2024 Conferences

AHCT / AITENSO & ACH Conferences

AHCT & AITENSO Conference at LA ESCENA

Los Angeles, September 2024

In September 2024, Siglo Latinx had the opportunity to visit Los Ángeles, California, to participate in the congress organized by AHCT in collaboration with AITENSO and LaEscena. This visit to LA involved daily presentations by diverse artists, conversations, and discussions with academics and researchers, as well as a theater festival that assembled a series of Golden Age plays staged by Diversifying the Classics and some Mexican theater companies.

Our project director, Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, with our research assistants Lorena Rojas and Natalia Soracipa, presented "Collaboración interdisciplinaria para un teatro de siglo de oro vigente. " In their presentation, they mentioned the different takeaways from working in a collaborative environment and how connecting with artists from various backgrounds has nurtured their careers and research interests. On the one hand, Lorena highlighted the work of Ana Zambrano in La traición en la amistad and how the use of reggaeton in the narrative intertwines contemporary audiences with those of the past. On the other hand, Natalia expressed that the work she carried out in 2024 with the Mexican non-binary actor Mariano Ruiz helped her understand her role as an artist in academia, which aims to create a "third space" where the arts and academia work concurrently. This and other conferences by colleagues such as John Slater, Bruce Burningham, Carmela Mattza, and many others exposed the fantastic work that it is being done to keep Golden Age text alive in the classroom and on stage.

But this congress not only brought together academics but also actors and directors, who, by the end of the day, showed their plays at the iconic Nimoy Theater at UCLA. Some of those we had the chance to watch were Diálogos entre el Amor y un Viejo, staged by Los Colochos theater company, Amar por ver Amar by Grumelot, and Put a Spell on You by Rosie Narasaki as part of her work in Diversifying the Classics.

This trip to Los Angeles undoubtedly enriched the Siglo Latinx perspectives on what others are doing in their fields and how Golden Age texts are being presented to different audiences and levels.

ACH Conference / Montreal June 1-2, 2024

Among the activities undertaken with our research assistants, we had the opportunity to present at the ACH Hispanic Studies conference in Montreal, held from June 1-3, 2024. A roundtable discussion was held to present the project, its activities, and the experiences gained over the past year. Each student presented on the work of an artist they collaborated with and discussed their experiences participating in the project. This experience proved invaluable for all involved, offering a unique opportunity to engage with a pivotal academic event in Hispanic studies, interact with leading scholars, and showcase our work to a broader audience. This not only facilitated the acquisition and reinforcement of essential academic and professional skills but also fostered a sense of collective growth and accomplishment.

The following excerpts, drawn from the students' own words, offer a glimpse into the personal impact of this experience:

Siglo Latinx Research Assistants Reflections

Ashley Bernal

Having the opportunity to attend the ACH conference in Montreal to take part in presenting about the Siglo LatinX project was such a joyful and good learning experience. This was my first time presenting at a more formal research setting such as a conference and getting to know how conferences actually work which relieved me of many questions I had about how they function. At first, I have to admit I was pretty nervous about presenting in this more formal setting. However, being able to have such supportive and caring mentors such as my professors Erin and Glenda. As well as the other research investigators as my colleagues that I found to be so kind made me feel much more comfortable. I found the presentation went smoothly and without troubles thanks to the entire group’s contribution to it. Also, just being at the conference and getting to see other researchers’ work was such a great experience. I found it pretty special to be at an event where so many had the common interest of love for research and Spanish speaking culture. This experience definitely left me motivated to keep pursuing my career in academia and attend other conferences.

Georgina Rivero

Hello, my name is Georgina Rivero Alvarado, and I am a recent graduate of Grant MacEwan University. I have contributed to Dr. Cowling's Siglo Latinx project as a Research Assistant since September 2023. The Siglo Latinx project explores how Latinx artists adapt Golden Age theatre for modern audiences. Witnessing these adaptations has been special, as the plays are filled with prejudice, classism, and misogyny, and the artists' task is to problematize these attitudes while maintaining the original works' aesthetic beauty and authenticity. We engage with various smaller projects within Siglo Latinx, such as working with the Van Lier Fellows of 2022-2023 and Ana Paola Izquierdo, an actress in Mexico City. Each project involves reading a Golden Age play, watching its modern adaptation, noting the elements kept or changed, and interviewing the artists. These interviews are unique and enlightening. Dr. Cowling and Dr. Nieto Cuebas have written a book based on our work, to be published next year. We also have articles, reviews, and conference presentations. Our first conference was in June in Montreal, QC, at the Canadian Association of Hispanists. It was an opportunity to present our work, discuss the impact of the artists on our academic work, and network with scholars. The next conference will be in Puebla City, Mexico, where I will present alongside Paola Izquierdo. Being part of this project has positively impacted me academically and personally. It has prepared me for my M.A. program at the University of Toronto this fall. Participating in team meetings and presenting at conferences has made me more confident. Although my involvement will decrease once I start my M.A., the skills, knowledge, and connections gained will continue to benefit me. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Cowling and Dr. Nieto Cuebas for this special project.

Georgina Rivero

Hello, my name is Georgina Rivero Alvarado, and I am a recent graduate of Grant MacEwan University. I have contributed to Dr. Cowling's Siglo Latinx project as a Research Assistant since September 2023. The Siglo Latinx project explores how Latinx artists adapt Golden Age theatre for modern audiences. Witnessing these adaptations has been special, as the plays are filled with prejudice, classism, and misogyny, and the artists' task is to problematize these attitudes while maintaining the original works' aesthetic beauty and authenticity. We engage with various smaller projects within Siglo Latinx, such as working with the Van Lier Fellows of 2022-2023 and Ana Paola Izquierdo, an actress in Mexico City. Each project involves reading a Golden Age play, watching its modern adaptation, noting the elements kept or changed, and interviewing the artists. These interviews are unique and enlightening. Dr. Cowling and Dr. Nieto Cuebas have written a book based on our work, to be published next year. We also have articles, reviews, and conference presentations. Our first conference was in June in Montreal, QC, at the Canadian Association of Hispanists. It was an opportunity to present our work, discuss the impact of the artists on our academic work, and network with scholars. The next conference will be in Puebla City, Mexico, where I will present alongside Paola Izquierdo. Being part of this project has positively impacted me academically and personally. It has prepared me for my M.A. program at the University of Toronto this fall. Participating in team meetings and presenting at conferences has made me more confident. Although my involvement will decrease once I start my M.A., the skills, knowledge, and connections gained will continue to benefit me. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Cowling and Dr. Nieto Cuebas for this special project.

Lorena Rojas

Working with the Siglo Latinx project this past year has been crucial for my academic, professional, and personal growth. The project allowed me to meet artists, learn about their work and creative processes, and understand the current state of Latinx theatre in North America. I learned about the impact of Spanish Golden Age plays, revitalized by Latinx artists for new and diverse contexts and generations. Although my research differs from Latinx theatre, this project has improved my critical analysis skills for plays, cinema, and literature. Theatre's artistic languages have encouraged me to think about sound and light in films differently. Working with artists has shown how academic work can reach the social sphere, applying theory actively and helping artists with conceptual tools. The project also includes training and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, with Dr. Cowling and Dr. Nieto-Cuebas motivating us to cultivate academic and professional skills. The ACH conference in Montreal was special as I met my colleagues in person and shared our experiences with Latinx artists at the round table. I spoke about Ana Zambrana's adaptation of La traición en la amistad by María de Zayas, illustrating how new generations of Latinx artists re-appropriate Spanish Golden Age works. The conference allowed us to learn about other research in Hispanic Studies, enriching us academically and personally.

Natalia Soracipa

Working for the Latinx Project during the last year has split my career in different directions than I ever imagined. Before, my only focus was getting my Ph.D. in Spanish/Literature and working towards a teaching career. Still, in Siglo Latinx, I am experiencing how academia has multiple nuances and directions that could nurture my career goals and intellectual and creative abilities. For instance, working as a social media manager has taught me a different way of communicating and distributing content involving visual and textual creations. This has gotten me close to the arts through my role in documenting theater productions, such as the visit I had last year to Teatro Círculo in New York, in which I interviewed artists and wrote a review of the performance La monja alférez, which Latin American Theater Review published. Siglo Latinx has also awakened my interest in the study of the visual aspects of the spectacles and its impact on the narratives. Thus, last June, I presented “La imagen y la luz: una mirada hacia el trabajo de Israel Franco-Müller” at the annual conference of the Asociación Canadiense de Hispanistas (ACH) and had the opportunity to share how the lights, costumes, and objects create poetic in the space that transmits meaning through images. Being at the ACH and sharing our work along with other team members of the Siglo Latinx gave me a retrospective view of how impactful this project is being for academia, the arts, as well as our individual and professional growth; something could not be possible without the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Erin Cowling and Dr. Glenda Nieto. Now, I look forward to continuing to develop my research thesis on using theater techniques to teach Spanish as a second language, and I am thrilled to have Drs. Cowling and Nieto-Cuebas's guidance will help me reach this investigation's full potential and take the best out of each encounter with theater companies and artists whose perspectives could nurture mine.