vistasteresa lozano long institute of latin american studies . the university of texas at austin . 2013 From the Director 2012–2013 alumni steering committee Dear Friends, Joe Garvey 1998 Welcome to the second edition of Vistas, our annual newsletter for alumni and Sean Hale 2000 other supporters of LLILAS. It is an Robert T. Huesca 1988 exciting time for LLILAS and the Benson Collection. This year we welcomed Sara (Segrest) Kennedy 1969 acclaimed Colombian opera singer Mar- Sandra M. Wegmann 2006 tha Senn to Austin and held the Lozano Liz Wiley 1989 Long Conference on the subject of race in the Americas. Luis F. A. Zapata 1994 We have begun to raise funds for a new student scholarship to honor former ILAS director William Glade, who helped guide a generation of our students during his tenure. Dr. Glade will be at our second annual alumni reunion. Please mark Friday, April 26, on your calen- dar for this event. Former Benson librarian Ann Hartness, featured in this issue, Vistas Editor Mayra Marquez has created a permanent fund for Brazilian acquisitions. We are delighted to www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas honor their contributions to this institute. Last year we raised support for graduate students through the Anne Dibble Scholarship, thanks to the wonderful generosity of our alumni. We are happy to Cover photo by Itzel Martínez report that we’ve met our goal and awarded the first Anne Dibble Scholarship Itzel studied abroad in Guatemala last to first-year master’s student Joseph Woodard. Joseph is focusing his studies on summer, where she took this photo of a U.S.–Latin American relations and politics, with a special emphasis on Brazil. girl in Cañón del Río Dulce transporting Thank you for your support of students like Joseph. her wares to market. During her time there, Itzel interned at a public school We hope you’ll stay connected with us by visiting us on campus, sponsoring and volunteered at Casa de Luis de Lión, an internship at your organization for a LLILAS student, attending a LLILAS a community center, where she learned alumni happy hour, or joining our alumni Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Our the history of Guatemala, including the doors are always open to you. Guerra Civil (Civil War), which occurred from 1960 to 1996. She visited small Saludos cordiales, pueblos and heard accounts of the war’s undeniable impact on the indigenous population and country as a whole. Itzel is majoring in Mexican American Studies Director and Radio-Television-Film at UT. Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection Historian, Latin America and Human Rights Ann Schneider U.S. Government; LLILAS MA, 2002
What led you to study at LLILAS? The short answer is: the 1998 arrest in London of former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. The story fascinated me. It had been unthinkable that he could be held accountable for the human rights abuses of the Dirty War, but there he was, facing possible extradition to Spain on human rights charges! When it happened, I was a high school Spanish teacher. The first thing that I did in response was to redesign parts of my courses for that year so that we could dis- cuss Pinochet and human rights trials. The second thing (more or less) was to decide to go to graduate school. I wanted to learn more about the Spanish case against Pinochet and study everything that went into it and evolved from it. I had a vague notion at that time that I might be able to work in similar efforts for accountability. I wanted to work on human rights—I take and am now a practitioner in the field of What are your most memorable LLILAS a look at law school or public policy or accountability for human rights viola- experiences? journalism, but I only seriously entertained tions, although not in a way that I could I was immediately, and remain, very the idea of becoming a historian. It was imagine—or that even existed—when impressed by my classmates. They came the graduate seminars in history that did Pinochet was arrested. I work as a histo- from all over the Americas and they were it, especially those taught by Seth Garfield, rian of Latin America in a relatively new (and are) very bright and deeply commit- Mark Lawrence, and Susan Deans-Smith. (and small) unit of the federal govern- ted scholars, activists, artists, educators, I also had no idea that LLILAS would ment, the Human Rights Violators and journalists, policy makers, and the like. point me toward Brazil, a turn that made War Crimes Center of Immigration and Some then (and now many more) were all the difference. I went on to complete a Customs Enforcement. My work assists in wonderful partners and parents, too. doctorate in history at the University of Chi- the investigation and prosecution in U.S. cago. During my fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, district and immigration courts of indi- How did studying at LLILAS contribute I stumbled upon one very critical “finding” viduals implicated in torture, extrajudicial to your career choices and path after that had nothing to do with my research killing, and other human rights violations graduation? project but everything to do with my life that occurred in Latin America. Much has What I did not know when I started since that moment. He is now my husband happened to counter impunity in Latin LLILAS is that I would find an affinity for and a doting dad to our two little ones. America and elsewhere in the years since the discipline of history. I actually became that dramatic arrest in London in 1998; What are you doing in your professional life? a bit stubborn about it. I remember hear- this work is a part of it. ing a few very good suggestions that—if In broad strokes, I have come full circle BA Candidate, LLILAS and Travis Knoll Plan I For Travis Knoll, the path to Latin American Studies at LLILAS started as a high school exchange student in Argentina. During his senior year, Travis studied at the Colegio Nacional de La Plata, a prestigious high school where young activ- ists were often kidnapped and disappeared during the military dictatorship. While abroad, Travis asked the faculty at the school for a list of Argentinian literature translated into English. The list he received contained twenty books and all twenty could be found at the Benson Latin American Collection. “They told me that it’s the largest library in the world of Latin American literature. That was the moment that I thought, if I’m going to UT, I better study Latin America,” he said. Travis returned to Texas and enrolled at UT but was determined to get back to Argentina. He not only made it back there, participating in UT’s study abroad program in Córdoba, but also spent a semester in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where LLILAS has led me to seek he studied Portuguese and interned with the mayor’s office of Belo Horizonte. He opportunities to get hands-on also worked with the Centro Cultural São Bernardo, which was created to help strengthen the identities of marginalized communities in the region through art and experience and research abroad. literature. At the foundation, he wrote an article about historical memory in the region. This department promotes “There were residents who were being removed from a village and we interviewed about 100 community leaders. We came to the conclusion that there wasn’t enough academic diversity and exchange. psychological help for residents living there. It was my first article in Portuguese and it —travis knoll was a great experience,” Travis said of his internship. Back at LLILAS, Travis took courses from Profs. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and Henry Dietz. Dr. Garrard-Burnett’s class led Travis to a thesis proposal on histori- cal memory in Argentina, which he researched while studying in Córdoba. Although he spent a significant amount of time abroad, Travis also has been involved in the UT and Austin communities. He has worked with the Texas Civil Rights Project on prisoners’ rights issues and has written for the Daily Texan. As far as next steps, Travis has applied to graduate programs at UT and at Brazilian universities in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. “I am optimistic. The old knock against area studies doesn’t apply to me. It is a concrete course of study. If you choose relevant topics, you can apply it to business, academic, government, or nonprofit settings. If you think that you can’t get a job with area studies, you aren’t being creative enough.”
Travis hiking in the mountains near Cuesta Blanca in Córdoba ricardo ainslie Professor, Dept. of Educational Psychology University of Texas at Austin
Please describe your background. in marginalized communities, I was born in Mexico to a Mexican father the mayor during that period, and an American mother and came to the human rights activists, teachers, United States when I was seventeen years journalists, and people related old. I am a psychologist by training, but to the Juárez Cartel, among oth- since the 1990s my work has been more ers. The four main characters in ethnographic and community based. I use the book are the then mayor, José a variety of media, such as books, docu- Reyes Ferriz; Gustavo de la Rosa mentary films, and photographic exhibits Hickerson, a human rights activist; to explore topics that are of interest to me. Raymundo, a Juárez journalist; and “Elena,” whose partner was a mid- What have been your areas of research level Juárez Cartel operative (he during your time here? was assassinated in 2009). Although I have a long-standing interest in the topic of immigration, in 2004 I did What are you currently working on? a thirty-minute documentary film based I am currently working on an on man-in-the-street interviews in Mexico article about Mexico’s social fabric inter- working on a feature-length documentary City about Mexican views regarding the ventions in violent communities. I am also film about the experience of war. immigration phenomenon. My next major project in Mexico was a feature-length What role has the Benson Collection played documentary film, ¡Ya Basta!, exploring the in your research and teaching? wave of kidnappings in Mexico, the reasons The Benson Collection has been a terrific behind it, and citizen response to it. and indispensable resource to my work. I Between 2008 and 2011, I researched have spent many hours in the library looking my forthcoming book, The Fight to Save at archived issues of border (and, especially, Juárez: Life in the Heart of Mexico’s Drug Ciudad Juárez) newspapers, for example. War (University of Texas Press, April 2013). I made many visits to Juárez (the What has been the most unexpected or seren- book covers 2008–2010, three of the city’s dipitous thing that has happened to you in most violent years) where I interviewed your career? people from many different perspectives, Discovering the power of documentary including parents whose children had film and ethnographic, narrative-based been victims of violence, priests working research.
Dr. Ainslie and Juárez journalist researching violence How would you describe your experience working as a librarian at the Benson? My experience working at the Benson was very enjoyable. It was never dull, because no Ann two days were ever alike, and I felt fortunate that I liked my work so much. I spent five years as a cataloger and found work that many might think would be boring to be very rewarding, because I was participating in the effort to make all kinds of materials avail- Hartness able to the library’s clientele. In 1975 I became the Benson’s Public Services Librarian and later its Head Librarian. Head Librarian, retired 2008 I found that interacting with students, faculty, and the many visiting scholars, and facili- Benson Latin American Collection tating their access to the treasures of the library, to be the most rewarding work of all. A wonderful personal benefit was the opportunity to learn a lot about many aspects of Latin America that I was unfamiliar with, and also to learn more about U.S. Latinos, since the Benson includes a major collection of Mexican American/U.S. Latino material. Along the way I also became the library’s bibliographer for Brazil, selecting the books that we bought through book dealers, and also making annual acquisition trips to Brazil.
What are some memorable moments from your travels to Latin America? For the last twenty years of my career I traveled to Brazil every year for about five weeks to acquire publications. I always visited São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília, and sometimes other cities. During those visits I had a lot of contact with UT alumni (often LLILAS grads), former visiting professors, and others with ties to UT. During one of my visits, a LLILAS alumnus from Rio told me that some of the happiest hours of his life had been spent at a table in the Benson Collection. One of the most unusual visits that I made on an acquisition trip was to the Cemité- rio dos Protestantes of São Paulo, where many foreigners active in Brazil in the nine- teenth century and later were buried. It published Cemitério dos Protestantes, repouso de ilustres with information about the individuals buried there, which I wanted for the Benson. The only place to obtain it was at the cemetery office. The day that I went there was rainy and foggy, and the old trees among the worn tombstones were dripping and seemed to be weeping. It’s a scene I’ve never forgotten. After my return to Austin, a note about my trip from Dr. William Glade, director of ILAS at the time, commended me for “leaving no stone unturned” in my efforts to get books for the Benson!
What are your plans now? I’m working on the continuation of a book describing current reference works (1999– 2012) about Brazil to be published in Brasília this year by a publisher specializing in material related to books and libraries. The first edition, Brasil: Obras de referência, 1965–1998 came out in 1999. I’m also planning trips to Brazil (where one of my sons lives), Alaska, and Italy this year. In 2003, the Brazilian government decorated Ann Hartness as a Commander of its prestigious National Order of the Southern Cross. It is the highest decoration awarded to foreigners in Brazil. LLILAS IN BRAzil THE STATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE AMERICAS JUNE 5, 2013 As part of its efforts to increase academic engagement with Brazil, LLILAS will host a series of talks in Brasília on June 5, 2013. The event, The State of Higher Education in the Americas, will feature keynote addresses by Bill Pow- ers, President of UT Austin, and Brazilian counterparts. It will culminate with the signing of an agreement with Ciências sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders), the Brazilian government’s new student exchange initiative. All of the proceedings will be webcast. We invite LLILAS alumni and supporters to attend the event if they are in Brazil. Please contact Gail Sanders, Develop- ment Office Coordinator, at
announcing the william glade fund
The William Glade Fund will provide Glade was a director of the Institute funds to cover tuition, fees, books, of Latin American Studies for over a research, and/or internship opportuni- decade and a top researcher in econom- ties for LLILAS graduate students. Our ics. Honor Dr. William Glade by contrib- goal is to raise $50,000, which will be uting to the fund today. To make a gift, matched by Joe and Teresa Lozano Long please contact Celeste Mendoza, LLILAS for a total of $100,000 to support incom- Associate Director for Development, ing and current graduate students. Dr. at
www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas Join us for the second annual LLILAS Alumni Reunion, april 26, 2013
The LLILAS Alumni Reunion will take
place on the afternoon of Friday, April 26,
at LLILAS and the Benson. Join us for a
“back to school” mock class with a LLILAS
professor and a networking event with alumni
and students followed by dinner with former
classmates. RSVP for these events to Mayra
Marquez at