Keywords on Colombia and its Diasporas
Keywords on Colombia and its Diasporas
Join us for a thought-provoking event titled "Keywords on Colombia and its Diasporas: A Conversation and Audiovisual Exchange" on April 24th, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Studio H 565, Paulson Center NYU, 181 Mercer Street.
Registration is required for this event.
This event will feature an engaging dialogue among three distinguished scholars who will explore the complex themes surrounding Colombianness and its diasporas. Drawing from their experiences in cities celebrated for their rich Black culture and political movements, the scholars will discuss the intricate dynamics of Colombian identity within the U.S., addressing both the limitations and advantages inherent in this perspective.
The event aims to provide a platform for articulating diverse viewpoints on engaging with and distancing from Colombian identity through a diasporic lens. Attendees can expect a multifaceted presentation that incorporates sounds, images, and poetry, serving as a dynamic launching point for discussions on national identity and the subtleties of diasporic living. This immersive experience will emphasize the emotional and sensory dimensions of scholarship and study.
Panelist Bios:
Nohora Arrieta Fernandez (UCLA) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at UCLA. She received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies from Georgetown University in 2021 and served as a UC Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2023). Her current research focuses on art history, visual studies, the history of commodities, and the intellectual traditions of the African Diaspora in the Americas. Nohora has published essays and articles on Latin American literature and visual arts and is a collaborator with art magazines such as Artishock and Contemporary And. Her first co-translation project, Semantic of the World: The Poetry of Romulo Bustos, was published by New Mexico Press in 2022.
Henry Castillo (UT Austin) is an Early Career Fellow at UT Austin and an artist who was a former member of the Colombian avant-garde theatre collective Teatro Experimental de Cali. He has toured the world performing and facilitating workshops on Latinx theatre. As an interdisciplinary scholar of performance studies, his research spans the relationship between underrepresented archives and repertoires of Afro-diasporic communities in the Americas and the construction of cultural heritage discourses within Latin American societies. Henry holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University, as well as a B.A. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA.
Luis Rincón Alba (NYU) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Public Policy at NYU. He is an artist and scholar whose research centers on the political and social potential of festive practices in the Caribbean and Latin America. His book project, “Dance to the Hurt! Carnival Performance, Riots, and Festive Mutuality,” explores the historical links between carnival practices and the riots that were pivotal to ending slavery and colonial regimes. Through his work, he illuminates how contemporary artistic practices in the Caribbean and Latin America embrace carnival aesthetics as a means of collective political expression.
This event is proudly supported by:
Tisch School of the Arts, Department of Art & Public Policy, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) NYU, Colombia Studies Initiative.
For more information and to register.