In this end-of-year roundup: a letter from LATS Director Dr. Solimar Otero; highlights from our faculty, staff, and students; a recap of our academic year events and collaborations; upcoming community events; and more.
"We attract undergraduate and graduate students because the program is intellectually stimulating, culturally rich, and community-affirming." - Dr. Otero
Contribute to the Latino Studies Program anytime via the IU Foundation Enrichment Fund. Your contribution supports the ongoing growth of our program, including visiting lecturers, symposiums, conferences, festivals and other special events encompassing Latino Studies at IUB.
Dr. Olga Rodríguez-Ulloa was selected for a 2026–2027 IU Presidential Arts and Humanities (IUPAH) Fellowship for the project: “Unexpected Migrants: Andean Women and the U.S. Empire”. Her first book monograph Sadistic Cholas: Transfeminist Provocations in Contemporary Peru (University of Texas Press) will be presented in May at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Convention in Paris.
Rodríguez-Ulloa’s future research analyzes memoirs and activist episodes that articulate a critique of U.S. imperialism produced by Andean migrant women living within the U.S. Having experienced Peruvian coloniality in the form of the hacienda system and its structural anti-Indigeneity, in conjunction with U.S. financial, cultural, and military interventionism in the Latin American region, these women represent an embodied and insurgent knowledge that became more critical with their immigration to the north. The case studies focus on the 20th century, situated in the Puerto Rican independence movement of the 1920s, New York's 1950s/1960s beat generation, and the 1960s Red Power Movement in the Bay Area.
Dr. Juan Ignacio Mora has recently completed his book manuscript, titled Latinx Encounters: How Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans Made the Modern Midwest. This book will be published in the University of North Carolina Press’s Latinx Histories series in September 2026. Dr. Mora was also appointed as the Thomas and Kathryn Miller Professor of History.
Dr. Carolina Ortega’s article “Mexicans in Interwar New York City: Steamships, the Mexican Consul, and Urban Placemaking,” was just published in the Spring issue of the Journal of American Ethnic History. She was also awarded a 2026 Trustees Teaching Award.
Charles Exdell: “In what was otherwise a very challenging year, my Latino Studies classes—Latino Film and Intro to Latino Cultures—kept me emotionally anchored and hopeful about the future. I was particularly encouraged by my students' dedication to the craft of writing and passionate engagement with many of the topics discussed in class. I see reason for hope in their vision of the world and creative potential!”
Manuel Martinez Alvarenga: “Getting to teach at LATS is always a fun and really experience. This year I was moved by the level of engagement and commitment from my students in LATS 396. I am proud of the work we did in class. We navigated complex and often triggering topics on the lives, culture, and struggles of immigrants. Through it all my students remained respectful, engaged, and always willing to speak from their hearts. I am proud of all the work they did, and I am moved by the amazing final projects they put together and I hope they continue to succeed in whatever they put their minds to.”
On April 2, 2026, Dr. Marla A. Ramírez presented a keynote lecture and book siging at the Dogwood Room, IMU.
On April 3, 2026, ten undergraduate students presented their research to faculty, staff, mentors, family, and friends at the Grand Hall at The Cook Center.
Rowan Glass, the LATS Graduate Assistant for the 2025–26 academic year, is in Peru from March to December of 2026 teaching English as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. His first placement, from March to August, is in the city of Ica, on the edge of the Atacama Desert—one of the driest cities in the world. His second placement, from August until December, will be near the city of Huancayo in the central Peruvian Andes.
Latino Studies enjoyed strengthening existing and newfound relationships with IU departments, programs, student groups and organizations, and the extended Bloomington community.
Latino Studies supported and created opportunities to enrich student life. From co-sponsorships, celebrations, and collaborations, like in La Casa's Latine Book Club, CRESS Poetry Slam, Visiting Lectures/events from the Spanish and Portuguese department, CLACS, Latin American Music Center, and much more! THANK YOU for your support and collaborations! We look forward to more meaningful time together.
An homenaje/collection of essays and testimonios about Dominican American author, poet, performance artist, and artivist Josefina Báez Dossier; new critical essays by Natalia Villanueva-Nieves, Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez, and Teresa Hernández; new cuentos/short stories by Diego Alejandro Arias and Giovanni Molina Rosario.
Latino Studies recognized Celia Cruz’s 100th Birthday in a multi-day celebration on and off campus, which included live music, performances, special speakers, library exhibits, and local publicity exposure. We shared stages, spaces, and community on and off campus alongside our co-sponsors, including the Celia Cruz Estate.
Born on October 21, 1925 in Cuba, Cruz became an integral voice for the promotion of popular musical genres like the guaracha, son, and salsa in the United States and beyond. She is famous for singing with the Sonora Matancera and Fania
All-Stars.
This newsletter is published by the Latino Studies Program and the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington.
Latino Studies Program
Director: Solimar Otero
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College of Arts and Sciences
Executive Dean: Rick Van Kooten
Executive Director of Advancement: Jeff Stuckey
Director of Alumni Engagement: Vanessa Cloe
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