: Art Gallery, Art and Sociology Building
Come and learn how it all started and how they combined art and literature to create the book, Borges y la Cabala: senderos del verbo, on which the exhibit at the Art Gallery is based.
Another film from this year’s International Film Series is coming up. On Nov. 5, at 7 pm at the Hoff, free of charge as usual, José Maria Naharro-Calderón will host Land and Freedom, Ken Loach (1995).
Partially based on George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, this film about the Spanish Civil War depicts the contradictions and power struggles in the camp of the democratic Spanish Republic, abandoned to its tragic fate by England, France and the United States.land-and-freedom-flyer
It is my pleasure to announce that both of the candidates presented by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese to the Dean’s Senior Scholars Award have been selected to receive the award for 2008. Vineeta Singh and Dennis Stinchcomb are the recipients of this important award. Singh and Stinchcomb were unanimously selected. There were a total of six awards for all ARHU units. I quote from Dean Harris letter: “The selection committee was impressed by your extraordinary record of academic performance and strong letters of recommendation.” Please join me in congratulating Vineeta and Dennis.
Also thanks to Prof. Demaría, Cypess, Remson and Ana Patricia Rodríguez for their support and for writing the letters of recommendations. Felicidades.
Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia
Professor and Acting Chair
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
University of Maryland
2215-A Jiménez Hall
College Park, MD 20742
Office: 301-405-6450
Fax: 301-314-9752
jcquinte@umd.edu
This Thursday night at the literary café Busboys and Poets in D.C., the Smithsonian Latino Center will present two of the few DIVEDCO films addressing blackness in Puerto Rico, “El Resplandor” and “Nenén de la Ruta Mora.”
Relatively unknown, “El Resplandor” is one of the island’s most powerful films, telling a story of insurrection on a sugar plantation on the eve of the abolition of slavery. In a surreal adaptation of the island’s folklore, “Nenén de la Ruta Mora” is a poetic tale of a young boy from Loíza and his imaginary playmate. Discussion about these films will be led and facilitated by Marvette Pérez, Curator of Latino History from the National Museum of American History.
These films are available only in Spanish; a written, English-language overview will be available for viewers who do not speak Spanish. Please see the attached flyer for more information about this program, including start time and location.flyer-nenen-and-el-resplandor2
For more information and a full calendar of events for the series “Puerto Rico at the Smithsonian,” be sure to visit www.latino.si.edu.