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Recent Articles
Spiritual Vessels of a Sacred Treasure: Ritual Specialists of el Niño Fidencio
In the Río Bravo borderlands, there is a site of a thousand wonders.
The Martyrs of Louisiana
On the 18th of June 1842, in a doctor’s office on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, a French poet and playwright named Auguste Lussan died of a surgical operation meant to relieve yellow fever. The attending physician was Jean François Beugnot, a prominent doctor who had immigrated from France, and who would soon present and publish his approach to treatment of yellow fever in a regional medical journal, research which would later be recognized by Napoleon III with the award of the Legion of Honour.
A Review of Representing the Barrios: Culture, Politics, and Urban Policy in Twentieth Century Caracas
Rebecca Jarman, in her book, Representing the Barrios: Culture, Politics, and Urban Policy in Twentieth Century Caracas, explores the vibrancy and complexity of Caracas’s barrios. In Caracas, the term barrio refers to self-produced neighborhoods––usually defined as informal settlements––where communities self-organize the construction of their territory with no prior planning but through an incremental yet effective system of organization.
From Our Current Issue
Weaving Memory through Fashion: The Magical Genesis of Equihua
Growing up in California, I spent so much time gazing at the sky, often losing myself in its vastness.
Unsubmissive Images
Hemetério José dos Santos (1858-1939), a Black grammarian and teacher at Rio de Janeiro's most important schools suffered racist attacks in the press because of the way he dressed.
Transnational Fashion on the Frontier: Migration and Modernities in the Brazilian Amazon
When you think of fashion, you might not think of politics.
Spotlight
Perspectives in Times of Change
Check out these reflections on social, economic, cultural and political transformations in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latinx communities in the United States.
Reticulárea With a Bullfighter in the Background
His torso is nude, and he’s wrapped in his cape, posing with the grace of a matador, before the gaze of the photographer. They come from very different worlds and nevertheless manage to be accomplices in regards to the camera.
A Playground for International Spies: A Look at Mexico
Throughout contemporary history, Mexico has been a key global player because of its natural resources, economic weight, relative sway in international organizations, geography and, most important, its proximity to the United States.
Climate Crisis in the South of Brazil: A Foretold Catastrophe Amidst State Dismantling
The recent climate catastrophe in Porto Alegre and Rio Grande do Sul is a grim reminder of the urgent need to address the systemic dismantling of public structures. The neoliberal policies, fiscal austerity and the subsequent weakening of the state’s capacity have exacerbated the impact of extreme weather events, culminating in the devastating consequences of the floods of May 2024.
StudEnt Views
A Sea of Mud and Feelings: Bringing Visibility to the Tragedies of Mariana and Brumadinho
I still vividly remember, during my freshman year of high school, walking to the bus stop after school and seeing graffiti all over Belo Horizonte, with the message: Vale assassina (Vale [Mining Company] murderer).
Medical Hands-On in Mexico
English + Español
Every day at the lab was a learning adventure.
Biking the Cerro
English + Español
On Sundays in Santiago de Chile, Avenida Andrés Bello stops traffic between its intersection with the Costanera Center to Plaza Italia, allowing hundreds of people walking, biking, on rollerskates, on skateboards, their dogs on leashes before them, to travel along the otherwise car-clogged street.
Book ReviewS
A Review of Legacy of Lies: El Salvador 1981-1984
During most of the 1980s I lived in Managua, Nicaragua, as a photojournalist for Newsweek magazine. I had covered the 1979 Sandinista Revolution that sent shockwaves through Washington because Nicaragua “lost” a staunch ally against Communism. Central America had become the final battleground of the Cold War, and Washington was not about to lose another Vietnam.
A Review of The Weak and the Powerful: Omar Torrijos, Panama, and the Non-Aligned World
Omar Torrijos, military dictator of Panama, may be one of the most understudied leaders in modern Latin American history. After seizing power in 1968, he reshaped the country’s destiny, most notably by negotiating the transfer of the Panama Canal from U.S. to Panamanian control in 1977. Up until his sudden death in 1981, he also played an outsized role in inter-American affairs.
A Review of A New No-Man’s Land: Writing and Art at Guantánamo, Cuba
Guantánamo/GTMO: Cuba’s easternmost province, occupied territory, U.S. military base, prison, refuge, natural habitat, torture site, symbol, legal exception and geographical reference of the famous “Guajira guantanamera” song. Esther Whitfield’s book gathers an unprecedented cultural archive exploring many Guantánamos. It reveals how the stories we tell about Guantánamo—and just as importantly, the ones we do not—pattern a global, political experience of the present.
DRCLAS Podcast: Faculty Voices
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