Tag: Latin American Studies

The recent history of PCUN and the victories of farmworkers in Oregon

Presenter: Odalis Aguilar Aguilar − History, Latin American Studies, Spanish

Faculty Mentor(s): Julie Weise

(In-Person) Poster Presentation 

For this project, I was approached by PCUN’s executive director to document the last few years of the history of the organization. About 10 years ago, a professor from the University of Oregon partnered up with the organization and since then, historic victories have been secured for the farm working and Latinx immigrant community. My approach was to analyze the ways in which organizers and staff retell their experiences working in legislative processes and also expand on what PCUN is and how they carry its mission. These interviews were done in both English and Spanish and are transcribed. While being in conversation with the folks I interviewed, I found that there was a turning point in PCUN’s recent history that really catapulted their success and put PCUN on another playing field where usually dominant culture organizations are overwhelmingly present. This project not only serves as a historical piece, but it also strives to provide new and coming PCUN staff a document that can ground them and visualize themselves as leaders who will continue the legacy of PCUN elders.

La Mulata: In Her Own Words

Presenter(s): Elisa Carvallo − Spanish

Faculty Mentor(s): Lanie Millar

Oral Session 3O

Research Area: Latin American Studies

La mulata has been a topic of fascination in the Afro-Latin American Literature for more than two centuries. In the Caribbean poetry of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, la mulata has served as a muse to many poets. In the eyes of the white men, la mulata was an exotic seductress. On the contrary, in the eyes of mulato men, she would never be as pure as a white woman. No matter the poet’s opinion of her, la mulata continued appearing as a subject of conversation and inspiration in many of their works. These poets had much to say about her, but what did la mulata think of herself? Of course, due to the patriarchal hierarchy that dominated the Caribbean culture at the time, many mulata poets did not have the opportunity to write, let alone publish their own works. But, those who were able to, provided a new image of la mulata who had not yet been able to emerge. Poems about la mulata, written by mulatas, allow readers to take a look at the self-image that la mulata struggled to understand and accept. These works go beyond the physical and biological traits of la mulata and expose her mind and soul.