The Latin American Business Environment Program of the

Center for Latin American Studies hosted the third Latin

American Business Symposium and Career Workshop on

January 26, 2007. Guest speakers from the private, public and

non–profit sectors shared their views on the Latin American business

environment and career prospects for students studying Latin

America.

The keynote speaker was Jay Brickman (UF 1964), Vice-President

of Crowley Maritime Corporation. Brickman heads Crowley's

Government Service programs, where he is responsible for

coordinating the company's service to Cuba. His address focused on

the prospects for U.S. businesses in Cuba.

Crowley Maritime Corporation is one of the oldest and largest

U.S.–owned shipping companies. In his presentation, titled “Long

Voyage to a Safe Harbor,” Brickman discussed the U.S. embargo on

trade with Cuba, its implications for Crowley and the entire shipping

industry, and the future of U.S.–Cuban relations.

The U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba was imposed in October 1960

after Fidel Castro's government expropriated a large number of

U.S.–owned properties on the island. In an attempt to isolate the island

economically and undermine the Castro regime, all imports from Cuba

were banned, as were most U.S. exports. In over 40 years, U.S. policy

towards Cuba has remained virtually unchanged, even though many

companies have complained that the embargo severely hampers U.S.

business to the benefit of foreign competitors.

Brickman explained that the embargo has severely restricted Crowley's

business opportunities by blocking access to the Caribbean's largest

economy. It has also caused logistical problems for the company. On any

given day, Crowley Maritime may have three or four liners transporting

goods to Latin America, but they must actively avoid Cuba.

While the embargo has been the centerpiece of U.S. policy for more

than four decades, there are signs that the policy may be easing. In 2000,

Congress passed an exception to the embargo allowing agricultural

exports to the island in the case of humanitarian assistance. Under the

auspices of this new exception, the Cuban government negotiated a

contract with Crowley to deliver goods to Havana beginning in April

2001. The initial shipment, however, never made it to the island. Without

an official explanation, the Cuban government cancelled the shipment

and the liner was forced to return to Florida without docking in Havana.

The event was seen as a major setback, but the company soon got a

second chance.

In 2001, Hurricane Michelle devastated Cuba and disaster relief efforts

led to the resumption of humanitarian exports to the island. On

December 16, 2001, after more than 40 years, a Crowley shipping liner

docked in Havana carrying $20 million in humanitarian supplies.

The humanitarian exception may have partially opened up the Cuban

market to shipping companies like Crowley, but Brickman made it clear

that shipments to Cuba are not easily carried out. The company must

obtain advance cash payments from the Cuban government before the

ship can leave a U.S. port. The process to make a single shipment can

take anywhere from weeks to months, but the effort can be financially

worth the wait. Trade between U.S. and Cuba has grown from $4 million

in 2001 to more than $558 million in 2006.

While profits are increasing for companies that export to Cuba,

Brickman explained that the embargo still prohibits many U.S.

companies from taking full advantage of business opportunities in Cuba.

The conditions imposed on U.S.–Cuban trade have caused the island to

LATINAMERICANISTthe

University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies | Volume 38, Number 1 | Spr./Summ. 2007

Jay BrickmanGives Address on Status of Trade with Cuba

Director’sCornerinside: p2 56th Conference

KeynoteAddress

p3 FacultyNews &Notes

p7 BacardiLectureSeries

p11

continued on page 6

� Crowley Maritime Corporation ship entering Havana in December 2001.

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Highlights of the 2007 Spring Semester were the Bacardi Family LectureSeries on The State of Latino Studies, the third Latin American BusinessSymposium and Career Workshop, and the Center’s 56th Annual Conference onthe theme of “Indigenous Peoples in Digital Cultures”.

Jorge Duany, Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department ofSociology and Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, held the Center’sBacardi Family Eminent Scholar in Latin American Studies chair this spring andcoordinated the Bacardi Family Lecture Series (see p. 11). The Lecture Seriesbrought four other distinguished Latino Studies scholars to campus for a publiclecture and to participate in a graduate seminar on Issues in Latino Studies. Dr.Duany also taught an undergraduate seminar on Latino Popular Culture.

The Center also conducted a search this spring for a Latino Studies social scientist to consolidate itsresearch and graduate training program on Latinos and Immigration. An offer has been made to anexcellent candidate and we hope he will be on board in January 2008.

The Latin American Business Symposium and Career Workshop brought a number of UF alumni backto campus to share their views on the Latin American business environment and to advise students oncareers focused on Latin America in business, government, and the non-profit sector. The keynote,delivered by alumnus Jay Brickman, is featured in this issue (see front cover).

The Center’s 56th Annual Conference brought together a diverse set of scholars, practitioners, andindigenous leaders to discuss the role of technology in the preservation of indigenous language andculture. The conference also served to spotlight the Center’s U.S. Department of Education TitleVI–funded project on Aymara on the internet, an interdisciplinary effort to preserve Aymara languageand culture. We were delighted to host the Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S., Gustavo Guzmán Saldaña,as the opening keynote speaker (see p. 3).

Other guest lecturers this spring included Rafael Hernández, Senior Research Fellow at the Centrode Investigación y Desarrollo de la Cultura Cubana, (see p. 4) and Nora England (UF PhD, Anthropology1975), Professor of Linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. The LAS Colloquium Series includedspecial presentations by Visiting Scholar, Nana Wilson–Tagoe of the University of London, and politicalscientist Steve Morris of the University of Southern Alabama, in addition to those by the Center’s affiliate faculty.

The Center for Latin American Studies this spring awarded a record $767,500 ($589,365 in externalfunding) in graduate fellowships and summer research grants. Thirty–six students received summerresearch grants to conduct research in 14 countries, funded by a grant from The Tinker Foundation andendowment income. Eight students were awarded Title VI FLAS academic year fellowships to studyPortuguese or Haitian Creole, while seven UF students received FLAS summer fellowships to studyPortuguese and Yucatec Maya. TCD is supporting 19 students with AY fellowships in 2007–08. We arepleased that the Center can continue to support graduate students from across the campus in theirstudies of Latin America, the Caribbean and Latinos in the U.S.

Director’s Corner

Dr. Carmen Diana Deere

Center–Based Faculty and

Professional Staff

Carmen Diana Deere Director

Hannah Covert Executive Director

Efraín Barradas (LAS/RLL)

Richmond Brown Associate Director,

Academic Programs

Emilio M. Bruna (LAS/WEC)

Jonathan Dain (LAS/SNRE)

Meredith Fensom (LAS/Law)

Karen Kainer (LAS/SFRC)

Sue Legg Research Director, PGL

Elizabeth Lowe Associate Director,

Distance Learning & Program Development

Ana Margheritis (LAS/Political Science)

Terry McCoy (LAS/Political Science)

Mary Risner Outreach Coordinator &

Assistant Director, LABEP

Janet Bente Romero Associate Director of

Development, UFF

Patricia Delamônica Sampaio Program

Coordinator

Marianne Schmink (LAS/Anthropology)

J. Richard Stepp (LAS/Anthropology)

Welson Tremura (LAS/Music)

Pilar Useche (LAS/FRE)

Menno Vellinga (LAS)

Charles H. Wood (LAS/Sociology)1 Jay Brickman Addresses Trade with Cuba

3 2007 Annual Conference, Safa Endowment

4 Hernández Lecture

5 Study Abroad, Jacaré Brazil

6 TCD Project

7 Faculty News and Notes

9 Recent Faculty Books

10 2007 Bacardi Scholar

11 Bacardi Family Lecture Series 2007, FLAS

12 Field Research Poster Competition

13 Outreach News

14 Summer Research Grant Recipients

15 MALAS Graduates 2006–07

16 Undergraduate Minors, Certificates

17 International Business Study Tour

18 Alumni News and Notes

19 Thanks to Donors, Giving to Center

20 2008 Annual Conference

LATINAMERICANISTthe

Volume 38, Number 1Spring/Summer 2007

Center for Latin American Studies

319 Grinter Hall

PO Box 115530

Gainesville, FL 32611-5530

352-392-0375

www.latam.ufl.edu

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SPRING/SUMMER 2007 3

Gustavo Guzmán Saldaña, Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S.,

delivered the opening keynote address at the Center's 56th

Annual Conference on Indigenous Peoples in Digital Cultures,

February 14, 2007. Appointed by President Evo Morales in September

2006, Guzmán, a former journalist, arrived in Washington, DC with a

long–standing commitment to social justice, but with no prior

diplomatic experience. His keynote address, entitled “The Indigenous

Majority and the New Politics in Bolivia,” focused on the pervasive social

exclusion that divides Bolivia and the Morales administration's efforts to

surmount it.

Guzmán noted that it is difficult to refer to Bolivia as a “community of

citizens” since the country has systematically denied full citizenship to

the indigenous population that composes nearly two-thirds of the

country's total population. This exclusion is evident in the statistics:

approximately 60 percent of Bolivians live in poverty and nearly

two–thirds of those living in poverty are indigenous. Contemporary

digital culture in Bolivia reinforces this social exclusion by providing

unequal access to information technology. Approximately a quarter of

Bolivians report having used the internet at least once. Of those who use

the internet, most are young and come from upper class, urban

backgrounds. More than half of Bolivians who have never used the

internet expressed interest in trying it, but do not know how or where to

access it.

Admittedly, these questions have no simple answers. Guzmán,

however, outlined the Morales administration's general strategies for

alleviating poverty and creating a Bolivian society in which all of its

citizens can more fully participate. According to Guzmán, through fiscal

reform, comprehensive agrarian reform, and the nationalization of the

gas, petroleum, and hydrocarbon industries, Bolivia is creating more

financial and social stability for its citizens and is forging its own path of

development. He further noted that Bolivia's nationalization program is

characterized by a flexibility that distinguishes it from other “classic”

cases of nationalization. The Morales administration has launched the

first government–funded national information technology literacy

program in Bolivia's history. Such programs make it possible for

Bolivians to be, as Guzmán noted, at once “indigenous and modern.”

Concluding on a hopeful note, Guzmán observed that Latin America

is undergoing a second transformation from democratization toward

equality. While the fight against social exclusion will ultimately

determine the vitality and success of this transformation, Guzmán is

confident that Bolivia is headed in the right direction. He added that the

election of Morales as Bolivia's first indigenous president symbolizes the

emergence of a new Bolivia that recognizes and affirms its indigenous

roots.

—Contributed by Molly Dondero, MALAS student

To view Ambassador Guzmán’s keynote address, please visit:

http://56conference.latam.ufl.edu/video.asp

FACULTY

Bolivian Ambassador to U.S. Delivers56th Annual Conference Keynote Address

� Gustavo Guzmán Saldaña (far left) Bolivian Ambassador to theU.S., Dennis Jett (UFIC) and Elizabeth Lowe (LAS) during theopening of the Center’s 56th Annual Conference in February 2007.

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Dr. Helen I. Safa, Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Latin

American Studies, has made a gift of $50,000 to the Center for

Latin American Studies to create the Safa Graduate Student Travel

Endowment fund. Income from the fund will provide travel grants for

UF graduate students affiliated with the Center to present papers at the

international congresses of the Latin American Studies Association

(LASA), the largest international association of professional

Latinamericanists.

Dr. Safa was Director of the Center for Latin American Studies from

1980–85 and President of LASA from 1983–84. At the event recognizing

her gift on January 29, 2007, she said she had been thinking of giving an

endowment for some time and knew it had to benefit both the Center

and LASA. “I have not missed a LASA Congress since I started going in

the 1970s, when I was first elected to the Executive Council. During this

time LASA has grown in membership to 6,000, nearly half of whom are

Latin Americans, and has become a vital source of exchange, knowledge

and friendships.”

The Center held the

first Safa Fund

competition this

spring for students

presenting papers at

the September 2007

LASA congress in

Montreal. Five

students (from RLL,

SNRE, Law and

Anthropology) were

awarded travel grants.

Helen Safa Endows GraduateStudent Travel Fund

� Carmen Diana Deere honors Helen Safa for thecreation of the Safa Graduate Student TravelEndowment Fund in January 2007.

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4 THE LATINAMERICANIST

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Rafael Hernándezon Civil Society in U.S.–Cuban Relations

Rafael Hernández, the John F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin

American Studies at Harvard University in fall 2006, and Senior

Research Fellow at the Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la

Cultura Cubana “Juan Marinello” in Havana, presented a lecture at UF

on “Civil Society in U.S.–Cuban Relations” in January 2007. Hernández

has held numerous teaching positions in Cuba, Mexico and the United

States and is editor of the Cuban social sciences and humanities

periodical, TEMAS.

The focus of the lecture was the way in which civil societies in Cuba

and the U.S. have enriched bilateral relations, in spite of the lack of

diplomatic and political relations between the two countries. According

to Hernández, Cuban civil society is considered by many to be a

“non–subject.” In the analysis of most countries, the components of civil

society are complex and nearly multitudinous, including NGOs, public

and private universities, private business, the media, etc. Cuba’s civil

society, by contrast, is usually perceived in the U.S. to be exclusively

focused around political opposition; most analysts fail to take into

account the nuances.

Ironically, in an effort to highlight the actions of Cuban dissident

groups, the U.S. government may actually hinder the development of a

broader civil debate in Cuba on the course of the country by

stigmatizing certain words and phrases. According to Hernández, terms

such as “human rights” and “transition” are likely to “become identified

with the U.S. and are taboo terms…there is an interference that limits

debate.”

While in the past Cuban civil society was less heterogeneous, the

1990s saw a dramatic increase in diverse views that are now being openly

expressed. Acknowledging the fact that government media outlets such

as television and newspapers carry only official views, Hernández

emphasized that radio and especially academia have become the

preferred channels for disagreement and debate. Periodicals such as

Caminos, Contracorriente, Cultura y Desarrollo, Revolución y Cultura, and

Islas are all examples of forums for public discussion and disagreement.

Other major players in Cuban civil society are religious organizations,

including, but not limited to the Catholic Church. Afro–Cuban religious

organizations and Protestant churches also foment this type of civic

development.

This is not to say that Cuban leadership is being directly criticized,

rather that spaces for discussion are beginning to open. Among the most

hotly debated topics are history (especially the era of La República from

1902–1958); gender and youth studies; the sociology of religion; race

(including discrimination and prejudice); Cuban culture in the Cuban

Diaspora; the crisis of values in terms of ethics, morals, politics, and

ideology; the role of the media; social diversity and inequality; the

environment; and popular participation, including notions of

democracy.

Art, literature, and cinema have been especially instrumental in

approaching previously taboo topics. These include ideological

disenchantment, racial discrimination, sexual orientation, the impact of

dollarization, low and high–level government corruption, the impact of

tourism, and migration wherein those choosing to leave Cuba are less

and less referred to as gusanos or other equally derogatory terms.

Hernández concluded by highlighting recent developments in bilateral

relations. Little has changed on the governmental level; both sides

continue to largely ignore each other and there appears to be little hope

of reconciliation. On the civil society level, however, the connections are

stronger and more prolific. These include academic connections, Cuban

artists visiting the U.S., U.S. businesses trading with Cuba under specific

licensing agreements (mostly agribusiness), religious organizations

including Catholics, Protestants and Jews, athletic connections

(baseball), music (hip hop), and medicine (especially tropical disease

studies). Hernández described these connections as “a meta–diplomatic

channel” between the two countries that may one day provide the basis

for improved relations.

During the question and answer period, Hernández elaborated on two

notable exceptions to the lack of official U.S.–Cuban dialogue. These are

the 1994 immigration agreement following the balseros crisis and

subsequent informal military cooperation (especially between the coast

guards) on drug interdiction and migration issues.

Hernández offered a fresh view of Cuban civil society that is virtually

an untold story in the U.S. His lecture provided a glimpse of Cuba often

hidden from view by U.S. government policy and the media. Moreover,

he offered evidence that despite the apparent lack of relations between

the two governments, a glimmer of hope exists for continued

improvement in relations in the years to come, although perhaps not

through the traditional diplomatic channels one would expect.

—Contributed by Jacob Schultz, MALAS student

� Rafael Hernández speaks on Cuban civil society in January 2007.

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FALL/WINTER 2006 5

FACULTY

Study abroad, whether through short–term study tours or longer term

semester or academic year programs, is an important component of

language and area studies training. UF is ranked sixth in the nation in

the total number of students it sends abroad (1,805 students in AY

04–05), but its numbers on a per capita basis are quite low, not even

ranking in the top 20 nationwide.

In AY 05-06, 251 UF students studied in Latin America. Of these

students, 87% studied on summer programs or short–term study tours,

while only 13% (31 students) studied abroad for a semester or academic

year. These numbers are weak considering the size of UF's under–

graduate population, its strength in Latin American Studies, and

Florida's geographic and cultural proximity to Latin America. Of

particular concern is the fact that UF does not sponsor any of its own

semester–length study abroad programs in Latin America, apart from a

few reciprocal exchanges. Semester–length

programs provide the language and cultural

immersion necessary to achieve foreign language

fluency.

In Fall 2006, the Center convened a Latin

American Linkages Task Force, composed of ten

affiliate faculty from five colleges, to assess the

study abroad issue. The task force's mission was to

prioritize the countries and institutions most

suitable for semester–length study abroad

programs for undergraduates. The task force

recommended that the Center look into starting

semester–length study abroad programs in Costa

Rica or Mexico, or both, and that it explore the

possibility of affiliating with existing U.S.

university study abroad programs in the Andean

region and the Southern Cone.

The task force also recommended that marketing and advising plans

should be implemented to ensure that students incorporate study abroad

from the very beginning of their undergraduate careers. Work is

underway to implement the task force’s recommendations.

Despite the somewhat negative news about study abroad to Latin

America, UF's Latinamericanist faculty remain active in developing

linkages with Latin American universities for cooperative research

purposes and reciprocal student exchange. Following is a list of linkages

that were recently developed or are under development. Please let us

know if we have left any new initiatives off the list. Current reciprocal

exchange and study abroad programs are listed on page 14.

—Contributed by Hannah Covert, Executive Director, LAS

Study Abroad and Institutional Linkages in Latin America

Latin American University Country Faculty Contact Person

Universidade Federal do Amazonas Brazil Marianne Schmink (LAS)

Universidade de Passo Fundo Brazil Clyde Fraisse (ABE)

Universidad Austral de Chile Chile Francisco Escobedo (SFRC)

Universidad de Costa Rica Costa Rica Hannah Covert (LAS)

FLACSO Ecuador Hannah Covert (LAS)

Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán Mexico Sharleen Simpson (Nursing)

Pontifíca Universidad Católica del Perú Peru Hannah Covert (LAS)

The UF Centers for World Arts, Latin

American Studies, and African Studies

co–sponsored a magical concert by Jacaré

Brazil and Agbedidi Jeliya on April 7, 2007.

Joining the Agbedidi Jeliya ensemble as

visiting artists were Cheick Diabate,

Abdoulaye Diabate, Tasana Camara, and

Abou Sylla.

During the first half of the program, Jacaré

Brazil, co–directed by Larry Crook (Music)

and Welson Tremura (LAS/Music),

performed a wide variety of traditional and

popular Brazilian music. Their repertoire

combined guitar, choro (Brazilian genre),

vocal, and percussion ensembles, with the

participation of two faculty vocalists:

Anthony Offerle and Elizabeth Graham.

The second half of the program featured

Agbedidi Jeliya, UF’s West African ensemble

led by Abou Sylla, a master balafon

(xylophone) player. The program was based

on the epic story of Sundjata, a 13th–century

hunter–warrior king of the Great Mali

Empire, and the role of the Jeli musicians in

Mande culture. Three very talented musicians

accompanied Agbedidi Jeliya, all of whom

hail from families of griots, musicians who

have traditionally been the historians and

culture–bearers of the Mande. Abdulaye

Diabate accompanied the group on guitar,

while Cheick Diabate and Tasana Camara

added their talents on n’goni (a string

instrument) and the bass balafon. The

combination of Brazilian and African music

resulted in a memorable night.

—Contributed by Welson Tremura, AssistantProfessor, LAS/Music

� Jacaré Brazil and Agbedidi Jeliya concert in April 2007.

Jacaré Brazil and Agbedidi JeliyaSpring 2007 Concert

ERIC

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New Initiatives

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 5

The Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD) at

the Center for Latin American Studies received a three–year grant

(2003-06) from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

Foundation to develop a training and capacity–building program in

community–based conservation for organizations working in and

around protected areas of Ecuador and Colombia. The program sought

to improve the skills and knowledge of individuals and organizations

from both countries, who work in community–based conservation

efforts, to allow for more effective responses to biodiversity threats.

Elena Bastidas (UF 2001) was director of the program. Two TCD

graduate students from Colombia, Omaira Bolaños (Anthropology) and

Diana Alvira (SNRE), played major roles in developing and coordinating

the program. Hannah Covert (TCD), Jonathan Dain (TCD/SNRE),

Marta Hartmann (Agricultural Education and Communication), Karen

Kainer (TCD/SFRC), and Marianne Schmink (TCD) served on UF’s

faculty advisory committee.

Two non–governmental organizations from Ecuador participated in

the program, Corporación Grupo Randi Randi and Fundación

EcoCiencia. In Colombia, TCD linked with eight organizations, mainly

from the state of Valle del Cauca. They were the Asociación de

Campesinos de la Cuena del Río Desbaratado, Funecorobles, Fundación

Trópico, Fundaminga, Fundación Vida y Ambiente para el Futuro,

Corporación Autónoma Regional del Valle del Cauca, Fundación

Eco–Andina, and Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt. Both the

Ecuadorian and Colombian organizations have extensive field

experience working with communities.

The capacity building program encompassed a continual flow of

activities that were collaboratively planned with the partners. Two

learning cycles were completed, each of which included concept and

skills training workshops, local meetings, and networking. Each cycle

concluded with an analysis and reflection workshop that provided

opportunities to reflect on collective learning experiences and to develop

conceptual understanding. The themes of both learning cycles were

jointly decided with partner organizations during the needs assessment

and planning phase of the project. The first learning cycle focused on

governance, while the second learning cycle dealt with protected area

management, social cartography, and gender and the environment. All

activities were carried out in Ecuador and Colombia.

During the three years of the project, eight workshops were conducted

that intensively trained a core group of 20 participants from the ten

organizations. A series of case studies, currently being written by the

participants, will discuss field experiences in relation to the concepts and

themes covered in the training program. Also, Diana Alvira developed

her dissertation research on the biophysical and socioeconomic values of

forest areas near protected areas in northeast Ecuador within the

framework of the project. In an effort to strengthen links and networks

among people and organizations working in biodiversity conservation in

Ecuador and Colombia, two networks or loosely–based consortia were

created as a result of the project: the Red ECCOUF

(Ecuador–Colombia–University of Florida), including all of the

participating organizations, and the Eco–Red Colombia, formed by the

Colombian organizations.

A series of monitoring and evaluation tools were used throughout the

three years to track the progress of the project and to learn from the

dynamics of the learning process. Overall, the project significantly

exceeded its objectives to improve technical content, build skills, and

foster institutional exchanges on community based conservation. The

diversity among participants was an important source of creativity and

learning that stimulated people to reflect on different perspectives and,

perhaps most importantly, their own views and behaviors. This was a

powerful opportunity to use differences as a conscious part of the

learning strategy, and to test and negotiate concepts and applications of

complex understandings of conservation and development. A welcome

outgrowth of the program was the solidarity, trust and friendship

developed among members of the network.

—Contributed by Hannah Covert, Executive Director, LAS

6 THE LATINAMERICANIST

FACULTY

TCD Project:Capacity Building for Community–Based Conservation in Ecuador andColombia

� Members of Ecuador–Colombia–University of Florida Network (Red ECCOUF)at a training workshop in Colombia.

Continued from front cover ...Cuba Tradedivert more than $300 million in potential U.S. sales to foreign suppliers

in Europe and Asia. In Brickman's opinion, this trade diversion is

evidence of the need to rethink the embargo.

—Contributed by Mary Mitchell, MALAS Student

Jay Brickman graduated summa cum laude from UF with a BA in

Economics and a Certificate in Latin American Studies. He earned a MA

in International Economics and Latin American Affairs from the School

of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. He

has been employed by Crowley Maritime Corporation for over 30 years,

holding various positions throughout the region. Details about the 2007

Latin American Business Symposium and links to Brickman's

presentation are available at: http://www.latam.ufl.edu/labe/events.html.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 6

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 7

Alex Alberro (Art/Art History), MilagrosPeña (Sociology/Women’s Studies & Gender

Research), and Jane Southworth (Geography)

have been selected as UF Research Foundation

Professors for 2007–10, based on their strong

research agendas that will lead to continuing

distinction in their fields. The three–year award

includes a $5,000 annual salary supplement

and a one–time $3,000 grant.

Leslie Anderson (Political Science) received

a Fulbright Fellowship for research in

Argentina, where she will be affiliated with the

University of Buenos Aires.

Álvaro Félix Bolaños (RLL) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Latinos, European Subjects, and Hispanic

Studies” at the Modern Language Association

Convention in Philadelphia in December 2006.

He also delivered an invited paper on

“Hispanism's Urgency and the

Homogenization of Indigenous Cultural

Diversity” at the Reflections on Empire: Latin

American Depictions of Colonization through

History, Literature and Cinema Symposium at

Georgia State University in Atlanta in March

2007.

Emilio Bruna (LAS/WEC) Among several

co–authors, received the 2007 Biotropica Award

for Excellence in Tropical Biology and

Conservation for the paper “Roads Alter the

Colonization Dynamics of a Keystone

Herbivore in Neotropical Savannas”.

(Biotropica 38 (5): 661-665, 2006). He also

delivered an invited paper on “Plant

Demography in Fragmented Landscapes” at

the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da

Amazônia in Manaus, Brazil in January 2007.

Larry Cook (Music) received a LAS Faculty

Travel Grant to present the paper “The

Brazilian Pandeiro and the Aesthetics of

Cultural Mediation” at the 51st Annual Society

for Ethnomusicology Conference in Honolulu

in November 2006.

Carmen Diana Deere (LAS) and MagdalenaLeón (National University of Colombia) were

awarded the James A. Robertson prize by the

Conference of Latin American History at the

January 2006 meetings of the American

Historical Association for the best article

“Liberalism and Married Women’s Property

Rights in Nineteenth–Century Latin America”

appearing in the Hispanic American Historical

Review during 2005.

Susan deFrance (Anthropology) received a

LAS Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Guinea Pigs as Elite Fare in Southern Peru:

Past and Modern” at the 2006 American

Anthropological Association Annual Meeting

in San José, California in November 2006.

Francisco Escobedo (SFRC) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to develop a linkage with

the Universidad Austral de Chile in urban and

community forestry in Valdivia, Chile in

January 2007.

Clyde Fraisse (Agricultural and Biological

Engineering) received a LAS Faculty Travel

Grant to develop a linkage with the Agronomy

Department at the Universidade de Passo

Fundo in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in

December 2006.

Clarence Gravlee (Anthropology) received a

LAS Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Meaning, Social Structure, and Individual

Well–Being in Puerto Rico” at the American

Anthropological Association Annual Meeting

in San José, California in November 2006.

Mirian Medina Hay–Roe (FLMNH) received

a LAS Faculty Travel Grant to present the

paper “Ecological and Behavioral Studies in

Heliconius Butterflies” at the Conference of

Neotropical Lepidoptera at the Smithsonian

Tropical Research Institute in Panama City,

Panama in May 2007.

Michael Heckenberger (Anthropology)

received a LAS Faculty Travel Grant to present

the paper “Amazonian Natures: the Body, the

Land, and the Spaces in Between” at the

Society for the Anthropology of Lowland

South America (SALSA) meetings in Santa Fé,

New Mexico in January 2007.

Reynaldo Jiménez (RLL) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Memoria y afirmación: El sujeto decentrado

en la narrativa de Mireya Robles y Zoe Valdes”

at the International Conference on Caribbean

Studies in South Padre Island, Texas in

November 2006.

Karen Kainer (LAS/SFRC) served as a

research consultant for “The Shape of Water,” a

2006 award–winning film documentary by

Kum–Kum Bhavnani, about enterprising

women who have proactively confronted

destructive development in the Third World.

Martha Kohen (Architecture) designed the

“Memorial de Recordacíon de los Detenidos

Desparecidos Palabras Verdaderas” in

Montevideo, Uruguay, which was featured in a

documentary by Ricardo Casas about Mario

Benedetti in 2006.

Elizabeth Lowe (LAS) and Terry McCoy(LAS/Political Science) received the “Jon Mills

Award for Significant Contributions to

Relations between Florida and the Americas”

from the UF Levin College of Law for helping

to expand international programs of the Law

School in Latin America, particularly Brazil.

Elizabeth Lowe (LAS) guided a translation

reading and discussion of an excerpt from

Brazilian novelist Regina Rheda's new novel “O

Livro que Vende” (“Bestseller”) at the

American Literary Translators’ Association

conference in Seattle in October 2006.

Joseli Macedo (Urban and Regional

Planning) presented a paper on “The Role of

Urban Design in Downtown Revitalization:

The Centro Vivo Initiative” at the World

Planning Schools Congress in Mexico City,

Mexico in July 2006. She also received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to develop new linkages

for UF’s Urban Planning Study Abroad

Program during summer 2007.

Maxine Margolis (Anthropology) received a

LAS Faculty Travel Grant to chair the

Membership Committee meeting at the

Brazilian Studies Association Congress in

Nashville in October 2006.

Belio Martínez (Public Relations) presented

an invited paper on “Emerging Cultural

Paradigms in Public Relations Strategies for

Social Change” at the 1st International

Faculty News and Notes

Faculty News and Notes continued on page 8.

FACULTY

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 7

8 THE LATINAMERICANIST

FACULTY

Affiliate Faculty

Food & Resource EconomicsEdward Evans (Caribbean)

Wildlife Ecology and ConservationJohn Hayes (Central America, Mexico)

Joint Faculty

Food & Resource Economics/LASPilar Useche (Colombia, Central America)

Support Staff

Debbie Pastrana–RodriguezGrants Assistant

Visitors

Janette Bulkan (Guyana)Moore Visiting Fellow

Pedro Constantino (Brazil)Moore Visiting Fellow

Roselia Marques Lopes (Brazil)Moore Visiting Faculty

Francisco C. da S. Cavalcanti (Brazil)Moore Visiting Faculty

Nana Wilson–Tagoe (Ghana/United Kingdom)Visiting Scholar

Welcome New Center Affiliates, Staff and Visitors!

Faculty News and Notes continued from page 7.

Congress on Strategic Communication for

Social Change in Medellín, Colombia in

October 2006.

Anthony Oliver–Smith (Anthropology)

received a 2006–07 Doctoral Mentoring Award

from the UF Graduate School. He received a

$3000 cash award plus $1000 to support his

graduate students in spring 2007.

Alfonso Pérez–Méndez (Architecture)

received a LAS Faculty Travel Grant to conduct

research at the Paul Lester Wiener Collection at

the University of Oregon in Eugene in April

2007.

Charles Perrone (RLL) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Stages of the World: Polylingual Play in

Caetano Cantor” at the Brazilian Studies

Association Congress in Nashville in October

2006.

Marianne Schmink (LAS) was one of seven

Latinamericanists to be recognized among the

52 faculty members honored at the Provost’s

first Faculty Achievement Recognition

Reception in April 2007. The Center–based

faculty member and TCD Director was

recognized for “her major external research

awards, for continually receiving extramural

grant funding from significant grantors, for

training hundreds of graduate students, and for

making a substantial contribution to the

University’s stated goals of excellence in

interdisciplinary research and graduate

training.” Also honored were LAS affiliate

faculty members Dolores Albarracín(Psychology), Michael Binford (Geography),

Joan Frosch (Theatre and Dance), P.K. Nair(SFRC), Thomas Oakland (Educational

Psychology), and Stephen G. Perz (Sociology).

Nigel Smith (Geography) co–authored with

Walter Wust, one of Peru’s leading

environmentalists and photographers, “Hijos

de la Lluvia” (“Children of the Rain”), a

full–color, large format “coffee table” book on

people and lifeways in the Peruvian Amazon.

Martin Sorbille (RLL) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to present a paper on

“Freud en Echeverría: El Mito de la Muerte del

Padre” at the VI Congreso Internacional de

Literatura Hispánica in Mexico in March 2007.

He also presented a paper on “El Matadero:

Hegel y la Construcción del Mito del Unitario”

at the 88th Annual Conference of the American

Association of Teachers of Spanish and

Portuguese (AATSP) in Salamanca, Spain in

June 2006. He presented the paper “Hegel en

Echeverría: El Concepto del Amo y Esclavo en

El matadero” at the Congreso Internacional

Palabras y Ideas, Idas y Vueltas: Las Relaciones

Culturales y Lingüísticas entre Europa y

América Latina at the Instituto Internacional

de Literatura Iberoamericana (IILI), in Genoa,

Italy in June 2006.

Rick Stepp (LAS/Anthropology) presented

an invited paper on “Kaua'i Declaration:

Ethnobotany is the Science of Survival” at a

workshop at the National Tropical Botanical

Garden, in Kaua'I, Hawaii in January 2007.

Mark Thurner (History) received a LAS

Faculty Travel Grant to present the paper

“Jaulas de Cristal: Museos de Antropología e

Historia en el Mundo Hispánico,” at the

Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de

Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid, Spain in

October 2006.

Welson Tremura (LAS/Music) presented a

paper on “The Tradition of the Bumbás in

Parintins” at Valencia Community College in

Orlando in March 2007.

Philip Williams (Political Science) and

Manuel Vásquez (Religion) received a $450,000

grant from the Ford Foundation to support a

three year study entitled “Latin American

Immigrants in the New South: Religion and the

Politics of Encounter” in January 2007.

Álvaro Félix Bolaños, Associate

Professor of Spanish, passed away unexpectedly

on May 14, 2007. Félix was born in Colombia

and before migrating to the U.S., he obtained a

Licenciatura en Letras at the Universidad del

Valle. His M.A. and Ph.D. were from the

University of Kentucky. After teaching for a

semester at the Universidad de los Andes in

Bogotá, he joined the faculty of the

Department of RLL at the University of Florida

in 1998. He previously taught at Tulane

University. His specialty was colonial Latin

American literature and culture. Félix was a

much respected colleague and friend of LAS.

He was a loving father, husband and brother,

and will be missed by many.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 8

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 9

FACULTY

� Efraín Barradas Ediciones Huracán, San Juan, 2007

Mente, Mirada, Mano: Visiones y Revisiones de La Obra de Lorenzo Homar.

This collection of essays by several authors examines the work of Lorenzo Homar (1913–2004), the father of

Puerto Rican printmaking and a major figure in 20th century Latin American arts. Homar’s

contributions to Puerto Rican arts are immense, but they have never been looked at and placed in a proper

historical and aesthetic framework. Barradas proposes the need for a new critical perspective of his work.

� Juliana Barr University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2007

Peace Came in the Form of a Woman: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands.

Revising the standard narrative of European–Indian relations in America, Juliana Barr reconstructs a world in

which Indians were the dominant power and Europeans were the ones forced to accommodate, resist, and perse-

vere. She demonstrates that between the 1690s and 1780s, Indian peoples including Caddos, Apaches, Payayas,

Karankawas, Wichitas, and Comanches formed relationships with Spaniards in Texas that refuted European claims

of imperial control.

� Orlando R. Kelm and Mary E. Risner University of Texas Press, Austin, 2007

Brazilians Working with Americans: Cultural Case Studies (Brasileiros que trabalham com americanos: Estudos de casos culturais) .

The book presents ten short case studies that effectively illustrate many of the cultural factors that come into play when

North American business professionals work in Brazil. A list of topics and questions for discussion also help draw out the

lessons of each business situation. To make the book equally useful to Brazilians and Americans (whether business people

or language students), the entire text is presented in both English and Portuguese.

Recent Faculty Books

� Milagros Peña Duke University Press, Durham, 2007

Latina Activists across Borders: Women's Grassroots Organizing in Mexico and Texas.

“Latina Activists across Borders is a significant contribution to research on gender and grassroots social movements.

Milagros Peña's analysis of the tensions between faith–based organizing, different types of feminisms, and class–centered

‘popular’ social movements challenges historical paradigms of women's grassroots activism. And her narratives of women

self–consciously developing gendered senses of self are remarkable illustrations of the ways feminism and spiritual agency

interact on both sides of the border.”

—Denise A. Segura, coeditor of Women and Migration in the U.S.–Mexico Borderlands: A Reader.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 9

10 THE LATINAMERICANIST

FACULTY

Interview with 2007 Bacardi Family Eminent Scholar:Jorge Duany

Jorge Duany, Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Sociology and

Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, held the Center of Latin American

Studies’ Bacardi Family Eminent Scholar chair during the spring 2007 semester. As the Bacardi

Scholar, Dr. Duany taught graduate and undergraduate seminars on Issues in Latino Studies and

Latino Popular Culture, respectively. He also coordinated the Bacardi Family Lecture Series, “The

State of Latino Studies.” The Latinamericanist interviewed Dr. Duany about his experience at the

Center and his current research.

LAS:What attracted you to the University of Florida’s Center for Latin American Studies?

UF is very well–known within the U.S. for Latin American Studies, and particularly for Caribbean Studies; my area of interest.

Within that, Cuban Studies is also a major strength, particularly for library research. The main reason I came here is because UF is

building the Latino Studies program within the Center for Latin American Studies.

Can you tell me about your current experience at UF?

I’ve had a great experience with both students, faculty members and with the scholars from the Bacardi Lecture Series. In teaching

seminars on both the graduate and undergraduate level, I have had the opportunity to work with different types of students, both

in the social sciences and humanities. In particular, I enjoyed the undergraduate seminar because it allowed me to teach a new

subject—Latino Popular Culture. The most interesting aspect of the graduate seminar—Issues in Latino Studies— has been the

cross–referencing of the experiences of different Latino groups and the incorporation of readings by the Bacardi scholars.

What do you think are some of the prevalent themes and directions of Latino Studies today? And how do they compare to the prominent issues in Latino Studies in past decades?

I think one of the big issues that came up during the semester is whether a pan–Latino community creates a sense of belonging

and identity among diverse groups from Latin America. That is one of the major issues in the literature: the extent to which

the overarching category of Latino reflects or does not reflect a sense of projected affiliation by people who are marked as Latino.

If you go back to the 1960s and 70s, when the first programs on Latino Studies emerged, it was fragmented, with Chicano and

Mexican–American Studies on the West Coast, Puerto Rican and later Dominican Studies on the East Coast, and an emphasis on

Cuban and Cuban American Studies in Florida. Then, over the last 15 or 20 years, the approach has shifted towards looking at

these groups comparatively instead of isolating each group and their experiences.

Can you tell me about your current research on Puerto Ricans in Orlando?

The research itself took place a couple of years ago, based on recent census data. The American Community Survey Estimates

show that every year there has been a tremendous increase in the number of Puerto Ricans coming to Central Florida, particularly

Orlando. What we did was try to map out the main characteristics of the Puerto Rican community and compare them with other

Latino groups, particularly Mexicans and Cubans in the Orlando area. It was published last year as a working paper by the Centro

de Estudios Puertorriqueños (Hunter College, City University of New York).

—Contributed by Molly Dondero, MALAS student

LAS:

LAS:

LAS:

JD:

JD:

JD:

JD:

FRAN

CISC

O AR

MAS

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 10

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 11

SPRING 2007BACARDI FAMILY LECTURE SERIES

The following UF Students received U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships from theCenter for Latin American Studies.

S u m m e r 2 0 0 7

Jessica Bachay (MALAS), Portuguese

Maria DiGiano (PhD Interdisciplinary Ecology), Yucatec Maya

Aimee Green (MALAS), Portuguese

Alex Hangen (MA Criminology), Portuguese

Michele Knapp (MALAS), Portuguese

Shani Kruljac (MA Urban & Regional Planning), Portuguese

Carly Voight (MALAS), Yucatec Maya

A c a d e m i c Y e a r 2 0 0 7 – 0 8

Luis Caraballo (MALAS), Haitian Creole

Randall Crones (PhD, Anthropology), Portuguese

Molly Dondero (MALAS), Portuguese

Quinn Hansen (PhD Linguistics), Haitian Creole

Jeffrey Hoelle (PhD Anthropology), Portuguese

Michele Knapp (MALAS), Portuguese

Shani Kruljac (MA Urban & Regional Planning), Portuguese

Noelle Nuebler (MALAS), Portuguese

2007 Foreign Language and Area StudiesFellowship Recipients

The Bacardi Family Spring Lecture Series was coordinated by Jorge Duany, 2007 Bacardi FamilyEminent Scholar. The Series brought four distinguished Latino Studies scholars to campus fora public lecture and to participate in a graduateseminar on Issues in Latino Studies.

MaríaCristinaGarcía

Professor of History, Cornell University

Silvio Torres–Saillant

Associate Professor ofEnglish and

Director of Latino–Latin American Studies,

Syracuse University

Edna Acosta–Belén

Distinguished Professor ofLatin American, Caribbeanand U.S. Latino Studies andWomen’s Studies, University

at Albany, SUNY

Louis DeSipio

Associate Professor ofPolitical Science andDirector of Chicano/

Latino Studies, University ofCalifornia, Irvine

Jorge Duany

Professor of Anthropologyand Chair of Sociology andAnthropology, University ofPuerto Rico, Río Piedras;

2007 Bacardi Family Eminent Scholar

The State of Latino Studies

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 11

12 THE LATINAMERICANIST

STUDENTS

Field Research Clinic Poster Competition 2007

The Field Research Clinic is an annual

event that highlights the field research

process and the graduate research

being carried out by LAS funded students. It is

one of several support activities sponsored by

the Center over the course of the academic

year that serve to enhance the learning and

professional preparation of Latinamericanist

graduate students. Other support events

include new student orientations and

workshops on proposal writing, research

poster preparation and publishing,

Institutional Review Board procedures and

fieldwork preparation.

The Field Research Clinic began with

discussions of the field research process and

concluded with the public presentation of

research results from those recently returned

from the field. This year’s discussions were

organized by TCD graduate assistant Georgina

Cullman and included a student panel on

“Things I wish I had known/done before doing

fieldwork,” and small group discussions

addressing “Proposal and fieldwork

expectations and concerns.”

The second half of the Clinic was a poster

session designed to showcase LAS–sponsored

research to the public, while helping students

learn to effectively present their research ideas

and results. Over 100 people came to view the

work displayed in the Friends of Music Room

including undergraduates, graduate students,

visiting scholars, faculty, staff, family members,

and members of the Gainesville community.

The Grand Prize for best research poster was

awarded to MALAS student Mayra Daniela

Aviles for her poster, “An Ethnographic Study

of Huaorani Identity and Political

Consciousness in the Context of Oil Expansion

in the Ecuadorian Amazon.” Posters were

judged by Welson Tremura (LAS/Music), Eric

Keys (Geography), and Patty Anderson

(Division of Plant Industries, State of Florida).

Twenty–six posters were presented at the event;

all prepared by graduate students funded

through the 2006 Center Field Research Grant

The research on display was carried out in 14

different countries by students representing 11

University of Florida departments/schools.

—Contributed by Jon Dain, LAS/SNRE

‘07‘07 Poster CompetitionW I N N E R S

GRAND prize:Mayra Daniela Aviles (MALAS)An Ethnographic Study of HuaoraniIdentity and Political Consciousness inthe Context of Oil Expansion in theEcuadorian Amazon

Masters Category1st prize:Angelica Saavedra (Law/Anthropology)Biopiracy: The Noble Fight or ShamAdvocacy?

2nd prize:Jessica Bachay (MALAS)Formalizing Remittances: A Case Studyof Bank of America in Mexico

Pre–Dissertation Category1st prize:Katy Garland (WEC)Do Knowledge and Attitude Determinean Individual’s Decision to Consume SeaTurtle Meat?

2nd prize:Ane Alencar (SFRC)Spatial Determinants of Forest Fires inthe Brazilian Amazon

� Mayra Daniela Aviles (LAS) received the Grand Prizefor best research poster at the 2007 Field ResearchClinic.

Outreach News

In addition to the acquisition of Joel Zito Araújo’s Denying Brazil and Daughters of the Wind (see next page), the Outreach Lending

Library supplemented its materials on race in Brazil with the film Quilombo Country: Afrobrazilian Villages in the 21st Century. Directed

by Leonard Abrams and narrated by Chuck D., this documentary provides insight into some of the estimated 2,000 quilombos that

currently exist in Brazil. Largely isolated from the outside world, quilombos are rural communities founded by runaway slaves or by former

slaves living on abandoned plantations. The film focuses on specific quilombos in the Northeast sugar–growing region and in the heart of

the Amazon rainforest. It relates the historical context of these communities with issues that quilombolas currently confront, such as land

rights, racial and socioeconomic discrimination. It also offers intimate footage of religious ceremonies, festivals, and parties, as well as daily

activities such as fishing, making manioc flour, and construction. Quilombo Country is available on DVD and has a runtime of 73 minutes.

Lending Library Featured Item

PATR

ICIA

SAM

PAIO

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 12

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 13

OUTREACH

This past semester the Center participated in the Oak Hammock

Lifelong Learning Institute. Oak Hammock is a retirement

community in Gainesville affiliated with UF, where lifelong learning

and fitness are considered important elements of a good quality of

life. A variety of lecture series and workshops are offered for its

residents throughout the year. The title of the Center’s series was

“South of the Border.” Six core and affiliate faculty members presented

on topics that reflect the diverse expertise LAS faculty have to offer the

university and the Gainesville community.

Outreach News, con’t.

Oak Hammock Lecture Series

Technology Workshop for ForeignLanguage Instructors

Through collaboration with the Florida Foreign Language

Association, the Center has been working to promote Latin

American Studies and provide resources to two– and four–year

colleges in the State of Florida. In February 2007, the Center's

Outreach Program sponsored a college–level workshop entitled

“Social Collaborative Aspects of Technology in the Language

Classroom”, led by Dr. Gillian Lord (RLL). Sixteen Spanish and

Portuguese instructors from nine institutions around the state

attended the event. As part of the workshop, faculty received

information on Latin American resources available at UF and other

national sources.

After a full house event with the Brazilian film director Malu de

Martino in October 2006, UF welcomed another director from

Brazil—Joel Zito Araújo— to celebrate Black Heritage Month and to

highlight studies of the African Diaspora in Latin America. Araújo

screened his feature film Daughters of the Wind on February 20 at the

Reitz Union Cinema and his documentary Denying Brazil on February

21 at the UF Harn Museum of Art. Both features deal with issues of

race in Brazil and have garnered multiple awards.

In Daughters of the Wind, Araújo assembled the largest cast of black

actors in the history of Brazilian cinema to create a complex treatment

of love, deception, resentment, and redemption among sisters,

mothers, and daughters. The film also chronicles the female

protagonists’ struggles with racism and sexism in the Brazilian cities

of Ouro Preto and Rio de Janeiro.

Denying Brazil debunks the existence of a “racial democracy” myth

in Brazil by examining the representation of Afro–Brazilians in the

media, particularly in the popular telenovela genre. The documentary

was inspired by Araújo’s book “A Negação do Brasil: O Negro na

Telenovela Brasileira”, a work based on his doctoral dissertation at the

School of Arts and Communication from the University of São Paulo.

Prior to the screening of Denying Brazil, Araújo participated in a

panel format workshop at the Harn Museum entitled “Issues of Race

in Brazil” for K–12 teachers from Alachua County schools. Professors

Jeffrey Needell (History) and Charles Wood (LAS/Sociology) also

participated in the workshop, presenting talks on the historical and

social contexts of race in Brazil.

With support from the Florida Consortium for Latin American and

Caribbean Studies’ Title VI National Resource Center grant and the

Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce, Araújo also visited other

co–sponsoring schools and organizations in Florida. In Orlando, his

work was featured in the annual Latin American Film Festival “OLA

FEST”. Additional movie screenings took place at Valencia Community

College in Orlando and at Stetson University in DeLand.

The events at UF were co–sponsored by the Department of

Romance Languages and Literatures, the International Center, the

Institute of Hispanic and Latino Cultures, and the Brazilian

Portuguese Club.

Movie Screenings: Daughters of the Windand Denying Brazil with Brazilian FilmDirector Joel Zito Araújo

March 5 The Yankees Are Coming! The Rise and Decline of theAmerican Colonies in Cuba (1899–1930).Carmen Diana Deere, Director, LAS.

March 12 The Yankees Are Here! The United States as One ofCuba’s Largest Trading Partners in 2005.Bill Messina, Coordinator of Economic Analysis, FRE.

March 19 Latin American Guitar.Welson Tremura, Assistant Professor, LAS/Music.

March 26 The Future of Latin American Economies in GlobalSystems.Terry McCoy, Professor, LAS/Political Science.

April 2 Frida and Other Fridas: Women Artists in LatinAmerica.Efraín Barradas, Professor, LAS/RLL.

April 9 Deforestation and the Environmental Crisis in theAmazon.Charles H. Wood, Professor, LAS/Sociology.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 13

14 THE LATINAMERICANIST

MALAS Graduates 06–07

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 6

Nicolas RubioThesis: “Brazilian Government Policies in the Ethanol Program: A Model for the Rest of the World.”

Adriana SánchezThesis: “The 'Ricans’ Underclass Status? A Look from within Chicago.”

M a y 2 0 0 7

Gregory BatesThesis: “Corruption in the Americas: A Commentary on Trade and Human Rights and an Analysis ofthe Inter-American Convention against Corruption.”

Derek LewisThesis: “The Head of the Mouse: Dominican Microenterprises' Formal and Informal Credit Decisions.”

Veronica VillaseñorThesis: “The Challenge of Cattle Ranching to Common Property: A Case Study in the Isoso, Bolivia.”

The following students graduated with a MALAS degree during academic year 2006–07.

STUDENTS

Study ToursTheater in Brazil

Tropical Forestry in Brazil

Forest Policy in Brazil

Financial Markets in Brazil

Legal Study Tour in Chile

Industrial Energy in Chile

Summer Study Abroad ProgramsBusiness in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Language and Culture in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Urban Planning in Curitiba, Brazil

Environmental Law in Costa Rica

International Education in Costa Rica

Anthropology in Merida, Mexico

Ecology in Merida, Mexico

Language and Culture in Guanajuato, Mexico

Architecture in Guadalajara, Mexico

Grassroots Development in Nicaragua

Reciprocal Student Exchange AgreementsPontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Universidade Federal de Bahia, Brazil

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil

Universidade Federal do Paraná–Curitiba, Brazil

Universidade de Passo Fundo, Brazil

Pontifícia Universidad Cat lica de Chile

Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile

Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico

Universidad del Pacífico, Peru

International Programs in Latin America

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/10/07 8:28 AM Page 14

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 15

STUDENTS

Undergraduate Minor and Certificatesin Latin American Studies 06–07The following students completed an undergraduate minor or certificate in Latin American Studies, or both,during academic year 2006–07.

F a l l 2 0 0 6

Mirna Amaya, Interdisciplinary Studies

Dulce Boza, Political Science

Sarah Brush, Portuguese

Stephanie Englehardt, Sociology

Keli Garcia, History

Rachel Gubernick, Political Science

WIlliam Hangen, Spanish/Anthropology

Valentina Jimenez, Political Science

Thomas McMahon, History/Political Science

Carlos Manosalva, Finance

Andrea Morales, Journalism

Anelkis Royce, Political Science

Juan Sanabria, Marketing

Christopher Steinberg, Political Science

S p r i n g 2 0 0 7

Jacqueline Basallo, Marketing

Ashley Bittner, History/Political Science

Merritt Bresnahan, Nutrition

Teresa Chin, Criminology

Maria Cepeda, Political Science

Rogelio Fernandez, Business Administration

Laura Hester, Recreation, Parks & Tourism

Isabel Koehler, Political Science

Monica Magdziak, Marketing

Gabriela Montiel, Spanish

William Muir, History

Jennifer Ortiz, History

Alexandra Rudnick, History/Political Science

Shari Scalone, Spanish/Jewish Studies

Luis Suarez–Isaza, Political Science

Joana Tilley, Spanish

Ross Van Boven, Marketing

Maria Vanegas, Political Science

Nashielly Victoria, Anthropology

Florida Museum of Natural HistoryFood and Resource EconomicsLatin American BusinessEnvironment ProgramLatin American StudiesMA in Latin American StudiesPartnership in Global LearningRomance Languages and LiteraturesSchool of Forest Resources &ConservationSchool of Natural Resources &EnvironmentTropical Conservation andDevelopment ProgramUF FoundationWildlife Ecology & Conservation

U F A c r o n y m n s

F L M N HF R EL A B E P

L A SM A L A SP G LR L LS F R C

S N R E

T C D

U F FW E C

The official Brazilian PortugueseProficiency Exam for non–native speakers, the CELPE-Bras, is offeredtwice a year during spring and fallsemesters at UF. The fall 2007 test will beon October 17. For more information,please contact Mary Risner atmaryr@ufl.edu.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 15

16 THE LATINAMERICANIST

STUDENTS

2007 Summer Research Grant Recipients

Sergio Álvarez, MS FRE, Colombia

Silvia Álvarez, PhD Botany, Costa Rica

Alexandra Anda, MALAS, Ecuador

Elyse Anderson, MA/PhD Anthropology, Guatemala

Christopher Ballengee, PhD Music, Trinidad & Tobago

Megan Barolet–Fogarty, MALAS, Brazil

Elizabeth Binford, MA Anthroplogy, Belize

Sergio Cabrera, MALAS, Argentina

Miramanni Chavez, MS SNRE, Mexico

Diogo Costa, PhD Anthropology, Brazil

Karen Coutts, MA Anthropology, Peru

Renata de Godoy, PhD Anthropology, Brazil

Molly Dondero, MALAS, USA

Mark Donop, PhD Anthropology, Peru

Santiago Espinosa, PhD WEC, Ecuador

Paula Hamsho–Diaz, MALAS, USA

Stefanie Hoehn, MALAS, Panama

Wesley Ingwersen, PhD Environmental Engineering, Peru

Erol Kavountzis, MA/PhD Anthropology, Belize

Nicholas Kawa, MA Anthropology, Brazil

Tess Kulstad, PhD Anthropology, Dominican Republic

Cecelia Larsen, MALAS, Chile

Rafael Mendoza, PhD Anthropology, Peru

Karen Pereira, MA Anthropology, Guatemala

Alejandro Pietrek, MS WEC, Argentina

Joanna Reilly–Brown, MA Anthropology, Belize

Leah Sarat, PhD Religion, Mexico

Elizabeth Smith, MALAS, Costa Rica

Lucimar Souza, MALAS, Brazil

Gabriela Stocks, PhD Anthropology, Costa Rica

Jason Taylor, MALAS, Chile

Joshua Torres, PhD Anthropology, Puerto Rico

Erica Van Etten, MS SNRE, Ecuador

Carly Voight, MALAS, Belize

Galo Zapata–Rios, PhD WEC, Ecuador

Vivian Zeideman, PhD SNRE, Brazil

The following students at the University of Florida were awarded funding from the Center for Latin American Studies and theTropical Conservation and Development (TCD) program to conduct field research in the summer of 2007. Funding of these grantswas made possible by a grant from the Tinker Foundation, the TCD Ford Foundation/State endowment, the Charles Wagley ResearchFellowship, and the A. Curtis Wilgus Fellowship. The country where the student is conducting research follows the reference to theirUF program.

Upcoming EventsCenter for Latin American Studies

57th Annual Conference

The Center for Latin American Studies 57th annual conference in 2008 will be co–hosted with the College of Journalism and Communications on

the theme of “Uniting for Solutions: Strategic Partnerships and Communications in the Americas.” The conference co–chairs will be Juan Carlos

Molleda (Public Relations) and Marilyn Roberts (Advertising).

This conference will provide a multidisciplinary perspective to inform the stages of successful alliance formation and social change initiatives. The

combined magnitude of the social, political and economic challenges facing Latin America calls out for collaboration among business, government,

nonprofits and civil society to build multi–sector alliances to affect social change. In order to achieve synergy, the creation of alliances between

organizations focusing on corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, strategic planning and sustainability requires agreement on common symbols

and key messages, and clear expressions of collective commitment and contributions. Strategic communication refers to the combined use of

advertising, public relations, print and broadcast journalism, new media, and alternative or community media to align and maintain multi–sector

partners working under the same vision and goals.

February 7–9, 2008

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Clyde Stephens (UF 1959)

gave a lecture entitled

“Banana History and the

United Fruit Company” in

January 2007 as part of CIBER’s

monthly seminar series.

Stephens worked for the United

Fruit Company, now Chiquita

Brands International, for 32

years in Central America and

the Dominican Republic. His

expertise lies in banana

research and technical services;

and, he has published on banana history and banana ecosystems.

Using period photographs and maps, Stephens described the origin of

bananas, which began as backyard plantings for local markets, and how they

grew into a large import/export business. The United Fruit Company began

in 1885 as the Boston Fruit Company in Jamaica, later expanding to other

islands in the Caribbean. In 1899, the Tropical Trading & Transport and

Company merged with Boston Fruit Company to form the United Fruit

Company.

The story of the Snyder Banana Company, located in Bocas del Toro, and

owned by United Fruit, Panama is a good example of the agricultural, social

and political difficulties that many of the early banana companies faced. For

instance, there was a border dispute between Panama and Costa Rica from

1921 to 1941. Train wrecks, landslides, and floods were common, and many

workers suffered from various tropical diseases. Likewise, the banana export

trade was volatile. It was almost wiped out in the 1930s by Panama disease,

also known as fusarium wilt, forcing companies to switch production to

cacao. Later, they switched to Manila hemp due to high demand during

WWII.

Stephens ended his lecture by explaining that Chiquita Brands

International is now fully managed by Latin Americans and has only one

division in Central America, which is in Bocas del Toro. Stephens was one of

the last foreigners to manage the company and he is proud of having helped

train the Latin Americans who are now part of all levels of management.

—Contributed by Jessica Bachay, MALAS student

SPRING/SUMMER 2007 17

International Business StudyTour to Argentina

� UF graduate students during the International BusinessStudy Tour in Argentina in October 2006.

Alumni NewsA Short History of theBanana BusinessIn October 2006, Andy Naranjo (Finance) and Terry McCoy

(LAS/Political Science) led a one–week international business

study tour to Argentina for a group of 20 UF graduate students.

The group, hosted by the Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos

Aires, participated in academic seminars and visited important

businesses, such as manufacturing, financial, agricultural, and

service oriented firms; as well as financial and retail markets,

public agencies, and cultural sites. The study tour, co–sponsored

by the Warrington College of Business’ Center for International

Business, Education, and Research (CIBER), awards 2 graduate

credit hours. It provides students first–hand exposure to South

American markets and business practices, enabling them to better

understand and manage international investments, trade, and

risk. It is held each fall semester and rotates between Brazil, Chile,

and Argentina. The study tour is part of a campus–taught class

called Latin American Business Environment. Students in the

class come from a variety of disciplines, including business, law,

Latin American Studies, agriculture, and liberal arts and sciences.

The students’ multidisciplinary backgrounds and their varying

perspectives and strengths provide a further window to

understanding how different fields cope with and address

complex international issues.

Student Testimonials

� “It was a great trip. I went in knowing very little and came out with a whole new perspective.”

� “The hands-on experience is truly unable to be met byreading a book or taking a course on campus.”

� “The study tour was a wonderful experience. It is necessary for anyone studying international business.”

� UF alumnus Clyde Stephens speaks atCIBER’s monthly seminar series.

ALUMNI

HAN

NAH

COV

ERT

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 17

18 THE LATINAMERICANIST

Larissa Ruiz Baia (MALAS 1996, PhD

Political Science 2004) is Director of

Graduate and Evening Admissions at Lynn

University in Boca Raton, Florida.

Brian Bombassaro (BS/BA Economics &

BA Spanish 2006) began a Master's in the

Public Policy program at the John F.

Kennedy School of Government at

Harvard University.

Orlando Fals Borda (PhD Sociology 1955)

is a Colombian anthropologist, known for

his applied work in North–South ethics in

development and research and Participant

Action Research. He has been selected for

the Malinowski Award of the Society for

Applied Anthropology.

David Fleischer (MALAS 1968, PhD

Political Science 1972) is Professor

Emeritus of the Institute of Political

Science, University of Brazilia, and resides

in Brazilia. Since the mid–1990s he has

edited Brazil Focus, a newsletter on

Brazilian political and economic events.

Evan George (JD 2003, MALAS 2004) is

an Associate Attorney at the Law Offices of

Robert J. Jacobs, P.A., a full service

immigration firm in Gainesville. He

represents individuals in all types of

immigration matters, including removal

defense before the Immigration Court.

William L. Harris (PhD History 1973) is

Professor Emeritus of History at The Citadel.

An expert on Venezuela, he is a

Corresponding Member of the Venezuelan

National Academy of History and continues

to be active in SECOLAS, the Southeastern

Council of Latin American Studies.

Damon Kearney (MALAS 1996) has been

working in information technology for

nearly a decade. He is a Senior Business

Systems Analyst for Fidelity National

Information Services, working with a

variety of international financial services.

William Kenah (MALAS 1990) ) teaches

writing at Long Beach City College in

California and works as a longshoreman at

the Port of Los Angeles.

Chris Maxfield (MALAS 1985) joined the

newly formed United Nations Department

of Safety and Security in 2006. He is the

Chief of Desk for Europe and the

Americas, responsible for overseeing the

safety and security of UN staff and

operations in 81 countries.

Venecia Rojas (MALAS 1980) works for

the General Accounting Office in

Washington, D.C. on globalization issues.

Mariana Varese (MALAS 1999, ABD FRE)

is the Assistant Director of the Latin

America and Caribbean Program of the

Wildlife Conservation Society in

Bronx, N.Y.

&NEWS NOTESA

LUM

NI

ALUMNI

The Center forLatin American Studies

would love to hear from its

A L U M N I

If you have not already doneso, please complete our

Alumni Survey. The surveycan be downloaded and

printed from:

http://www.latam.ufl.edu/news/newsnotes.html

Francisco Rildo (Cartaxo) Nobre(MALAS 1998) passed away in Rio

Branco, Acre, Brazil on May 12, 2007,

after a two year battle with cancer.

Cartaxo received a LASPAU fellowship to

study English, and then studied with

Marianne Schmink to complete a

MALAS degree at the University of

Florida in 1998. His Master’s research

focused on the adoption of agroforestry

systems by rural communities in Acre.

Cartaxo held several positions in the

state and municipal governments,

including State Secretary for Technical

Assistance and Extension. He was an

important leader in the Worker’s Party

(PT) in Acre, coordinating several key

election campaigns and then winning his

own first political campaign for state

deputy, to become leader of the PT in

the state legislature.

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SPRING/SUMMER 2007 19

My gift is to benefit: � The Latin American Studies Fund (011147)

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ALUMNI

We rely on contributions from our friends and alumni to support certain special activities such as student travel to conferencesand seed support for larger fund-raising efforts.

If you would like to make a donation to the Center, please fill out the form below.

Giving to the Center for Latin American Studies

Thanks To Our Donors

The Center for Latin American Studies would like to express its gratitude for the generosity of those who haveresponded to our mailings and the University of Florida Foundation’s annual appeal. Their donations go towards theLatin American Studies Fund and/or the Latin American Studies Graduate Student Travel Fund.

Gracias to the following people:

Christopher BakerLygia S. & Donald M. BellisKevin & Anacielo GroganMurdo & Shena MacLeodRichard W. & Wanda OberdorferDonald & Patricia RamosEduardo M. SilvaHerrick A. & Debra SmithEric A. Wagner

Please return to:University of Florida Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 14425, Gainesville, FL 32604-2425

We are also grateful to the following for their support of the 2007 LatinAmerican Business Symposium and Career Workshop:

Corporate Sponsors:Crowley Maritime CorporationEconocaribe Consolidators, Inc.FedEx Express Latin American & the Caribbean

Corporate Co–Sponsors:Brooks Tropicals, Inc. Porter–NovelliPrudential Real Estate InvestorsSeald Sweet LLCWoodhouse Shanahan P.A.

UFLAS_NL.qxp 7/9/07 2:36 PM Page 19

Non-Profit Org.U.S.POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 94Gainesville FL

Center for Latin American Studies319 Grinter HallP.O. Box 115530 Gainesville, FL 32611-5530

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