This essay explores the career of the understudied writer Pedro Castera (1846-1906), who is regarded as one of the first practitioners of science fiction in Mexico. A man of many talents, Castera is one of the most eccentric and eclectic figures in the intellectual life of fin-de-siècle Mexico City. His career took many turns: While during…

While it is generally accepted that literature fosters (inter)cultural learning, few qualitative studies have sought to understand in what ways interculturality is developed. This article investigates the development of Spanish L2 students' intercultural awareness through the reading of a short story entitled "Norma y Ester" by Argentine writer,…

Puerto Rican author Luis Rafael Sanchez's "La guagua aerea" explores the duality, hybridity, and fluidity of US-Puerto Rican identity through the frequent travel of migrants between New York City (the traditional destination city for Puerto Rican migrants) and the island. In recent years, however, the "flying bus" has adopted a new number one…

This essay seeks to explore the representation of Asia in Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi's "El Periquillo Sarniento" (1816), which is often considered the first novel produced in Latin America. Although many scholars have examined the picaresque element as well as the nationalist aspect of the novel, the Asian presence in Fernandez de Lizardi's…

In this paper, I begin with the identification of a moment of intertextuality between "Un viejo que leia novelas de amor" (1989) by Chilean Luis Sepulveda and "La voragine" (1924) by Colombian Jose Eustasio Rivera as an analytical motif for a reevaluation of the environmentalism and political ecologies in the Spanish American "novela de la selva"…

Through a combination of practical applications and theoretical underpinnings, this article explores the question of how to approach the teaching of Latin American Literature in the current period of globalization. Many theorists argue that we need new epistemologies in which to ground our pedagogy for the 21st century. Understanding the effects…

This article examines Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda's choice to include articles depicting the advanced decay of cadavers, which are simultaneously horrible and awesome, in her women's periodical "Album Cubano de lo Bueno y lo Bello". Background on Avellaneda's biography, women's print culture, and theories of the sublime provide a frame for the…

Focusing on Leonardo Padura Fuentes's hard-boiled fiction, this essay traces the origin and evolution of the genre in Cuba. Padura Fuentes has challenged the officially sanctioned socialist "literatura policial" that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. creating a new model of criticism that is not afraid to confront the island's socio-economic…

The work of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz contains many examples of positive representations of the Queens of Spain and the Vicereines of New Spain. These poetic portraits serve to counter the primarily misogynistic portrayals of ruling women of the seventeenth century. Most importantly, Sor Juana increased the visibility of the vicereine in colonial…

This paper explores the use of Judeo-Spanish in the Rosa Nissan's novels "Novia que te vea" (1992) and "Hisho que te nazca" (1996) and reveals the ways in which the presence of this language interrupts the otherwise linear coming-of-age narrative. An analysis of the main character's relationship with Judeo-Spanish establishes a critical dialogue…

The most cursory examination of literary depictions of the physically blind reveals a myriad of colorful, diverse and often odd characterizations. Portrayals of the sightless typically present them in roles overwhelmingly unflattering and flawed. In Federico Gamboa's "Santa," the blind piano player and coprotagonist, Hipolito, is cast as pathetic…

Dominican-American writer Julia Alvarez's works demonstrate varying degrees of self-representation. Crucial to the ongoing process of identity construction that takes place in Alvarez's novels is the figure of the mother, who at once facilitates and threatens the daughter's negotiation of an autonomous identity. In both Alvarez's own life and in…

This manuscript presents a proposal for teaching Latino Caribbean heritage using as principal focus the novel and film "In the Time of the Butterflies." It discusses terms of literary works and their readings, the foundation of a Spanish caste system, African immigration, and political and economic aspects affecting Dominican American identity and…

This book is both a reference tool for locating high-quality Latino children's literature--rhymes, fingerplays, poetry, stories, plays, and books--available in the United States, and a resource guide containing successful ideas for using this literature with children of all cultures. Particular emphasis is placed on books by Latino authors,…

This document presents a module on learning library resources by researching Latin American topics to be used in the Use of Library Resources course at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (Missouri). The goal of the module (to give students a basic knowledge of library resources and to introduce them to Latin America by researching Latin…