Sessions & Speakers
Session 1
Envisioning Futurities of an Abolitionist Central American Studies Through Love and Solidarity
Eileen Michelle Galvez
Assistant Dean of Yale College, Directora of Yale's La Casa Cultural, and
Ph.D. Candidate at Colorado State University
Katy Maldonado Dominguez
Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies
Yale University
bri rodriguez
Ph.D. Student, Education
University of Pittsburgh
Nalya Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Incoming Assistant Professor, Criminology & Justice Studies
California State University, Northridge
Melanie Y. White, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Afro-Caribbean Studies
Georgetown University
Keynote by Rosa Chávez
Wuxlab’al
Mi aliento, mi respiración
My breath, my breathing
Mi aliento, mi respiración
My breath, my breathing
“Nací en Iximlew, nombre con el que reivindicamos nuestro territorio originario. Reconozco a la poesía como mi columna vertebral. En mi camino de vida retomo el tejido de las palabras y con ello la recuperación del poder de la palabra, la recuperación de mi voz, de mi saliva, de mi aliento que es personal pero también colectivo al ser parte de un pueblo. Escribir poesía, hacer arte, ha significado para mí un recorrido de resistencia, lucha, resiliencia y goce profundo. Este andar se ha trenzado junto a las luchas de mi pueblo, de las mujeres y de las comunidades de la que soy parte”.
Rosa is a poet, artist, & activist of Mayan K’iche Kaqchiquel origin who has studied social sciences, cultural management, cinema, and audiovisual performances. The author of five poetry books, her work has been widely anthologized and translated into Maya K’iche’, French, English, and Norwegian, among other languages. She has also experimented with other artistic expressions such as theater, performance, video and currently with music in the duo project: Selva y Cerro, which combines poetry, electronic music and traditional instruments. Rosa also works enthusiastically and passionately with women and Indigenous movements in Guatemala.
Session 2
Futurities
Kaysha Corinealdi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Emerson College
Kency Cornejo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Contemporary Latin American & Latinx Art
University of New Mexico
Nicole D. Ramsey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mexican American and Latin@ Studies & Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
University of Texas
Melanie Y. White, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Afro-Caribbean Studies
Georgetown University
Session 3: Roundtable
Central American Narratives: Histories for the Future
John Manuel Arias
Poet & Writer
Rosa Chávez
Poet, Artist, Activist
Daniel Flores y Ascencio
Editor, Poet, Filmmaker
Jessica Hoppe
Author
Julio Serrano Echeverría
Writer, Poet, Journalist, Filmmaker and Multidisciplinary Artist
Freddy Jesse Izaguirre
Session Facilitator
Writer
Session 4
Social Movements
Daisy E. Guzman Nunez, Ph.D.
Miriam Jiménez Román Postdoctoral Fellow, The Latinx Project
New York University
Katy Maldonado Dominguez
Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies
Yale University
Damaris Sánchez
Environmental Activist,
Coordinator of Panama's National Network in Defense of Water
Cristian Padilla Romero
Facilitator
Ph.D. Candidate, History, Yale University; Visiting Lecturer in History, Trinity College
Session 5
New Obstacles
Luciana Chamorro, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
of Anthropology, University of Michigan
Jorge Cuéllar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies, Dartmouth University
Andrea Ixchíu
Journalist, land protector, human rights activist
Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj, Ph.D.
Facilitator
Journalist, activist, social anthropologist, human rights defender
Open Mic with Special Guest MC Sheila Maldonado
Join us as we close our conference with a special open mic event hosted by poet Sheila Maldonado, New York-based poet and author of the poetry collections that's what you get (Brooklyn Art Press, 2021) and one-bedroom solo (Fly by Night Press / A Gathering of the Tribes, 2011). All attendees are welcome to share their creative work!