Schedule of Events

This presentation is based on the analysis of the novel Y apenas era miércoles written by the Mexican writer Martha Cerda.  The novel is the fictional account of the tragic events occurred in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on Wednesday, April 22, 1992, when the explosion of part of the sewer system resulting from a gas leak, caused the death of many people.  The story in this novel is told from the point of view of different characters, representative of different social classes, who are portrayed as either selfish or selfless based on their actions regarding the tragic event.  The analysis of the novel focuses on the way of life and personal choices of the characters and how social class and employment can affect how someone may act in a selfish or selfless manner.  In general, it was found that characters in the highest and lowest social classes were self-centered and not employed in fields that required caring for others.  The opposite was found for those characters in the middle class.  Most importantly, it was discovered that although social class and employment played a role in defining a person’s moral character, the fictional characters did not always act in this manner.  In the story, each character experienced moments when their demeanor changed, for better or worse, because of the crisis they were facing. This change portrays one of the most important points presented by the novel, which is that duality is present in all people.  Everyone can be both selfless and selfish, because how a person acts depends on the situation at hand.

This research on the populations of African descendants in Mexico and Argentina focuses on the current visibility and the socio-economic status of both groups as they are portrayed in the media.  The available sources consulted for this research show a different image of the two groups.  Whereas the population of African descendants in Argentina has received little to no recognition and has quietly disappeared in Argentina, despite once constituting more than half of Argentina’s total population, the community of African descendants in Mexico is garnering greater attention and has persisted despite its comparatively smaller population regarding the total population of Mexico.

This research is based on the analysis of the novel La señora Rodríguez y otros mundos, by the Mexican Writer Martha Cerda. The story in the novel is about a woman who faces a conflict of identity and seeks comfort in her purse. The analysis focuses on how the main character, la señora Rodríguez, finds her true identity as she utilizes the objects inside of her purse as a means of relating herself to certain memories and emotions. The situation of the main character, as depicted in this novel, is related to the real-life situation of women who tend to face a conflict of identity after marriage when they believe they have to compete with their mother in law to be able to portray and represent their families’ last name in a unique manner. By comparing and analyzing the emotional effects of the objects inside of the protagonist’s purse the true identity of la señora Rodríguez is revealed. All along, la señora Rodríguez had her own unique personality, but she was not aware of and that until she was free to be whomever she desired to be. 

This research focuses on Latin America's diverse folk-dance clothing as well as the cultural differences related to clothing and folk-dance representations in Latin American countries. After reviewing information found in scholarly articles as for the cultural background, the analysis to find similarities and differences between the traditional folk-dance clothing of different Latin American countries was conducted by comparing both, visual images of clothing and videos available. The research found that the majority of Latin American countries do have similar techniques and details on their folk-dance clothing. It is important to note that the results show how cultural experiences have a profound impact regarding folk-dance clothing in Latin American countries.

Many different things come to mind when “Tequila” is mentioned. To some past memories of college or wild trips to mexico. Or maybe to others a preferred go to liquor at social events. Conversely, to others, it goes far beyond crazy blacked out night and margaritas. To mexicans, it emcopasses a deep history and a long road to world wide popularity. The past of this ancient distilled drink carries a story too big to hide on liquor store shelves. A complexity that only certain part of the world have the right to bear its name.  This research reveals untapped exposure most people never knew about. This paper will cover the cultivation and history of tequila, the thoughts and differentiation of how people consume it today compared to how they did in the past, and finally how it is doing today financially.

This research project studies the portrayal of women on advertisements within the Mexican communication media. The research focuses on an the advertisements of products geared specifically towards women and the portrayal of women within them, as well as the advertisements geared specifically towards men and the portrayal of women within them. The aim of the project is to uncover how society perceives women by analyzing the stereotypes that arise from the media from data gathered through readings of scholarly articles as well as analyzing the commercial advertisements available. It is important to see how the media portrays Mexican women because it has a large effect on how society perceives them to be.

This research is a comparison between, the works of two Mexican writers, the novel Llanto: Novelas imposibles by Carmen Boullosa and the short story, “La Culpa es de los Tlaxcaltecas” by Elena Garro. Both works have characters with similar names who drive the plot to events that incorporate the conquest of the Aztec empire. The novel is essentially a free write session for a narrator who wants to write a historically accurate account of the death of Moctezuma II to ease her mind and who does this by bringing him back to life in the 20th century. Although, the main character in the short story also incorporates the fall of the Aztec empire into her life she does so to cope with a trauma and her overall dissatisfaction with life and is the only one that is able to witness those events. The two main characters walk away into their own realities. In Boullosa’s novel the narrator does this by walking into the reality that we know when she comes to the realization that sometimes the truth can depend on our perception of events. In the short story the main character walks into a reality only she can see. Both works toy with the idea of what we consider to be the truth and are an example of how a distorted story can create distrust and confusion in people.

This research focuses on the differences in the laws in Latin America. Much of what we know, in the United States of America may feel logical, but sometimes the laws of countries around us do not see certain issues in the same way we do. The way in which a country reacts to a simple discussion of certain rights such as voting, divorce, carrying arms, the death penalty and abortion may vary drastically from our US laws or from one country to another in Latin America. No matter how close a country is, the moral topography may vary, but that closeness may indicate that there are some similarities. What we know today about Latin American countries tends to be bunched up together to create a singular identity which is not the case regarding the laws of each country. These countries have as many things in common, as they have distinctions between them and this can be see with a simple observation on the variation of their laws.

The research in this study is about women leaders in Latin America. While in Latin America there have been several women leading their countries as presidents, the United State has never had a woman president. The research focuses on women who are or have been political leaders in South and Central American countries. This study compares the information available regarding the type of education, social status, and family life of those powerful women, in order to find out what they have in common and how they advanced their careers to become such powerful politicians. 

Drug trafficking is an international problem which has continued to grow in spite of drug control efforts. Latin America is a crucial zone for the production and trafficking of illegal drugs, which has led several countries to experience severe repercussions. This research focuses on the impacts of drug trafficking in various Latin American countries. I examine the origins and history of drug trafficking, as well as the development of the organized crime groups behind drug trafficking which contribute to societal consequences such as an increase in violence, corruption, and the recruitment of youth into the illegal drug trade. Finally, I review previous political administrations and policies in order to evaluate the legislative implications of drug trafficking. This is an important topic to study in order to understand the effects on society, culture, and policy.

While Costa Rica is well known for its beaches and beautiful scenery, a crisis hides under the veil of paradise.  Human trafficking more specifically sexual exploitation has become a notable social problem. The booming industry in Costa Rica takes advantage of at risk youth and vulnerable women who are likely targets of sex traffickers. There has been more progress towards reducing and capturing those that are propelling the continuation of the sex industry, however the problem encompasses many social issues and cannot easily be tackled. This research explores the history, economical, political, and governmental causes and attempts to control this systemic problem. 

This paper reviews the presence of monopolies, both private and state owned in some of the economies of Latin America such as those of Carlos Slim. The monopolies are compared in their performance, current standing, product and service offering, and effect that they have in the boarder economy and politics of the host country. The monopolies that are compared in this paper are América Móvil, Grupo Televisa, Pemex, Ecopetrol, and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.  The comparison includes the analysis of trends in behavior, similarities and differences in tactics, and discussion of the conditions that give rise to monopolies in Latin America. Research was conducted through articles about the legal happenings, financial performance, scandals as well as information from the sites of the monopolies such as there financial statements. 

This research is based on the current educational initiatives established in Mexico to implement bilingual (Indigenous and Spanish) education within the Mexican public-school system.  The focus of the research is how the implementations by the Bilingual Bicultural Education Program (BBEP) and other smaller programs within the program work.  The research shows there need to be changes in the implementation of such programs and how the contributing factors to the lack of bilingual education for indigenous students are the overall problems within the education system and involve the lack of understanding of indigenous cultures, the lack of training of bilingual instructors, the textbooks and materials provided, and the lack of consistency in the implementation of the programs throughout the country.

This research on Latin America focuses on two particular forms of cultural expressions devised by women to protest, peacefully, for the horrors of the military dictatorships occurred in Argentina and Chile. Chile’s dictatorship occurred during 1970s through the 1990s under Augusto’s Pinochet. Whereas, the Argentinian dictatorship occurred during the late 1970s through early 1980s.The “Arpilleras” in Chile” and the white scarfs in Argentina are two visual manifestos that women used to peacefully protest for the abuses of the military dictatorships.  The Argentinian women who started the movement of “Las madres de la plaza de mayo” in Argentina wore the white scarfs, “las bufandas blancas”, to protest for the kidnapping of their children. The “Arpilleras” from Chile are pieces of cloth embroidered with scenes depicting the hardships and violence women experienced during the military dictatorship. In both cases, these visual manifestos allowed the women to deal with their daily struggles and endure their sufferings.

It is projected that tourism in Latin America will increase to over 680 billion dollars by 2027 which is over double where it stood in 2016 (320 billion dollars). The rise in tourism is due to the recognition of the affordability of travel and the diversity of the countries. The countries that will be analyzed are Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Through comparison of ancient pyramids, historic museums, wonders of nature, and ski resorts, we will be able to reflect on the importance of tourism to each nation. The position to the equator, country security, and overall accessibility, all contribute to how these countries are able to function under the umbrella of tourism.