The 2023-24 Center for Inter-American Policy and Research Speaker Series: Violence, Inequality and Democracy in the Americas, explores challenges to democratic politics and effective governance in the region. Speakers will present cutting-edge research on the politics of criminal violence and civil conflict, protest movements, militarization, and democratic backsliding in diverse countries of Latin America. The Series engages students, faculty, and community members in dialogue on the most pressing issues facing the region today.

Twenty years ago, the maroon community of La Bonga in Colombia received a threat signed by paramilitaries. That same night, the entire town fled and La Bonga was devoured by the jungle. La Bonga is a symbolic journey through the jungles of the Colombian Caribbean to resurrect a place that only exists in memory. In an act of resistance, this party lets the loss go, as it celebrates collective memory and community.

Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) is a fiercely hard-working, Haitian-born construction worker tasked with destroying his own neighborhood in a rapidly gentrifying Miami. While yearning to secure a new home for his wife, seamstress Esperance (Sheila Anozier), he finds himself clashing with his son, a college dropout. American-born and largely assimilated, Junior (Chris Renois) is a late-night comedian whose set focuses on the deepening intergenerational chasm that exists within the family. 

Join the Department of English, Center for Scholars, The Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT), The Undergraduate Activities Fund, and the Ther Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute in a screening for the Puerto Rican film, Perfume de Gardenias, and a Q&A with Director, Macha Colón. 

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 mousse desserts will also be provided every week. If you have any questions, please reach out to portuguese@tulane.edu. 

The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Student Government Association in conjunction with the Global Scholars Program is excited to host SALUD Global Scholars Language Lab! Come practice your Spanish skills in a casual and friendly environment. All levels are welcome. 

About the Series

The Latin American Writers Series brings together Latin America’s most representative creative voices and the editorial entrepreneurs who publish them. By way of interviews conducted by renowned Ecuadorian writer Gabriela Alemán and presentations of various editorial missions, the guests will shed light on a literary world shaped by the contemporary issues of the continent. Moving forward, their conversations will comprise the centerpiece of a digital archive that introduces their ideas to a global audience.  

The UNO French & Spanish Film Club in collaboration with the Department of Language and Literature at The University of New Orleans will be showcasing the film titled "Noise" (original title "Ruido"), directed by Natalia Beristáin from Mexico, released in 2022. 

The film will be shown with English subtitles, making it accessible for non-Spanish speakers.

Join the Spanish and Portuguese Department for a weekly Spanish language meet-up! Participants will have the opportunity to engage in Spanish conversation with other individuals. Snacks and coffee will also be provided for those who attend! 

The story of three lost boxes known as the Mexican Suitcase that were recovered in 2007. The boxes, misplaced in the chaos at the start of WWII, contained many of the Spanish Civil War negatives by the legendary photographer Robert Capa and fellow photographers Gerda Taro and David "Chim" Seymour.

Olivia Cosentino, PhD, Zemurray-Stone Postdoctoral Fellow, will be introducing this film.