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Newsletter Issue 3 Spring 2013 Flipbook PDF
Newsletter Issue 3 Spring 2013
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Message from the Chair A Latin American Pope …and a new role for the LLS Department
The
Roman Catholic Church may well be the oldest, most traditional, and even the most canonically inflexible multinational organization in the world. But even the princes of the Church, in its conclave last week, were forced to bow (or genuflect) to demographics. True, the first Pope from outside of Europe is a second-generation European with an Italian last name, born in the most arguably “Europeanized” country of Latin America. And his election may well have been only a faint gesture of reform, opting for geographic diversity rather than dogmatic flexibility. Yet, the election of Francisco I is nevertheless a recognition of the importance of Latin America, actually, Latin Americans, within the Church and globally. When I, along with many of my contemporaries, embarked on a career dedicated to
the study of Latin Americans, we had to constantly face the implicit derision of colleagues who felt that anything but the story of Europe and the United States was a second-rate enterprise. But today the study of the peoples of Latin America is advancing not only to the forefront of global and comparative studies, but indeed to the very core of studies of the United States. That is the intellectual enterprise to which our Department is dedicated. This Fall (2013) we have the opportunity to expand our contributions to the College through an expanded commitment to teaching courses in the new General Education curriculum. Several of our 300-level elective courses will satisfy various Gen Ed requirements, as will our LLS (formerly ETH) 124, Latina/os in the United States. We have also created a new course, to be taught for the first time in the Fall, LLS 100, Latina/os and Justice in New York City, a First Year Seminar exclusively for entering first-year students. We are excited about exposing these firsttime-in-College students to everything our Department and faculty have to offer. Prof. Lisandro Pérez
Table of Contents May 10, 2013 Vol. 2 Issue 1 “Prof. Jodie Roure Organizes United Nations Panel on Violence Against Women” by Byron Martinez …. .3 “Haciendo Caminos: Mapping the Futures of U.S. Latina/o Literatures” by Prof. Belinda Linn Rincón…... 4 “Mexico-New York: Thirty Years of Migration” by Prof. Isabel Martinez ………………………………….5 “Education in Action: Protesting for the Pursuit of Justice” by Prof. Francois Restrepo…………………..... 6 “Dr. Cornell West at John Jay College” by Christopher Espinoza…………………………………………... 7 “A New York Dream” by Elizabeth Calixto…………………………………………………………………. 8 Tutoring Opportunity by Elizabeth Calixto……………………………………………………….8 “La Union: “In-state Tuition for Undocumented Students” by Antolina Garcia…………………………………………. 9 “Urban Art Haven: The Nuyorican Poets Café” by Josephine Chumpitaz ………………………………….. 9 “Notable Latinas/os in the Community: Napoleon Barragan, The Mattress King” by John Mazon ……….. 10 “Women of Juarez” by Marilyn Herrera ……………………………………………………………………. 11 “Gender Roles in The House on Mango Street” by Alexandra Chacon………………………………………11 “Two-Dollar Girls” by Marilyn Herrera …………………………………………………………………….. 12 “The Consulate of Queens” by Andrea Velasquez ………………………………………………………….. 13 “A Glance at Latin America by Alejandro Madi …………………………………………………………….14 “The Legacy of Hugo Chavez, El Caudillo of the 21st Century” by Alejandro Madi……………………….. 14 “Special Welcome to New LLS Faculty Member” by Alejandro Madi………………………………………15 Student Accomplishments…………………………………………………………………………………….16 LLS Faculty and Students in the News……………………………………………………………………….17 “LLS Student Researchers Present their Work” by Prof. Rincón ……………………………………………18-19 Faculty Accomplishments ………………………………….…………………………………………………20-22 Special Farewell to LLS and La Voz Graduating Seniors…………………………………………………….23
Professor Jodie Roure Organizes United Nations Panel on Violence Against Women and Girls in Latin America By Byron Martinez On March 7, 2013, Professor Jodie Roure organized a one-day conference at the United Nations entitled Latin America and the Caribbean: Prevention and the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. The moderator, Lois A. Herman, coordinator of the Women’s UN Report Network, introduced the panelists. The panel included Rashida Manjoo, UN special rapporteur on violence against woman; Minou Tavarez Mirabal, daughter of Minerva Mirabal and congress woman; Roxana Reyes, Deputy Attorney General for Women’s Affairs of the Dominican Republic; Dr. Jodie Roure, Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Yamila Gonzalez Ferrer, Board of Directors Secretary for the National Union of Cuban Jurists; and Maria Dolores Fernos, an attorney. In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8th), the organizers played a video of Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, Vice President of the Dominican Republic, welcoming and thanking everyone who came to support and learn more about this cause. After the video, the evening commenced with its first guest speaker. The guest speaker began her story in Peru. It involved her first marriage to a manipulative husband. After winning her divorce case, she left Peru with her three children and came to the United States because of her uncle, who was an attorney in New York City. Her stay in America was problematic but by working with her uncle, she obtained the proper education to become an attorney and eventually she met her second husband at her job. At first he seemed harmless, but after they eloped, he became controlling and created a hostile work environment. During her husband’s moments of violence, she attempted to escape his rampage. After numerous injuries, she finally fled to Canada with her children where she found assistance from a Canadian attorney to arrest her
husband. Her husband endeavored to get her back into the States under his “protection,” but she went to court and ultimately won with the support of many advocates including Maria Dolores Fernos. After her courageous story, the organizers opened the floor to related topics. The panelists discussed the reasons why many women like the guest speaker take so long to find sanctuary. The reasons include the lack of communication, security, and governmental support. They also discussed how women experience fear on many levels including the fear of being judged and the fear of being killed before being alleviated from these circumstances. At the end of this conference I realized that we need the public, specifically government and state officers, to be informed of the dangers many women go through and the methods to comfort women so they do not have to suffer. A successful tactic would be to pass an international law preventing and eliminating violence against woman and girls. Passing such a law would help end violence against women and girls.
(from left to right) Rashida Manjoo, U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dr. Jodie Roure, and Minou Tavarez, daughter of Minerva Mirabal
Haciendo Caminos: Mapping the Futures of U.S. Latina/o Literatures By Prof. Rincon Earlier this year, Professor Belinda Rincón and Professor Richard Perez (English Department) organized the 1st Biennial Latina/o Literary Theory and Criticism Conference entitled “Haciendo Caminos: Mapping the Futures of U.S. Latina/o Literature.” The conference drew a critical mass of U.S. Latina/o literary critics and theorists, both foundational thinkers and emerging voices, for the first time in the history of the field. In addition to two days of panels by scholars from around the country and around the world, the conference began with a keynote address by Dr. Ramón Saldívar (Stanford University). The following evening Andrea Velasquez, Antolina Garcia, Maricela focused on a special roundtable discussion on Cano, Prof. Rincon, Alexandra Chacon, Latina/o Queer Theory featuring Dr. Mary Pat Alejandro Madi, and Byron Martinez Brady (Cornell University) and Dr. José Esteban Muñoz (New York University). The conference ended with a special conversation between two major Latina/o authors, Helena María Viramontes (Cornell University) and Ernesto Quiñonez (Cornell University) and literary critic Dr. Silvio TorresSaillant (Syracuse University). The conference held a special student panel that included several La Voz students who presented their work on Latina/o literature. The panel entitled “Migration, Gender, and Cultural Identity in Contemporary Latina/o Literature and Film” featured former students from Prof. Rincón’s classes: La Voz with Latina/o authors: Antolina Garcia, Alejandro Madi, Ernesto Quiñonez (author of Andrea Velasquez, “The Consequences of Bodega Dreams), Alexandra Chacon, Helena Migration in Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey María Viramontes (author of Their Dogs Came and Gregory Nava’s El Norte” with Them, Under the Feet of Jesus, and The Moths and Other Stories), Byron Martinez, Alejandro Madi, “Puerto Rican Diasporic Identity and Andrea Velasquez (front). and the Literary Tropicalizations of the Barrio in Down These Mean Streets and Bodega Dreams” Rafael Vargas, “Mourning versus Melancholia in Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey” Alexandra Chacon, “Disrupting Gender Norms in Yxta Maya Murray’s Locas” Marilyn Herrera, moderator of the panel
(from left to right): Rafael Vargas, Andrea Velasquez, Alexandra Chacon, and Alejandro Madi
CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies Annual Conference “Mexico-NY: Thirty Years of Migration” By Prof. Martinez
Artwork by Felipe Galindo/Feggo During May 9 and May 10, 2013, the CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies, in collaboration with John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will host a series of events commemorating their annual conference, “Mexico-NY: Thirty Years of Migration. ” On May 9, over twenty scholars from both the BUAP (Benemérita Universidad
Autónoma de Puebla) and CUNY will come together to share research and explore possible themes of overlap to pursue bi-national research collaborations in the future. Scholars including Dr. Alfonso Gonzales (Lehman College) and Dr. Patricia Velasco (Queens College) will be presenting their research on Mexican immigrant rights and the education of Mixtecos in New York City, respectively. On May 10, we will launch a full day of research presentations from both Mexican and US scholars on three decades of migration between Mexico and New York. The conference will build on the accomplishments of the 2012-2013 yearlong Mexico-NY interactive web based seminar, or Virtual Seminar Series the CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies is coordinating between Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) and the City University of New York (CUNY). The day will culminate with the announcement of the 2013-2014 cohort of CUNY-IME Becarios, including John Jay LLS Honors Minor candidate, Katherine Lopez. LLS faculty members Dr. Isabel Martinez and Dr. Lisandro Perez have been instrumental in the organizing of this conference at John Jay and give thanks to all those who have assisted in its planning, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Advancement of Research, the Office of Marketing and Development, the Department of Audio Services, MBJ Dining Services, the Department of Theater Services, and Jackie Nieves. For further information about the conference or the work of the Institute, please contact Dr. Isabel Martinez at [email protected]
Education in Action: Protesting for the Pursuit of Justice By Prof. Francois Restrepo March 28th, 2013 was the first day of trial in the federal class action lawsuit against the New York City Police Department for its stop-and-frisk policy. The case, Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al., is challenging the NYPD’s infamous stop-and-frisk practice, an unconstitutional practice that targets communities of color by means of racial profiling. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights. What is Floyd seeking to gain and why is it important? March 28th, 2013 was the first day of trial in the federal class action lawsuit against the New York City Police Department for its stop-and-frisk policy. The case, Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al., is challenging the NYPD’s infamous stop-and-frisk practice, an unconstitutional practice that targets communities of color by means of racial profiling. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights. What is Floyd seeking to gain and why is it important? “The lawsuit challenges the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices as violations of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections against racially-discriminatory policing. The lawsuit does not seek money for the class of individuals who have been unlawfully stopped and/or frisked by the NYPD. Instead, it seeks to obtain a ruling
from a federal court that aspects of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices are unconstitutional and should be fundamentally changed” (http://ccrjustice.org/floyd, http://www.ccrjustice.org/ files/Floyd%20FAQ% 20Dec%202012.pdf) This lawsuit is the extension of a grassroots movement of community leaders, lawyers, activist, researchers, and scholars from various organizations and institutions. These entities have united to form the Communities for Police Reform campaign. Such participants come from various community or legal advocacy groups such as the New York Civil
Liberties Union, Make the RoadNY, and the Justice Community, to name a few. On the very first day of this trial, I decided to bring my FYS 125, Ethnic Studies and Social Justice class to observe the trial and participate in the rally. When engaging in such an endeavor, one has to be aware of the structural and subtle obstacles that exist within the criminal justice system. For instance, the long lines and security protocols, in combination with the conflicting courtroom directions given by court personnel, can most certainly effectuate a sense of despair, demoralization, and discouragement for anyone supporting such a lawsuit. Over an hour after arriving, waiting on line, and being directed to different
buildings, we were told the court room was filled to capacity and directed to the over-flow room where we could observe the trial on sleek flat-screen monitors. I had warned my class about this demobilization process, so we were not caught off guard. For most of my students, this was their first time visiting a courthouse,
nonetheless observing a trial. During recess, there was a rally/press conference outside the court building, with various community leaders in attendance speaking on the issue of stop-andfrisk. The Justice Committee, which was founded by the late and former Young Lord, Richard Perez, coordinated the press conference and rally. In class, I informed my students about the opportunity to participate in such a
rally. I warned them this was not anarchy or an illegal act of any sort. This was a very well organized demonstration. For my class, this was the first time they had ever participated in this form of civil disobedience. They were ecstatic. Among the orators was civil rights icon, Jesse Jackson, whom my students met and greeted. And that’s real.
Dr. Cornell West – Speech @ JJC By Christopher Espinoza
subjectivity. Only in acknowledging this, that the subjective “I” stands at a much grander scale, will we arrive at the true meaning of a common humanity. It is not about -isms (e.g. capitalism, racism, sexism
“The unexamined life is not worth living. An examined life is painful” ----Socrates Dr. Cornell West said in the beginning of his speech: An examined life is constant questioning and contesting one’s beliefs and ideas. Indeed this can stir emotions as we come to learn and immerse ourselves in the crude, harsh, and sobering reality of the world. When we inquire for truths of the world, we look past the veneer of the sweet and wonderful. In Dr. West’s words, we uncover the funk from the deodorized discourse that keeps us in a mindset where ignorance is bliss. While one enquires, they come to encounter opposing facts, paradoxes in contradiction, and enigmas that are elusive, intricate or impossible to solve. At other times, we may find long-standing problems that have simple solutions, yet those solutions are not enacted because those in power will lose their strong handed control over a particular segment of the population. A staple of much displeasure, as Freud would characterize it in accordance to his concept of pain, the enterprise of enquiry allows us to free ourselves from the chains of subjugation and quietness. Dr. West made much reference to the concept of love as a fundamental driving force in his pursuit of social justice and fairness. For him, “justice is what love looks like in public,” quoting Dr. Martin Luther King. He, then, made an urgent call for all to break the abounding silence that continues to exist to this day. The silence is what safeguards and perpetuates these metaphorical chains of subjugation and oppression, not only physically but also mentally. We are taught and conditioned by the implicit and explicit rules and order of society that those in the fringes will continue to remain there in the state of poverty and crime for time to come. So, his call to action is not one where we demonize another. Rather, it is a call to educate ourselves on the reality of our collective, interconnected, inter-dependent state of being in order to recognize the need for ALL of us to embrace a common humanity directed in not only achieving equality, but for people to look past the physical and social constructions to uphold love as the foundation of our inter-
Dr. Cornell West at John Jay College, December 4, 2012. Photo by Eichenbaum. among others) that are at the root of all the evil that plagues us (the poor, the uneducated and the people of color), but it is rather the lack of humanity based on pure love. He also described the prison-industrial complex as a superfluous burden that remains to exist only because it commodifies the human body as a product that can produce money for the state. Anything that provides for the state, that injects money into its system, will be glorified, defended and justified by those in power – Michel Foucault would agree. The elites, the 1 percent, present at whatever strata, whether local, state or federal, are almost always whites. This is not to say that this discourse is one to start a movement against white people, per se. In my opinion, I feel that social justice is based on fairness which should be rooted in a philosophy of pure, unselfish, and untainted love. We are not only a skin color, a religion, a sexual orientation, a product of a certain level of education, or an occupation, but, more coherently, we are all human beings that feel pain and pleasure, are subject to death, and bleed when pierced. The human condition is that which binds us to a common humanity.
La Union Tutoring Opportunity By: Elizabeth Calixto La Union seeks to break the cycle of poverty through academic and emotional support for all students 1st 8th grade who reside in Sunset Park neighborhood by helping the students improve their academic performance, stay in school through high school graduation, prepare for higher education and expand leadership and social skills. Our tutoring program also provides fun extracurricular activities to the students. At the same, we also want to work in partnership with the parents, members of the group “Padres Organizados por la Educacion” to support parent participation in their children’s education. Our tutors/mentors are volunteers that are currently enrolled in college; they will promote the importance of both conceptual understanding and practical application in developing a student’s skills for success. They will respond to each student’s individual strengths and weaknesses, maximizing their potential. We provide both private and
A New York Dream By: Elizabeth Calixto For those who are keeping track of the Dream Act movement that has swept the nation, you should be aware that this bill is still full throttle here in New York State. With the help of Senator Bill Perkins and Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, the New York State Dream Act was introduced on March, 2011. This bill would allow undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements in New York to have access to state financial aid for higher education. To bring attention to this subject, undocumented youth and allies from the NYS Youth Leadership Council walked 150 miles from New York City to Albany in 2012 as a form of protest to support the passage of the NY Dream Act. They, also, have the New York’s DREAM Act Albany Day of Action, in which they will be going to Albany. On February 12, 2013, the nonprofit organization, Make the Road New York, also planned a trip to Albany to lobby lawmakers to pass the state DREAM Act. There are supporters of the bill like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, but of
small group tutoring, writing skills and study skills; prealgebra and algebra; grammar, spelling and vocabulary; and for fun, we have dance, chess, Sudoku, art and science projects. For college students, the program will give the opportunity to interact with students in need of their help. Volunteers will have the opportunity to explore and practice new skills and roles. They can even add this experience to their resume. Volunteering is also an opportunity to expand your network, not only will you meet people who support the same cause, but you will find people who have personal and professional connections that can help you especially if you are looking for a job. Tutors will be exposed to new ways of doing things, seeing how an organization runs, different ways of managing, brainstorming, and problem-solving. Volunteers can also use it as a team building experience. If you are interested in volunteering at La Union, please contact Elizabeth Calixto at [email protected].
course, there are people who oppose this bill, including Senate Republican leader
Dean Skelos, who said that taxpayers should not be funding tuition assistance to those who are in the country illegally. State lawmakers are trying to pass this bill because the federal DREAM Act has stalled. The federal DREAM Act would give a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who go to college or who join the military. Although the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was implemented in the past summer, it is not a permanent solution. Undocumented immigrant youth in the United States have limited access to financial aid and no path to citizenship. President Obama and a group of U.S. Senators who are working on the reform bill say that it will include giving these young people a faster way to become citizens. If you would like keep on top of this issue, please visit The New York State Youth Leadership Council Website, http://www.nysylc.org/, or Make the Road New York Website, http://www.maketheroad.org/
In-state Tuition for Undocumented Students By Antolina Garcia The American dream is often referred to as a myth. The idea that opportunity is deserved by all who work hard has become revised over the years by policy and partisan disagreements. Starting with who deserves the rights as a citizen or non-citizen. Immigration is a heated debate between conservatives who believe undocumented students damage the economy and liberals who want to give undocumented students opportunities. Studies show that most educated undocumented students used their education as an open door of opportunity to become citizens. Therefore it would be in the best interest of society to give undocumented students a college education. These students will move to become tax paying citizens and contribute to the economy. With increasing cost of college tuition it is difficult even for legal citizens of the state to pay for college therefore undocumented citizens should be given in-state tuition. A benefit to extending in-state tuition to undocumented students is to capitalize on the public education system that allows all students regardless of allowing undocumented students to have higher education. If they are not allowed to progress in education their job opportunities are limited and when job opportunities are limited, the students will become dependent on the state for benefits. The best way to prevent this cycle of poverty and lack of opportunity is to offer a chance that these students may one day be legal citizens through education and economic mobility. not make sense to deny access to education to undocumented students because it encouraged them to be a cheap source of labor but denies them opportunities that citizens have. The same logic should be applied to college with instate tuition. In a case study of the Supreme Court’s decision, justices realized that it does Proponents of in-state tuition believe that it is an economic burden for the American people to allow this type of “amnesty” to undocumented students. Their evidence stems from the “probable” cost of federal afford to send their children to college for thousands of dollars to get the better life they sought out here. Therefore, it is only fair to allow these students to attend undocumented workers and or were brought into the United States at a young age. These parents cannot assistance to these undocumented to students. In a report done by Jack Martin and Erica Ruark research shows diplomas do not go on to higher education because it is too expensive. Most of these students are children of that $ 2,107,800,000 will be spent in educating the children illegal immigrants. They believe that since they
citizenship status to receive K-12 education. Undocumented young adults who receive high school should not have been in the United States in the first place, they are not entitled to the rights of a citizen. However these programs that cost 2,107,800,000 will eventually save the United States billions of dollars it spends on Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Medicare that cater to undocumented immigrants who have no education or better job opportunities. In conclusion the dream of the United States is not an individual dream; it is a dream that no matter what the circumstances are, people who set foot on this land can make a better life for themselves. The goal of education is just that, the stepping stone people utilize to get to prosperity. Therefore it is contradiction for this country to limit opportunity based on circumstance. Instate tuition for an undocumented student is an investment in a person who came here for opportunity. To work from the ground up is the moral Americans instill in the great American dream, therefore the US should uphold to that sentiment and allow these students to further their education
Urban Art Haven: The Nuyorican Poets Café By: Josephine Chumpitaz
The Nuyorican Poets Café emerged in the 1970’s as a response to the growing popularity of poetry in New York. Miguel Algarin, co-founder of the venue, had a fervent desire to create a space for artists who are not adequately, or commonly, presented in conventional and popularized settings. Serving, also, as a non-profit organization, the Nuyorican Poets Café is devoted to advocating for both the representation of diverse artists and art works; this includes featuring weekly poetry slams, open-mic sessions, visual art exhibitions, theatrical presentations, and film screenings. While every night is eventful at this venue, Thursdays are
particularly momentous due to the highly celebrated and critically acclaimed Live Latin Jazz Jam events. Indeed, the Nuyorican Poets Café is a testament to New York City’s nocturnal reputation. With its towering ceilings, there is a sense of both architectural and emotive verticality. The captivating photographs adorning the walls before the slightly risen stage, the open door policy that enables any willing candidate to showcase their talents, and the
overall intimate atmosphere of the café has a unifying effect on the artist and audience. Even the bathroom displays a collage of Latin and African artwork, as the breadth of the Nuyorican Poets Café is operative in utilizing its venue as a canvas. Affordable and accessible, intellectually and visually stimulating, the Nuyorican Poets Café is undeniably one of the most enthralling art spaces on the East Coast.
Notable Latinas/os in the Community: Napoleon Barragan, The Mattress King By John Mazon La Voz is pleased to introduce a new feature that will focus on Latina/o entrepreneurs and leaders of the community. These articles will showcase individuals who have achieved success and who give back to their communities. Napoleon Barragan is one of the many Latinos who has lived a classic ‘rags to riches’ life. Mr. Barragan was born in 1941and raised in a small Ecuadorian town located in Bolivar. He came from a humble background where his family dedicated their time in agriculture. He demonstrated courageous qualities at a young age, when at the young age of 17, he moved to Colombia in search of a better life. While in Colombia, Barragan took several laborious jobs including delivering beer and soda on donkeys. At that moment of his life, Barragan tried to find work in various Colombian cities while trying to earn as much as he could. While living in the city of Barranquilla, he envisioned himself traveling to the United States to pursue his dreams. After having saved enough pesos, Barragan decided to fly to Jamaica, New York, along with his wife and 2-yearold daughter. Once in New York, he gained his business savvy by taking jobs in various factories. After having worked a couple of years in a furniture factory, he was promoted to salesman. His boss was so impressed with how much he had learned about the furniture business that he decided to partner with Barragan. They opened their first furniture store in Jamaica, Queens. One day in 1976 while walking on the streets of Manhattan, Barragan noticed a commercial for Dial-ASteak. This sparked his most innovative idea as an entrepreneur of creating 1-800-MATTRESS. 1-800MATTRESS was a vital tool for his success because it allowed him to deliver his products conveniently to his customers’ homes. Mr. Barragan is recognized for his outstanding success. Crain’s New York Business listed him as one of the 100 most powerful minority businessmen. He also received the Latino Trendsetter Award at the Defining Trends Magazine’s 7th annual Latino Trendsetter and Scholarship Awards. In addition, the Council of Churches in New York City, which recognizes the City’s most distinguished
Christian business leaders, named him 2008 Business Leader of the Year. Mr. Barragan always stated that the key to his success was to remember his humble background. He is a man who believed in the importance of family values and hard work. After having expanded his successful business, Barragan became well known for his humanitarian work. He contributed to many causes including the Hurricane Katrina Recovery. One of his most important goals is to help promote business education for Latinos in the United States and Ecuador.
Photograph by Howie Sonnenschein/NY Enterprise Report
Women of Juarez By Marilyn Herrera Imagine walking back home after a long day of work at the maquiladoras, you are tired but must get home before it gets darker. The street you must walk through is quiet when suddenly you feel someone taking hold of you and then…your life slips away. That is just one of the ways in which women in the city of Juarez, Mexico have died since the 1990s. The rise in the drug wars has been linked to the rise in the disappearances of women. It is the 21st century and Mexico is facing one if its largest problems in crime but the government is too corrupt to give a care. The women of Juarez fear for their lives. Young women who are employed by the large sweat shops are the most vulnerable to the atrocious crimes. Women have been raped, mutilated, shot, tortured, and stabbed by gang members or by drug
Following Gender Roles in
Sandra Cisneros’s The House
on Mango Street By Alexandra Chacon
In, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros explores the fears women have in terms of “doing gender” because they are perceived as sexual objects. At the same time, Cisneros describes women’s fear of following stereotypes of beauty because, as a consequence, they are sexually objectified. In the chapter “The Family of Little Feet,” Cisneros depicts men associating women wearing high heels with sexual desires. What starts as an innocent game of fitting beautiful high heels just as Cinderella did in fantasy tale, turns out to be a disturbing gender experience. Esperanza and her friends Rachel and Lucy decide to wear heels not knowing the consequences of what heels represent. Once they wear the magical high heels, Cisneros describes that they stop being the little girls that everybody sees and they become sexy women; as a result, they are seen as ornamental objects. Immediately
cartels. They are buried in common burials or have been cooked in acid so the evidence is destroyed. Many families never get the chance to bury their loved ones in a decent manner because the authorities lack a heart. The authorities have the power to investigate but they do not because of corruption that has infiltrated the institution. Their greed is stronger than their compassion for these women and families. The only way to bring an end to the femicides is by spreading the word and letting others know what is going on. The social media is the best way of reaching out to various people and the more we learn about things occurring in other countries, the more awareness we bring to the subject. Believe it or not, education is key to world problems.
after the girls wear high-heeled shoes, they are harassed by men. One of the men says, “Ladies, lead me to heaven” (41). The men not only harass them, but also assume and associate the high heels and the girls with prostitution. The bum on the corner says, “If I give you a dollar will you kiss me? How about a dollar? I give you a dollar, and he looks in his pocket for wrinkled money” (41-42). The experience of doing gender for Esperanza and her friends has been shocking. At the end of the chapter, Esperanza states, “We are tired of being beautiful” (42). Cisneros explores women’s fear of looking too feminine, due to the way they are perceived in the eyes of men. Because women are perceived as sexual objects, they are afraid to imitate the stereotypes of women and follow gender roles. The consequences of doing gender create distress in women because they are subjected to male power and control.
Two Dollar Girls
By: Marilyn Herrera “Chicas, chicas” a man whispers to the couple in front of me. The girl pulls her partner closer and makes sure to give a dirty look to the man. The whisperer hands out small cards with photos of women in sexy lingerie or in pornographic poses with numbers to call them. The whisperer does not care if a man is walking accompanied or unaccompanied; his mission is solely to hand out as many cards as possible and to get paid. Along the avenue, you will find many “whisperers” and this is just the start of the journey. Keep walking and you will come across dark looking bars with posters with neon letters that promote alcohol, music, and best of all women. On these same windows, you will find signs that say “Se necesitan meseras con buena presencia para el turno de la noche” and this translates into, “if you apply to be a waitress in the night shift, then you will dance and deal with drunkards.” These waitresses are known as “las de $2” because they charge $2 or $3 per dance. If they are able to sell buckets of beer, they gain more pay during the nightshift. Some opt to go further than dancing and others just stick to dancing. The atmosphere changes once the family friendly businesses close for the night. In the corners of the streets, there are transvestites, transsexuals, and women, and then there are men who
lurk for these women’s services. Some of the encounters take place above businesses and others in cars. Some bars have their own brothel setting and offer protection to the prostitutes. All these women share one thing in common: the need for a pay check. Some of these women are forced to work as waitresses, strippers, or prostitutes, and other women simply enjoy their job. There is nothing wrong in working in these places, but unfortunately, there are some women who are underage. The underage girls are part of a sex trade against their will in these places. Other women run the risk of getting beaten or abused because the men who seek them are usually intoxicated. Gloria Perez owned a small business next to a bar and described to me the things she would see at two or three in the morning. She told me that, “during the day, if business was slow, I could always count on the night shift. Girls around the age of 16 or 20 come around for a quick bite and there would be men who could be their fathers would solicit them or would flirt with them.” City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras proposed “A New Deal” plan for Roosevelt Avenue which includes the removal of the sex business in the neighborhood. Hopefully this new deal will make it safer for the women who want to sell sex and save the underage girls.
Photos By Victor J. Blue
“The Consulate of Queens” By Andrea Velasquez
Have you ever felt tempted to do something illegal out of sheer necessity? In the United States, many undocumented immigrants feel that they need to break the law in order to obtain their documents of citizenship. In Jackson Heights, Queens, one of the streets around the neighborhood is often referred as the “Consulate of Queens.” If you live near 82nd street and Roosevelt, you know what I mean. One frequently hears the words “social, social,” which basically means social security cards, permanent resident cards, and other “legal” identifications are for sale. Many of you are probably wondering where they obtain the information for such documents. Well, some of these documents are false and some are stolen, as a result the community around these areas feels that their identity has been stolen as well. These “consulate” people anxiously wait for clients who want documents. These clients are undocumented immigrants, who desperately
seek the service of the “consulate” in order to be able to work in this country. In an interview by El Diario, a Salvadorian commented by saying that “muchos de nosotros necesitamos un seguro social para trabajar. No tenemos opción” (Most of us need a social security card to work. We have no choice). While many turn to this option as a solution, all are risking deportation and being criminally charged with identity theft. While others hope for the ratification of the long awaited Immigration Reform Act this is an important issue that strongly affects the undocumented Latino community. President Obama has made a commitment in his reelection to tackle such reform. With a sense of hopelessness that the immigration act will not pass any time soon, many immigrants have decided to renounce the “American Dream” and return to their countries of origin. Not only do the high stakes of immigration reform put their lives at risk, but also the lives of their children who were born in the United States. Is it really necessary to force undocumented immigrants to commit a “crime,” to be separated from their loved ones, and to depart the country they now call home? It is time for us to do something about this matter! Let us be conscious about this issue affecting the Latino community and help them fight for a reform that will benefit us. How will it benefit us? By obtaining the provisional legal status, there would not be any need to seek false or stolen “legal” documents, which would allow them to legally work in this country. Their labor would result in a greater amount of money for the state to tax. More importantly, there would be less people in the criminal justice system. Prosecutors would focus on real criminals instead of spending needed money on frivolous cases.
The Am azon under Threat! A N ew Push by the O il Industry to Pollute the Environm ent By Alejandro Madi In Ecuador, Yasuni National Park is a wildlife paradise, but it is a paradise in danger of being lost! If President Rafael Correa gets his way in ransoming this land, which is one of the richest ecological places on earth, then future generations will not be able to witness the beauty of this majestic land. Last year, National Geographic wrote about the importance of this region to the health of the Amazon forest, and they wrote that the “Yasuní’s location nurtures this abundance. The park sits at the intersection of the Andes, the Equator, and the Amazon region, an ecological bull’s-eye where extremely rich communities of plants, amphibians, birds, and mammals in South America converge.” When vast amounts of oil reserve were found in the bedrocks of Yasuni’s land, President Correa threatened to allow oil companies to exploit this land. Ecuadorians, who
live around the area, have argued that it is not fair for environmentalists and ecologists from rich nations to come and dictate a third-world country’s energy policy. Ecuador should be allowed for the sake of economic prosperity to develop their resources. When the president, however, holds this region ransom by saying either give us money or we will destroy the Yasuni’s ecological environment, then we have a problem! This goes beyond how a country should manage its energy and economic policies. Instead, we should understand of our roles in preserving the only places that we have on earth where a rich ecological community of flora and fauna thrives. It is foolish to think that there will not be any consequences of our actions if we destroy Yasuni. Letting this occur would be like stabbing a knife into the lungs of our earth. This is an urgent distress call for Ecuador as a country: they can either preserve and protect such an important and vital ecological region from the polluted hands of the oil industry or let someone hold their land hostage as well as the environment.
The Legacy of Hugo Chavez, El Caudillo of the 21st Century By Alejandro Madi On March 5th, the infamous leader of the “Venezuelan revolution” died of cancer. President Hugo Chavez ruled the nation of Venezuela for over 14 years since 1998. He endured more than 10 elections throughout his mandate, winning 8 out of those 10. However, as much as his government went around saying that they had rescued Venezuela from the chains of tyranny, how much of that is true? In 1998, the price of a barrel of oil stood at $20, today it stands at about $104 per barrel. If we calculate the numbers based on the export of 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, Venezuela received at least $697 BILLION dollars in profits. Yet in those 14 years it is recorded that the government only spent 38% of that money in the country. Where did the rest go? Almost 62% of that money went to other countries. Since the day Chavez took office, his administration began a new regressive economic policy of destroying or “nationalizing” all the industries that made the country self-efficient. Thus, the country was forced to rely on necessary products like toilet paper and corn from other countries. As a result, Venezuela created thousands of jobs and economic prosperity, but for other countries. In the last 14 years, Venezuela only grew a mere 13% in economic purchasing power, while Peru grew 73%, Chile 49%, and Argentina 45%. Yet neither of those countries
enjoyed the largest period in our history of oil revenue. At the same time, in the last 14 years of Chavismo, only 1 out of 3 Venezuelans have been able to move out of poverty. So what happened in the last 14 years that theoretically should have made Venezuela a wealthy stable nation? Unfortunately, Venezuela had a government that went around mismanaging the fortunes of the people by implementing an inefficient set of economic policies that gave away to other countries what belonged to the Venezuelan people. Although Chavez was always found preaching about national sovereignty, nationalism, and a revolution that would fight against the evil capitalist nation of the United States of America, the truth of the matter is that 80% of Venezuelan oil was still purchased by the U.S. in the last 14 years. The chavismo economic policy further weakened the sovereignty of the nation by making the country rely heavily on imports from other nations. Thus, when discussing the legacy of Chavez, it is important to look at all aspects of who this man and his revolution were all about. I’m only focusing on the economic side of chavismo. We still have the crime rate, the uber inflation, the polarization of the country, las misiones created for the poor, the giveaway of money to “allies”, the breakdown of the institutions of the Venezuelan government, etc. Indeed, as the “Bolivarian Venezuelan Revolution” enters into a new phase, let’s not forget the legacy that Hugo Chavez left for the Venezuelan people and Latin America as a whole.
Welcome to the Familia Professor Gutierrez!
The Latin American and Latino/a Studies Department (LLS) welcomes a new member to its familia in this upcoming 2013 fall semester. Professor John Gutierrez, who many of you have seen in the halls of John Jay College, was hired as a full time Assistant Professor in the studies of Caribbean and Latin American History. Over the last few years, Professor Gutierrez has worked as an adjunct professor, teaching many of our students the basics of Latin American history and the relation between race and ethnicity in the U.S. Professor Gutierrez, like many of our LLS professors, comes with a background full of exciting anecdotes. He is Cuban-American and went to Vassar College for his undergrad in Spanish History. At Vassar, he was inspired by what he describes as a campus where students are taught the importance of teaching, the value it has towards the betterment of our
society, and in his own perspective, this is what got him interested in becoming a teacher. However, even before he became a professor, Prof. Gutierrez went on to work in the world of politics. He helped elected officials as a consultant, giving them advice on how to run campaigns, and more importantly, in raising money for them. He said politics, especially here in NY, is a very complex environment, yet fascinating for those who are interested in it. If you are one of those that want to learn how to navigate the field of politics, don’t feel shy in stopping by his office. He has plenty of anecdotes to talk about. Before becoming the new member to the familia of the LLS department, Professor Gutierrez was finishing his Ph.D in the history of Cuba and Latin America. And check this out! His dissertation research focuses on public health in Cuba in the early part of the 20th century, and he is even thinking of creating a class about public health in Latin America. Now that is exciting! Overall, Professor Gutierrez feels blessed to be welcomed formally to the John Jay community, especially when our school is the fourth largest college in the country in terms of the number of Hispanic students. This is why Prof. Gutierrez is very much interested in remodeling the way the LLS department advertises its classes to our students. Given the vast number of Latino/a students, he is interested in creating or reshaping certain classes so that they can appeal more to the ever growing Latino community at our school. He wants to invite speakers and prominent scholars to talk about, and raise awareness, of issues affecting the Latino community. In his view he sees the LLS department playing a more important role in the way our Latino students see themselves and their role as member of this society. The Voceros of this newsletter, as well as the faculty and students of the LLS department can’t wait for the great things that will come with having Professor John Gutierrez on board! Bienvenido! By Alejandro Madi
Student Accomplishments Elizabeth Calixto is in her senior year majoring in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Latin American and Latina\o Studies. She presented her research project entitled "Abajo las Sabanas\Bellow the Sheets: An examination of the sexual identity construction of adult Mexican immigrant men who have sex with men in New York City" at the John Jay College McNair Scholars Roundtable. She was also awarded a 2012-2013 scholarship from the IME Beca Scholarship Program sponsored by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (Instituto de Mexicano en el Extranjero) and the CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies. The scholarship program recognizes, rewards and promotes academic excellence and community service in the Mexican community.
Alexandra Chacon is a senior majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in English and Law. Since 2008, she has been a Non-Commissioned Officer in the US Army Reserves where she works as a supply specialist. In addition to maintaining a high G.P.A., Alexandra serves as a staff writer and copy-editor for the La Voz newsletter. In March, she presented a paper entitled “Disrupting Gender Norms in Yxta Maya Murray’s Locas” at the 1st Biennial Latina/o Literary Theory and Criticism Conference held at John Jay College. She is also the recipient of the Office of Undergraduate Research Summer Internship Program. As one of only 5 awardees, Alexandra will receive a $3,000 research stipend. She will spend this summer working intensively with Prof. Rincon on a project entitled “Latinas/os and the Global War on Terror.” Jose Bernal is a graduate from John Jay who majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Latin American and Latina/o Studies. During his academic career, Jose
participated in the 2011 and 2012 Study Abroad Programs to the Dominican Republic with Professor Luis Barrios. While in the Dominican Republic, Jose began his research on the prison system of the Dominican Republic and human rights violations. Last spring, Jose presented his research at the Student Research and Creativity conference at John Jay College and did so again this spring when he presented on “State Crime and Human Sacrifice: The Narciso González ‘Assassination.’” Jose will be returning to John Jay in the fall 2013 semester to pursue his master’s degree.
What does poverty look like? What does it feel like to struggle daily for basic survival? These are some of the questions behind the recent student exhibit entitled the “End of Poverty.” The exhibit was part of an art and essay competition sponsored by the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS) and the John Jay College Department of Art and Music. Students were encouraged to submit artwork and an essay on creative answers to the following question: “The End of Poverty: what would it look like and how do we get there?” The competition drew submissions from across all CUNY schools, however, the two co-winners are not only John Jay students, but also active members of the La Voz newsletter and club. Josephine Chumpitaz and Yalitza Rodriguez both received a one-year appointment as ICIS Youth Representatives to the United Nations. The ICIS was initially created to promote interdisciplinary approaches to solving some of the most pressing social and global issues. As an affiliate of the United Nations, the ICIS organized the competition in response to one of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals that focused
on ending poverty. According to Bruce Cohen, an ICIS board member, the competition was designed to “explor[e] ideas and possible solutions elicited from students.” Mr. Cohen described how winning this competition will benefit Josephine and Yalitza: “ICIS is offering John Jay students Josephine and Yalitza the opportunity to be exposed to worlds beyond their experience, to walk the halls with diplomats, to view the activities of the UN more closely, to attend briefings and exchange new ideas with UN personnel and other youth representatives, and to explore opportunities to combine their education with a United Nations experience. Josephine Chumpitaz and Yalitza Rodriguez are gifted, dedicated, young women who have the potential to make important contributions to this world. We encourage them to take full value from their appointment as ICIS UN Youth Representatives, to hone their thinking, and take active, noble roles as thoughtful and productive world citizens.” In the next issue of La Voz, Josephine and Yalitza will describe their experiences as ICIS UN Youth Representatives.
LLS Faculty and Students in the News
Maricela Cano On April 24, 2013, the first Democratic Mayoral Debate was hosted in John Jay College and I had the opportunity to be one of the student speakers for the mayoral panel. It was truly a wonderful experience to be with one of the future mayors of New York and get a chance to exchange a couple of words with each candidate. As a Political Science major, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that gives you a small glimpse of what state politics look like. Overall, I was very grateful to be part of this event and to contribute to the Democratic Mayoral Debate.
Alejandro Madi with Mayor Julian Castro
On April 17, 2013, Professor Lisandro Pérez appeared on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry program as an expert panelist to discuss the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
Throughout the presidential election of 2012, Professor John Gutiérrez appeared as a political analyst for Univision 41-New York as well as Univision’s morning show Al Despertar.
On April 15th I had the honor of meeting Julian Castro, the Mayor of San Antonio. Mayor Castro was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, becoming the first Hispanic to be granted this very prestigious title. (President Obama was the 2004 DNC keynote speaker). I was fortunate to have been invited personally by Mayor Castro himself to attend a fundraising in his honor here in Midtown Manhattan. At the event I was able to speak to him about his tireless work in advocating for the passing of an immigration reform bill. We spoke about the role of a new breed of young Latinos that are emerging to become leaders of this ever growing community and how Texas is becoming a battleground state where Latinos already form a majority of the population. Overall, meeting with him offered me the opportunity to be able to connect to one of our most promising figures both as a national leader, but also as someone who can represent Latinos all across.
LLS Student Researchers Present their Work By Prof. Rincón This year the LLS department sponsored two special panels for the annual Celebrating Student Research and Creativity weeklong conference. The conference featured student research from across the disciplines providing students the chance to share their work with attentive audiences and to practice their potential roles as future researchers, public policy leaders, and professors. The LLS department was proud to be represented by students who shared work done in LLS classes and during the study abroad summer program in the Dominican Republic. On Tuesday, April 30, the New Research in Latin American and Latina/o Studies panel featured Maricela Cano who presented a blog she created on the topic of “Narco Culture: The Culture Behind Drug Dealers and Traffickers.” Maricela was followed by Antolina Garcia who analyzed two works of Latina/o literature in her talk entitled “Humanizing the Marginalized in Miguel Pinero’s Short Eyes and Judith Ortiz Cofer’s ‘The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica.’” Following Antolina, Marilyn Herrera provided a comprehensive description of how the Virgin of Guadalupe’s meaning has evolved over the centuries in a talk entitled “Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Symbol of Oppression and Liberty.” Finally, Alejandro Madi gave a detailed Power Point that explained his theory of the rise of neo-caudillismo and its detriment to democracy in a presentation entitled “Caudillismo and its Perils to Latin America.” The panelists answered questions from an enthused and interested audience of students and professors. Immediately afterward, the crowd moved to the atrium to view the poster session that featured two LLS student minors who created digital stories that focused on the violations of women’s human rights in Latin America. While Josephine Chumpitaz’s “Her Treaded Body: Delito de Función” discussed the pervasive violence against indigenous women in Peru, Katherine Lopez’s presentation on “The Criminalization of Abortion” undoubtedly outraged and inspired viewers to think carefully about women’s reproductive rights. On Thursday, May 2, Professors Luis Barrios and Hernando Estévez chaired a panel that featured the work of students who attended the 2012 summer study abroad trip to the Dominican Republic. The panelists presented research that ranged from the assassination of Narciso González to the militarization of the DominicanHaitian border. The panel included the following:
“Broken Dreams: The Deportation of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in the Dominican Republic” by Leslie Arias “State Crime and Human Sacrifice: The Narciso González ‘Assassination’” by Jose Bernal “Social Control: Militarizing the Dominican-Haitian Border” by Saleem Bradley “Hegemony Discourse: The Dominicanization of the Dominican-Haitian Border” by Margaret Farid “A Love that Kills: Femicide and Gender Violence in the Dominican Republic” by Janeiro Ferreira “One Day in the Notorious Prison ‘La Victoria’: Not so Infamous” by Mercedes Gonzalez “The Farewell” by Peter Jaquez “Solidaridad Fronteriza (Border Solidarity)” by Robyne Olive
Antolina Garcia
Marilyn Herrera
Alejandro Madi
Maricela Cano
Peter Jaquez Robyne Olive
Katherine Lopez (in middle) explaining her digital story on the criminalization of abortion to students Channel Cabrera and Dimo Koutsogiannopoulos
Margaret Farid
Janeiro Ferreira Jose Bernal
Mercedes Gonzalez Leslie Arias
Student presenters with Prof. Hernando Estévez
Faculty Accomplishments Dr. Isabel Martinez presented papers at various conferences during 2012-2013. In November 2012, she presented a paper titled “Bridges across Borders: Using technology to foster deeper understandings of diversity” at the 11th Annual CUNY Information Technology conference. In December 2012, she presented a paper titled “Ten Leave a Day: bracerito/as, Migration and Agency as part of the CUNY-BUAP Virtual Seminar Series. In March 2013, she presented a paper at the 2013 Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting on social reproduction in the lives of Mexican immigrant youth in New York City titled “Chutes and Ladders: How Mexican immigrant youth experience social reproduction.” She has also been awarded various grants this past year. She was a member of a planning team that was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Deutsche Bank of Americas Foundation to design an educational program that serves Mexican immigrant teenagers with incomplete schooling. She was also awarded a Traditional B Award from PSC-CUNY to extend her research on unaccompanied Mexican minors to include their experiences in detention shelters located in Texas and New York. Lastly, she was awarded a 2013-2014 Career Enhancement Fellowship by the Woodrow Wilson National Foundation to work on her manuscript tentatively titled “Making Transnational Workers from Youth: Mexican Teenagers in Search of the Mexican Dream. The 2012 election cycle was a busy one for Professor Gutiérrez. He not only provided on-air analysis of the 2012 Presidential Election for WXTV Univision Channel 41 in New York but also appeared or was quoted in other media including NY1
Noticias' "Pura Politica" and the New York Times. In addition, Professor Gutiérrez completed his doctoral dissertation at the CUNY Graduate Center entitled, "Disease, Empire and Modernity in the Caribbean: Tuberculosis in Cuba, 1899-1909." Most importantly, however, Professor Gutiérrez will be returning to our department in the fall as an Assistant Professor. In the fall of 2012, Suzanne Oboler’s article, “Direitos Humanos, dissidência e a construção da cidadania substantiva: os imigrantes latino/as) nos Estados Unidos” (“Human Rights, Dissent, and the Case for Substantive Citizenship: Latino/a Immigrants in the United States”) was published in the anthology, Direitos humanos em seus desafios contemporâneos, (“The Contemporary Challenges for Human Rights”) edited by Angela Randolpho Paiva, in Brazil. She also published “Citizenship”, a book chapter co-authored with Professor Belinda Rincón, in The Routledge Companion to Latino/a Literature, edited by Frances Aparicio and Suzanne Bost. This spring, Professor Oboler delivered a lecture and led a faculty and graduate student seminar on the subject of Latino/as and citizenship today, as part of Syracuse University’s 2012-2013 Ray Smith Symposium, “Moving Borders: The Culture and Politics of Displacement in and from Latin America and the Caribbean.” She also gave an invited lecture on Mexican Americans as “Disposable Strangers” at the University of Maryland, and participated as a panelist at the “International Conference on Global Racism” at the University of Kentucky. In March 2013, she delivered the Introductory Remarks for the First Biennial Latino/a Literary Theory and Criticism Conference, “Haciendo Caminos: Mapping the Futures of U.S. Latina/o Literatures,” organized by Professors Belinda Rincon and Richard Perez at John Jay College.
In July 2012, Prof. Rincón’s essay on “Chicano Literature and Folklore” was published in Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions, volume 1, edited by María Herrera-Sobek. In September, her chapter on “Citizenship,” co-written with Prof. Suzanne Oboler, was published in The Routledge Companion to Latina/o Literature, edited by Frances Aparicio and Suzanne Bost. Her review of Beyond El Barrio: Everyday Life in Latina/o America was also published in the Latino Studies journal. In November, she presented a paper entitled “Puerto Rican Soldiering and the Theater of War in Quiara Alegria Hudes’s Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2007)” at the American Studies Association annual conference in Puerto Rico. Prof. Rincón also organized and moderated a panel on “Reading Latina/o Literature in a Time of War” at the Modern Language Association convention in Boston in January 2013. In March, she gave the welcoming remarks at the 1st Biennial Latina/o Literary Theory and Criticism conference held at John Jay College. Prof. Rincón, along with her colleague Prof. Richard Perez, organized the conference, which brought together scholars on Latina/o literature from across the country. Additionally, Prof. Rincón and Prof. Perez created and will co-direct the new minor program in Latina/o Literature that is set to begin in the fall 2013 semester. Prof. Rincón has recently been awarded a 2013-2014 faculty fellowship from The Center for Place, Culture and Politics located at the CUNY Graduate Center. The fellowship provides two course releases and includes a weekly seminar organized around the themes of insurgencies, revolutions, and utopias. She has also won a PSCCUNY grant that she will use to purchase course release time and archival material for her research on Chicana anti-war activism during the U.S. War in Viet Nam.
Lisandro Pérez, Professor and LLS Department Chair, has presented this past year two papers from his research project on the Cuban presence in New York City during the
nineteenth century. The first paper, “A SocioDemographic Portrait of Cubans in New York City, 1870 and 1880,” was presented at the Twentieth Anniversary Conference of the Puerto Rican Studies Association, held at SUNY-Albany on October 25, 2012. The second paper was presented at the XXXI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in May 2013. The paper is entitled “Enduring Themes in the Cuban Presence in the United States, 1823-2010,” and is the first draft of the concluding chapter of his book manuscript, Cubans in Gotham: Exiles, Immigrants, and Revolutionaries in Nineteenth-Century New York. A paper presented at a conference last year has been submitted as an article for consideration by an academic journal published in Cuba. It is entitled: “La ruptura de 1868 y los orígenes de la intransigencia y la intolerancia en la cultura política de la emigración cubana.” Professor Pérez has initiated this year a collaborative research initiative with the Centro de Estudios Demográficos (CEDEM) of the Universidad de La Habana entitled “Origins and Destinations: A Joint Cuba-U.S. Project on Cuban Migration,” which seeks to examine Cuban emigration from both the places of origin and destination. Professor Antonio Aja Díaz, Director of the CEDEM and Professor Guillermo Grenier, of Florida International will be visiting the LLS Department this summer in connection with the project. In April, Professor Pérez was a guest of the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC, discussing the U.S. Cuban embargo. In June 2013, Professor Pérez’s blog, Cuban New Yorker, will mark the first anniversary of its creation. Cuban New Yorker is about Cuba, about New York, but mostly about the intersection of the two. As of May 6, 2013, Cuban New Yorker has 18 blog posts, all authored by Professor Pérez, attracting 9,524 views and 276 followers. Check it out: http://cubannewyorker.com/ Professor Brian Montes was once again honored with a Certificate of Appreciation from John Jay College of Criminal Justice for his guidance and encouragement of Dean’s List students. Professor Montes was also selected as a CUNY Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP) fellow, sponsored by the Office of the
Dean for Recruitment and Diversity, for the Spring semester of 2013 where he worked on three chapters of his book manuscript. Lastly, Professor Montes presented a paper titled “The Maya Apocalypse: Central or Standard Time” at the 2012 American Anthropological Association conference. This year I was on sabbatical license conducting research in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic on domestic violence and international human rights law. As a Scholar-inResidence at the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law San Juan, Puerto Rico while on Sabbatical License, I have conducted a comprehensive primary research study on domestic violence cases for my manuscript entitled Domestic Violence in Latin America: Implementing International Human Rights Law and Principles (to be published by the University of Pennsylvania Press Human Rights Series). I have studied the Puerto Rico Special Domestic Violence and Criminal Courts system, the alternative sentencing program for first time aggressors of domestic violence entitled "desvio" managed by the Department of Corrections. I am producing a summary report for the Puerto Rico Judiciary based on the research study findings. I have also assisted in the supervision of eight law students partaking in a law school seminar on Vulnerable Populations at InterAmerican University School of Law. I observe cases in Puerto Rico’s Special Domestic Violence and Criminal Courts, speak with judges about the cases observed, follow cases from their initial filings to trial, partake in interviews with attorneys who represent victims and defendants in special domestic violence cases, and observe the legal development of high profile domestic violence cases first hand. I have interviewed other governmental and non-governmental persons who work in the area of domestic violence. The court study includes the review of 114 domestic violence case files from cities across the islands of Puerto Rico, Culebra, and Vieques. I was invited by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) San Juan Office to assist as an academic consultant to a committee led by the Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro
Garcia Padilla’s cabinet aimed at reducing violence in public housing projects throughout Puerto Rico. I was invited as a Guest Lecturer and Researcher by the University of Puerto Rico Center for Labor Studies, Rio Piedras, to supervise undergraduate students participating in a Research Methods course on domestic violence investigations. We developed a research project aimed at correlating the impact of domestic violence on labor throughout Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Brazil. I serve as an Advisor to the ACLU-Puerto Rico’s Police Accountability on Gender Violence Project. I worked with the Dominican Republic government to present before the United Nations in New York on Violence Against Women and Girls in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Diaspora. This panel provided an overview of domestic violence in Latin American and the Caribbean and highlighted the countries of Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Because of this success, I was invited to present a similar panel at the Human Rights Commission 23 in Geneva on June 4, 2013. This panel will present an overview of domestic violence in Latin American and the Caribbean and highlighted the countries of Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Jamaica and possibly Haiti. My personal professional goal is that the United Nation panels I created contribute to the development of customary international human rights law in recognizing domestic violence, specifically intimate partner violence, as a human rights violation. In addition to making over 10 academic presentations during the 2012-‐2013 year, I have co-‐ written, with J. Rivera, “So You Want to Be a Lawyer. Puerto Ricans and their Journey into the Legal Profession: Overcoming Challenges,” which is forthcoming (summer 2013) in El Centro Journal for Puerto Rican Studies. I also contributed to the American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico National Chapter’s amicus curiae brief entitled AMICI BRIEF OF THE
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, AMERICANCIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF PUERTO RICO, MOVIMIENTO AMPLIO DE MUJERES DE PUERTO RICO, COORDINADORA PAZ PARA LA MUJER, THE LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS (CLADEM) PASOS DE LAS MUJERES, FEMINISTAS EN MARCHA, OPMT, TALLER SALUD, ET AL
A Special Farewell to Graduating LLS and La Voz Seniors The La Voz familia would like to commend the seniors of 2013 who are graduating with a minor in Latin American and Latina/o Studies or who are associated with La Voz. These individuals once started as freshman or transfer students at John Jay College, but each year progressed with new lessons learned. With boldness and grace under pressure, they eventually became leaders. These leaders illuminated the path to graduation and set examples for future leaders to follow. They have demonstrated how to be patient, to study, and to work hard. Overall they reached to the end of the path by staying focused but still open minded to new ideas. By minoring in LLS or taking LLS classes, they were educated about the Latino community. We are positive that they will go on to create a life they are proud of based on the lessons they have learned during their time at John Jay College. We wish them the best of luck! -- By Byron Martinez
I would like to thank the Latin American and Latina/o Studies Department for offering amazing leaders to guide, support, and most importantly believe in students like me and to help me obtain great opportunities such as internships and career advisement. As a soldier, I have always been told that the definition of a true leader is someone who sets the example, teaches, and mentors others. As a student, I can truly say that Dr. Belinda Rincon has not only fulfilled all the Sometimes we like to think that we never change who we are, that we learn new things but we always remain the same. I must say I was wrong when I enrolled at John Jay College, thinking I was just going to do Politics. Yet, somehow along the way I encountered a new passion for reconnecting with my roots. That’s when I discovered the Latin American and Latino Studies Department. Being a LLS minor provided me with an abundant and rich familia of professors and friends that helped me understand Latin America better. As a political scientist, I had a tendency of analyzing things through theories and numbers. But, when you take a LLS class, you discover a new form of analysis, one
characteristics of a remarkable leader, but also, Dr. Rincon inspires and influences students to accomplish their goals. As a winner of the 2013 Undergraduate Research Summer Internship award, it is an honor for me to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Rincon. Additionally, the Latin American and Latina/o Studies Department and Dr. Rincon have given me opportunities to explore my culture through literature and to understand my identity as an immigrant. As a senior, I thank the Latin American and Latina/o Studies Department for guiding me to a brighter future. In the next year I plan on becoming a Commissioned Officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, and I will continue my education by pursuing a master’s degree in Criminal Justice. --Alexandra Chacon that’s more humane and grounded in the realities of the Latino community. I began to comprehend better the long struggle for equality and respect that our ancestors either in Latin America or here in the U.S. have fought on our behalf. This is why in my years at John Jay College, I became a fellow at the Bilder Center for Western Hemisphere Studies and a fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation helping young men with criminal records to reenter our society. I became a leader within the United We Dream network, traveling across the country to raise awareness about immigration reform. I committed myself last year to register people to vote for the 2012 Presidential Election, getting more than 10,000 people to register. And this year I received the 2013 Malcolm X/ Dr. King Award as a recognition for my community activism. Indeed, I have much to thank the LLS department for all that it has given me. And as I continue on this road, I hope I can do as much as our ancestors did to continue helping the Latino community grow stronger and mightier. Hasta Luego! --Alejandro Madi
La Voz Editorial Board Elizabeth Calixto Shereef Hassan Marilyn Herrera Josephine Chumpitaz Maricela Cano Alejandro Madi Antolina Garcia Byron Martinez Andrea Velasquez Alexandra Chacon John Mazon Christopher Espinoza Belinda Rincón
Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Layout Editor Associate Editor of Latina/o Arts and Entertainment Associate Editor of Student and Faculty Events Associate Editor of “A Glance at Latin America” Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Faculty Advisor
If you are interested in joining the La Voz newsletter team, please contact Elizabeth Calixto ([email protected]) or Prof. Belinda Rincon ([email protected]).