A one-day workshop on the art of colonial Latin America that will bring together, in-person, a small group of scholars from different latitudes to Tulane’s historic campus. During our day together, we will present short papers and discuss ideas on the topic “Beyond the Retablo: Overlooked Sculpture in Colonial Latin America.” The rationale is this: across Latin America, the best-known sculptures are those found in original contexts, such as the church retablo and facades.

At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Aztec Tenochtitlan in Central Mexico was one of the most populous cities in the world, a city the Conquistadors themselves said was "like an enchanted vision", a city of grand pyramids, plazas, palaces, marketplaces, and hydraulic works surrounded by vast numbers of houses of its inhabitants and their gardens. In fact Tenochititlan was only the latest of many urban societies that flourished in what we call Middle America or Mesoamerica before the arrival of the Spanish.

In this talk, Dr. Altamirano will explore the role of narrative in adjudication. In particular, she focuses on the role of listening in judgment. What elements of listening are key for a fair judgment to be made? What is the connection between listening to stories and imagination,on the one hand, and between imagination and fairness, on the other? By delving into these questions, she draws some implications in terms of the contemporary discussion about the democratization of justice in Mexico.

A talk by Juan Antonio García Borrero, Cuban Film Scholar and Cultural Critic.

February 20th at 1PM in the Greenleaf Conference Room (100a Jones Hall)

The talk will be in Spanish.

In one of her texts, Ana López coined the term “Greater Cuba” and described it as follows: «By Greater Cuba I refer to a “Cuba” that extends beyond national borders and that includes the numerous individuals and communities who are outside of the national territory and who identify as Cubans and who contribute to the production of a “Cuban” cultural discourse.”

Of the six refining recipes for silver ores implemented on an industrial scale prior to the end of the 19c, three were the product of an extremely fruitful period of invention and innovation that took place around Potosi, in present day Bolivia, during the two decades that span the turn of the 16th century. Without these breakthroughs in the use of mercury, the environmental toll of relying on lead to refine silver ores would have been much worse, yet the question remains of their impact on present day levels of legacy mercury in our environment. 

Join the Spanish and Portuguese Department for a weekly Portuguese language 

meet-up! All language levels are welcome and participants will have the opportunity to engage in informal conversation. New homemade desserts will also be provided every week. If you have any questions, please reach out to portuguese@tulane.edu