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Brazil Week Culminates Active Year for Brazil Center Women in by David Workman Contemporary Mexican During the week of April 15-20, 1996, fire and countless people across campus Politics II: Participation the University of Texas at Austin came mobilized and brought the week to a suc- together to celebrate Brazil Week. The cessful conclusion. and Affirmative Action multidepartmental and multidisciplinary The guiding principle of Brazil Week was by Ruth Ellen Hardy series of events included presentations and that interest in Brazil can serve as a unifying Following the April 1995 Women in lectures on anthropology, art history, bio- theme for a wide diversity of people and Contemporary Mexican Politics confer- medical and petroleum engineering, busi- departments across campus and in the wider ence (see ILAS Newsletter, Spring 1995), ness, capoeira, dance, history, literature, community. Four points epitomize the spirit interest in the topic has continued to grow music, political science, public policy, and of the Brazil Week. First was the inclusion among political women in Mexico and sociology. Participants in Brazil Week in- of many different and often disparate inter- international Mexicanist scholars. Build- cluded graduate and undergraduate stu- ests under the umbrella of Brazil Week, and ing upon this success, the research of dents, faculty members, student organiza- in particular the joining of the social sci- Victoria Rodriguez (UT-LBJ School) and tions, visiting scholars and professors, as ences and the fine arts with business, sci- her students, and the support of the Mexi- well as outside lecturers, local schools, a ence, and engineering. Second was the ac- can Center of ILAS and Director Peter M. dance group, and a band. Brazil Week tive participation of Brazilian and Bra- Ward, Women in ContemporaryMexican celebrated the growing importance of Bra- zilianist visiting scholars and student orga- PoliticsII: ParticipationandAffirmative zil and Brazilian studies at the Institute of nizations in sharing their energy and exper- Action renewed the vigorous discussions Latin American Studies and at UT-Austin tise in organizing events and making pre- of last year's conference. as a whole. It also demonstrated the pivotal sentations. In particular, Brazil Week would The April 12-13, 1996, conference, role of the Brazil Center of ILAS in coor- not have had the campuswide appeal or sponsored by the Ford Foundation- dinating and facilitating Brazilian activi- variety without the efforts of the Brazilian Mexico and the Mexican Center of ILAS, ties on campus. The Brazil Center lit the cont. page 15 with additional support from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Institute of Latin American Studies, focused on women's political participation, local and regional politics, and affirmative action. The Mexi- can participants welcomed the opportu- nity to continue their discussions in this "neutral space," away from Mexican jour- nalists, party debates, and personal inter- ruptions. On April 11, 1996, as a prologue to the two-day conference, the Mexican Center cont. page 5

Mexico Connections ...... 4 Publications ...... 6 Afoot in the Field ...... 8 Institute Events...... 12 Scholar News ...... 16 A performance by the troupe DanceBrazil was a highlight of Brazil Week, sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS. The group also performed for students at Dobie Middle School. See story, p. 15. Photo courtesy of the UT Performing Arts Center. Not printed with state funds

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Through the Olmec Looking Glass by Andrew Wheat Olmec shaman kings legitimized their Part of the answer seems clear: rule over present-day Veracruz and Olmec shamans used tobacco, Tabasco, Mexico, through their ability to morning glory seeds, and possi- visit supernatural realms with a little help bly extracts of the glands of big from their earthly friends: tobacco, morn- Bufo marinustoads as part of their ing glory seeds, and toad gland extracts. transformation ceremonies. These The awesome power of these hallucinat- hallucinogenic elixirs were served ing rulers notwithstanding, it is unlikely in ceremonial decanters, such as that they foresaw themselves being rein- the exhibit's jaguar-shaped pot, carnated 1,600 years later as a balding which Reilly claims makes whis- anthropologist with an Alabama accent. tling noises through its ear holes A Merry Prankster busload of ILAS when hallucinogens are poured students, faculty, staff, and amigos wit- into its tail. Shamans enhanced nessed just such a metamorphosis in alum their trips through body piercing, F. Kent Reilly III on a May 12 fieldtrip to using ceremonial perforators to The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership puncture their ears, tongues, at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, an calves, and penises. According to exhibit sponsored by Princeton Univer- Reilly, barbed spines scavenged sity. Reilly, an assistant professor at South- from stingrays were "the perfora- west Texas State University in San Marcos, tors of choice." narrated the excursion, illuminating the Anyone in denial over the power The ga ping maw as entrance to the underworld. mysteries of the Olmec world. of these ceremonies need look no Photo c courtesy of Kent Reilly. Pat Boone, ILAS senior administrative farther than a seven-inch-tall stone "trans- maw of this amphibious winged creature, associate, scheduled a pre-Olmec stop at formation pose" shaman found in Veracruz. Reilly says, is an entry point to the nether the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences' On top of the shaman's head is an etched regions of the Olmec cosmos: the under- live butterfly exhibit. The life cycles of toad whose skin is molting down the center world of the dead and the heavenly skies of these insects-from egg to caterpillar, of its back-an area that doubles as the top the gods. Similarly, the Olmec considered pupa, butterfly, and windshield splatter- of the shaman's head. This juxtaposition mountain peaks and rivers sacred, since steeped excursionists in the metamorpho- creates the impression that the head of the such landscapes-like that of Chalcat- ses of the natural world. Reilly's meta- transforming shaman is also splitting open zingo-are natural interfaces with these morphosis that followed soon thereafter, under the influence of Bufo marinus or other worlds. however, was of another world altogether. some other hallucinogen. In other figu- Having made clear that only divine sha- Feed Your Head rines, which convey more motion than mans have the power to shuttle to and from The entrance to the Olmec exhibit is a typical in Olmec art, shamans riding jag- these other worlds, Reilly rears back and replica of an enormous rock that an un- uars and other critters appear to hurtle plunges through the gaping Chalcatzingo imaginative archaeologist has named through space as if on a motorcycle or maw that marks the exhibit's entrance. For "Chalcatzingo, Morelos Monument 9." rocket. Like the shaman kings, the Olmec the next hour and a half, he is the undisputed This monument has a geometrical hole in regarded animals such as cave-dwelling shaman king, lording over the busload of the center surrounded by stylized carv- jaguars and ducks that traverse the land, people who follow him through the croco- ings. Standing before Monument 9's water, and air as especially potent crea- dilian maw. Soon this mighty shaman re- yawning maw, Reilly tells us that the tures. Olmec shaman kings' power to trans- duces even the most skeptical among us to exhibit was organized to present new theo- form was tied into their divine right to rule, compliant followers. ries about the Olmec that have emerged in Reilly says. The shaman king was the one Grateful Dead the past five years. Archaeological stool member of society with a direct line to the Once through the Chalcatzingo maw, specialists had long known, for instance, cosmological trinity: the earth, sky, and Reilly's time travelers are confronted with a that Olmecs ate squash, beans, and corn. underworld. battery of exquisite artistic evidence to con- In contrast, the Olmec World exhibit asks Reilly then turns to the carved firm his view of Olmec cosmology. The the loftier questions: What was the nature Chalcatzingo monument behind him, Olmec are best known for hewing colossal, of their ceremonies and how was divine which he portrays as a sort of Olmec cos- Boteroesque fat heads from basalt. Although rule determined? Put in Jefferson Air- mological dragon-a hybrid crocodile with Olmec engineers moved ten of these stone plane terms, the exhibit addresses the ques- its yawning maw agape and accessorized heads, of up to twelve tons each, sixty miles the tion: What did the Olmec feed their heads? with jaguar and harpy eagle features. The from a quarry to the San Lorenzo site in Sp ring 1996-3 state of Veracruz, the Olmec exhibit focuses on the culture's scratches the reflective surface smaller masterpieces. (Those who prefer a big head can have a of his head. Similarly, tomb in- t~te-a-tete with one at the Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico exhibit, teriors, shaman bodies, and many running at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., of the objects in the exhibit were through October 20, 1996.) found lying under a heavy dust- The first part of the Houston exhibit features several striking ing of red cinnabar powder, the ceramic baby figures. Making the most of his Mother's Day sulfide from which mercury is audience, Reilly observes the intricately shaped, curled toes of one extracted. Reilly points out that of the figures, prompting a dozen mothers to recall how their own cinnabar's ceremonial impor- babies had scrunched up their toes in like fashion when mastering tance also could be derived from balance by pitting nascent muscles against gravity. While these its bloodlike color. toes have a tactile realism, Reilly also demonstrates surreal aspects "Slim" Evidence of the of the babies. Perhaps the most awesome baby, a fourteen-inch-tall Trinity figure found in Puebla at the Las Bocas site, has an expression of The most important Olmec knowing wonderment and awe. (Las Bocas is, of course, Spanish cosmological totem, according for "maws.") While this baby's eyes are open, those of several to Reilly, is "Slim," a two-foot- others are not. "They are like us and yet they are not us," Reilly tall, elaborately etched statue notes, warming to his explanation. found near the Guatemala-Sal- The babies, he tells us, were found in tombs, which-like vador border (the Olmec influ- Chalcatzingo and its famous monument-are entry points to the ence extended far beyond its area other world. Noting that Olmec tombs often contain tableaux of of direct rule). Reilly basically underwater, underworld figurines such as fish, ducks, and frogs, divides "Slim," who appears near Reilly argues that the babies promise spiritual reincarnation to the the end of the Olmec exhibit, dead. While death is an entry to the underworld, babies traversing into three parts corresponding to the birth canal provide a reentry point that brings Olmec cosmol- the realms of the sacred Olmec ogy full circle. The reassuring presence of cosmic baby figures in trinity: land, sea, and air. the tomb, then, makes Olmec dead eternally grateful. Reilly notes that the lower Reilly informs us that his baby explanation was derived from etchings on the figure represent commonsense ethno-prospecting. To glean clues to what the baby the watery underworld inhab- figurines buried in 10,000 B.C. might mean, he simply asked ited by Olmec ancestors. Above indigenous people who currently reside in the area influenced by the belt, Slim's torso is etched the Olmec. with representations of the In other tomb accoutrements, Reilly says Olmec graves fre- earthly human realm. Finally, quently contain magnetite stones that have been ground and Slim wears a mask tattooed with polished to a mirror finish. Mirror images also were viewed as the symbols of the celestial su- portals to the other world, Reilly ruminates, as he absent-mindedly pernatural world that has life- or-death control over rain, maize, "Slim" fertility, and the cosmos. Seen in Photo courtesy of Kent Reilly. a complimentary light, Reilly says, Slim's body is not just that of a man but also of a corn plant, which is inseparable from humans in the Olmec world. "These objects to me are alive," says Reilly at the conclusion of the tour, "as they were to the people who created them. For the ancient Olmec, each object was the point of interface between natural and supernatural realms, just as [in] certain miraculous images in Christianity." With these parting words, the shaman strides back out of the Chalcatzingo maw and leads his Merry Prankster followers into the impenetrable heat and blinding light that is Houston. "Morphed" by this wave of heat, Reilly fast-forwards 1,600 years from Olmec shaman to balding anthropology professor. What a long, strange trip it's been. Andrew Wheat, a 1990 graduateand former ILAS receptionist, is afreelancewriter who has worked as a newspaperreporter and Olmec baby. Photo courtesy of Kent Reilly. NaderRaider, among his numerous metamorphoses. A 4-IL AS Newsletter 4-ILAS Newsletter AAAAA&AAAA&AAAAAA A A LA AA*A&&AAAAAAAAAAA A A LA AAaAh&A AAAA&AAA A.A A A AA

Mexico Thanks to the additional support re- torium despite police warnings to stay home ceived from the College of Liberal Arts because of the cold. Heartwarming and thor- . Connections and raised through the Advisory Com- oughly enjoyable. A video is available on

Y by Peter M. Ward mittee, the Mexican Center was able to loan from the Mexican Center for anyone make some thirty-two individual awards who stayed home but would like to see what Even by its own high-activity standards, in the becarioprogram for Mexican schol- they missed. this last semester has been a particularly ars to visit UT-Austin for up to two weeks The Women in Mexican Politics II con- intensive one, embracing inter alia two and to take advantage of the archives, the gress organized by Victoria Rodriguez was, major international conferences, over Benson Latin American Collection, and perhaps, the most successful ever, and is twenty seminars in the M6xico al Mediodia the opportunity to work with our own reported upon by Ruth Hardy (see p. 1), so series, four Distinguished Mexicans in faculty clusters. Of these, more than I will say no more except to underscore that Texas lectures, official visits from Gover- twenty came during the spring semester that meeting also ended with a specially nor Vicente Fox (Guanajuato) and U.S. All visitors had an opportunity to talk composed song. Whatis itaboutthesepeople Ambassador to Mexico James Jones, a book about their work in the Mexico al who come to UT-Austin and are inspired to presentation, the inauguration of the ex-UT Mediodia series, which was generally sing? I, for one, am flattered, and I think that Mexican alumni database project, and a quite well attended. I would like to urge the university should be proud of its faculty's very successful meeting of the center's faculty and especially graduate students ability to draw the brightest and the best to distinguished Advisory Committee in San to participate more regularly in these their conferences and to offer an inspiring Miguel de Allende. It has been tough going meetings and not just when the topic is program. at times, but it has also been a pleasure to be closely tied to your own interests. It is our Partly to celebrate the visits of the best party to these multiple events, and I hope regular opportunity to meet weekly (Tues- and brightest Mexicans to campus, we have that colleagues and students have also en- days 12:15-1:30). inaugurated a new Distinguished Mexicans joyed them. Following close on the heels of in Texas lecture series. During the spring The semester ended with the Advisory December's Policies andPractices in the semester we welcomed Antonio Azuela Committee of the Mexican Center holding Preservation of the Cultural Patrimony (Attorney General for the Protection of the its biannual meeting at founding member of Mexican Inner Cities conference orga- Environment); Alfredo Phillips (President Martha Hyder's wonderful home in San nized by Logan Wagner (Architecture) of the NAD Bank); Governor Vicente Fox Miguel Allende. Those of you who have and myself, February opened with The (Governor of Guanajuato); and Senator and appreciated the treasures of the Hyder art Corrido as Contemporary Narrative in former PRI President Maria de los Angeles and antique collection in the Law School Mexico and in Texas organized by James Moreno (see Women in Mexican Politics can perhaps begin to imagine the flavor of Nicolopulos (Spanish and Portuguese). memoria for a copy of her speech). This is her home in San Miguel. The meeting was Despite our best-laid plans, the big freeze an innovation that I hope will be sustained, a great success, tackling issues of fund- closed the university precisely as our bringing as it does, some of the leading raising, the alumni database, and initiatives visitors were arriving from various parts figures from Mexican politics, government, to raise the number of Mexican nationals at of the world. Notwithstanding this slight art, and culture. Other distinguished visi- pro- UT, including a scheme that will dovetail hiccup, we proceeded with the program tors/speakers (outside the conference with the Mexican principal science and (one person failed to show up and he was gram) included Ambassador James Jones, technology funding body (CONACYT), from UT!), and a large audience enjoyed who talked to students and faculty on "The thereby creating a convenio that will privi- a fascinating integration of scholarly pa- State of U.S.-Mexico Relations." lege Mexicans at the university. It was an pers and corrido performance. Two par- The semester ended with a book presen- excellent meeting, but, as always after these ticipants rose to my challenge to write tation by UCSD's Sim6n Bolivar Professor Talons brainstorming sessions, necessitating a lot corridos about the weather-threatened Peter H. Smith. His latest book, The US-Latin of follow up. The meeting also benefited meeting, and Linda Egan's (UC-Davis) of the Eagle: The Dynamics of March greatly from the Saturday breakfast discus- Corridodel congreso congelado was per- American Relations, was published in addition to sions led by invitees PRI Senator Salvador formed at the close of the meeting and by Oxford University Press. In extensive Rocha Diaz and PRI Congressman Luis appears in the conference memoria/syn- Smith's presentation of the book, Manuel Jimenez Lemus. Governor Vicente thesis. My thanks for the success of this and thought-provoking (and argument-pro- provided by Fox (PAN) and PRI Municipal President conference go not only to James voking) commentaries were Jaime Fernindezjoined us on Sunday. This Nicolopulos, but also to Gil Cardenas and UT professors Larry Graham (Government) allowed the committee members and their Manuel Pena (directors of the Centers for and Bryan Roberts (Sociology). time for guests to quiz Governor Fox on exactly Mexican Americans Studies and Folk- As always, spring is competition congratula- what he did and did not say two days lore Studies, respectively) for their co- graduate students, and a host of competition previously in New York about privatization sponsorship of the event. This included tions is in order. In this year's Scholar- of PEMEX, which, not surprisingly, had two concerts on Thursday and Friday for the E. D. Farmer International cont. page 7 created a furor. evenings, the latter packing Jester Audi- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A AAA&AAA&AA AA*AA~A&AAAAAAAAAA Ananp~~~pAAp p Spring 1996-5

female nominations for party positions and search for equality women often lose their Women, continuedfrom page 1 that gender issues are high on the agenda identities as women." Ana Rosa Paydn for the next PRI National Assembly. She asked that women stop seeing the family as of ILAS featured Maria de los Angeles expressed optimism that COFIPE, the a jail, arguing that strengthening the fam- Moreno, senator and former president of planned electoral reform, would provide ily will secure the basis of society. Cecilia the PRI, in the Distinguished Mexicans in women greater access to the political sys- Loria countered that feminists don't want Texas Lecture Series. Moreno's talk, en- tem. Cecilia Romero (PAN) asserted that to "destroy or dissolve the family, but titled "Mujer y avance democratico" fo- the PAN's efforts to improve female self- reconceptualize it" in a way that supports cused on the status of women worldwide esteem, expose the culture of gender dis- opportunities for women. and the need to improve the lives and crimination, and eradicate the invisibility Following these debates, BeatrizParedes opportunities of women globally. For of women's work are all methods for affir- (former governor of Tlaxcala and current Mexico, Moreno asserted that as the coun- mative action within the party. general secretary of the Confederaci6n try moves toward a modern democracy, The second day of the conference in- Nacional Campesina) highlighted the im- policy makers must recognize gender dis- cluded two panels addressing women's portance of the conference, especially in parities and ensure equal access to educa- political participation at the local and re- light of the context of the underlying po- tion, employment, and positions of author- gional level. Alejandra Massolo (UAM- litical tension. She asserted that despite the ity. She called for a "new democratic de- Iztapalapa) outlined the participation of many areas of agreement about the status sign that transforms patriarchal values and women in local elected politics, asserting of women in Mexico, conference partici- protects human rights" and encouraged that a"new federalism is important, but pants failed to agree on the definition of women to increase their involvement in only with a gender equality that creates a affirmative action, the proper role of the decision-making arenas, utilizing their "so- truly new order of government." Drawing family in the lives of women, or the goals cial conscience" to create a more equitable on her research on the Monterrey water of women in politics in Mexico. She noted and democratic Mexico. crisis during the 1970s and 1980s, Vivienne that women are divided due to political, The conference officially commenced Bennett (California State University, San ideological, religious, and cultural reasons, the following day with panels on affirma- Marcos) argued that the aggressive grass- but "in a plural society, each person also tive action. Judith Gentleman (U.S. Air roots protests of women resulted in "Agua has a right to his/her singularity. Mexicans War College and University of New Hamp- Para Todos," the first water project of its must learn to live in a democratic society shire) presented a provocative paper high- kind in Latin America, and "altered the that respects different points of view." lighting the complete absence of women in relations of power" in Mexico by effecting While she was cautious about the level the national security arena. Gentleman de- both local and federal policy changes. Lilia of agreement at the conference, Paredes scribed the "social construction of a mas- Venegas (INAH) discussed the contribu- was optimistic that women could move culinized militarism" that views female tions of PANista women in Tijuana, as- forward in their struggles for gender equal- participation in the military elite as inap- serting that the party and families of these ity and democratic citizenship in Mexico. propriate, precluding avenues for women's women can be both obstacles and sources This optimism multiplied following influence on national security issues. of strength for their political participation. Paredes' summary, as women rushed to Marta Lamas (Debate Feminista) de- The final panel of the conference was a the podium to join in singing an anthem scribed affirmative action as a"mechanism roundtable discussion on"An Agenda for composed by conference participants the for social change," urging a recognition of the Future of Women in Mexican Political previous night. both historical and structural obstacles Life" skillfully moderated by Sara Lovera The conference closed with remarks by faced by women. Lamas noted that affir- (DobleJornada).MarfaElena Chapa (PRI) Victoria Rodriguez, who proposed a third mative action should be a component of a called for a greater focus on creating op- conference on women in Mexican politics. larger plan to eradicate discrimination. She portunities for girls, eradicating poverty, Cheers erupted as Rodriguez suggested it stressed that affirmative action "includes changing female stereotypes in the media, be held in Mexico, coinciding with the the seeds for its own destruction" after the and encouraging more collaboration be- April 1997 Latin American Studies Asso- goal of a more equal society has been met. tween academics and policy makers. Maria ciation (LASA) Congress in Guadalajara. The day closed with a roundtable discus- Teresa G6mez Mont (PAN) argued that With their similarities and differences now sion moderated by Cecilia Loria (GEM). Mexico needs a more informed citizenship more clearly articulated, women in Mexi- Speaking on behalf of the PRD, Laura Itzel and changes in gender relationships in can politics hope to continue such meet- Castillo stated that her party strives for both domestic and economic arenas. ings in the politically charged and dynamic "equality in politics and parity in social Patricia Parrodi (PAN) called on women atmosphere of their own country, where justice," requiring that positions of power to respect the plurality of female ideas, they can more easily move their discus- within the party must not constitute more arguing that each woman has a right to her sions into progressive, gendered action. than 70 percent of either gender. Maria de own opinions and values. Parrodi accused Ruth Ellen Hardy received her master's los Angeles Moreno (PRI) noted that her feminists of using language that excludes degree from the LBJ School of Public party has always had "unstated" quotas for many women and argued that "in their Affairs in May 1996. 6-IL AS Newsletter 6-ILAS Newsletter LA&A&AA AAA&AAAA LA A A LA LA*AkAA &AAA&A AA LA A A LA LAaAkAA AAA&A ALA L.A .a A LA

edge, as well as successful patterns for Louisa Schell Hoberman is on the fac- living together and adapting to the natural ulty of the UT-Austin History Department. world. To face the future successfully, Susan Migden Socolow teaches at Emory argues Bonfil, Mexico must build on these University in Atlanta. strengths of Mesoamerican civilization, Available from University of New "one of the few original civilizations that Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM 87131- humanity has created throughout all its 1591. (Cloth $45.00; paper $19.95) history." Author Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, who Local Economic Development in Europe a was killed in a 1991 car accident at the age and the Americas Mexican Mixico Profundo: of fifty-six, was a well-known Edited by Christophe Demaziere and A. Den- Reclaiming a Civilization anthropologist. Translator Philip Patricia A. Wilson at Texas By Guillermo Bonfil Batalla nis is Professor of Anthropology Mansell, 1996 Translated by Philip A. Dennis Tech University. Texas During the ILAS Translations from Latin America Available from University of 78712- last two de- Series, University of Texas Press, 1996 Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX cades, advanced 7819. (Cloth $30.00; paper $12.95) ANI! RI/ A This transla- societies have .I\t> }E 1 S P experienced in- tion of a major The Countryside in Colonial / ,,j-'Y ~ flation, rising ? ', work in Mexi- Latin America can anthropol- unemployment, Edited by Louisa Schell Hoberman and and the instabil- ogy argues that Susan Migden Socolow ity of exchange Mesoamerican University of New Mexico Press, 1996 civilization is an rates. Macro- ongoing and un- This collec- economic pol- deniable force in tion of eleven icy instruments contemporary original essays have shown Mexican life. is a unique their limits, while transnational corpora- For Guiller- overview of ru- tions have never been more powerful. mo Bonfil Bata- ral life in colo- Within the nation-states, regions and lo- lla, the remaining Indian communities, the V nial Latin calities are searching for alternative eco- "de-Indianized" rural mestizo communi- America, dem- nomic growth. ties, and vast sectors of the poor urban d onstrating the This collection of essays analyzes local population constitute the Mixicoprofundo. numerous ways economic development strategies in the Their lives and ways of understanding the in which the light of global restructuring in three re- world continue to be rooted in Meso- countryside, gions of the world: Europe, North America american civilization. An ancient agricul- rather than the (United States and Canada), and Latin tural complex provides their food supply, city, dominated colonial life. More than 80 America. The contributors, who are econo- and work is understood as a way of main- percent of the people lived in the country, mists, public policy analysts, geographers, taining a harmonious relationship with the producing goods for both subsistence and and planners, address such key questions natural world. Health is related to human sale, with Indian peasants and black slaves as: What are the respective contributions conduct, and community service is often constituting most of the laborers. A small of public authorities, firms, and individu- part of each individual's life obligation. elite of landowners and church officials, als? What is the logic behind the rise of Time is circular, and humans fulfill their along with some artisans, rural traders, and new industrial spaces and the fall of former own cycle in relation to other cycles of the local officials, enforced social control, pro- loci of accumulation? What do local strat- universe. vided capital, and linked the haciendas to egies mean in an age of economic global- of Since the Conquest, Bonfil argues, the markets in the city. ization? What are the concrete outputs peoples of the Mixico profundo have been The concluding essay addresses the role local development strategies? Is LED only dominated by an "imaginary Mexico" im- of conflict, violence, and resistance in a a local matter? What is the democratic posed by the West. It is imaginary not hierarchy that was often based on forced content of LED strategies? systemati- because it does not exist, but because it labor and negative social stereotypes. The The book aims to: present denies the cultural reality lived daily by collection provides a worthy addition to cally to a wide audience the enormous most Mexicans. the social history literature of colonial Latin variety of local economic initiatives-their Within the Mexico profundo there exists America by situating these rural players in aims, mechanisms, and outcomes; review an enormous body of accumulated knowl- their physical and economic setting. the literature on local economic develop- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *.A A A AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA Ah A A LA AAaALAp LAAahAAAA.A AA LA A Spring 1996-7

ment that has changed extensively over the ILASSA Conference 1996: Another Shining Success last fifteen years; and develop a compara- tive approach to local economic develop- by Cameron Vandegrift ment initiatives, especially between coun- The sixteenth annual Institute of Latin VKIN AAg tries and continents. American Studies Student Association Christophe Demaziere is a Researcher at (ILASSA) Conference on Latin America, the Institut F6ddratif de Recherche sur les held March 1-2, 1996, was a shining suc- Economies et les Socidtds Industrielles cess once again, and it continues to define (IFRESI), Lille, and lectures on the Fac- itself as the preeminent student-run con- ulty of Economics and Sociology at the ference on Latin America in the United . mf University of Lille. Patricia A. Wilson is States. Planned, organized, and put into Associate Professor in the Graduate Pro- motion entirely by students affiliated with F ASSOO\ gram in Community and Regional Plan- ILAS, the conference has gained a reputa- shuttle between simultaneous presenta- ning at the University of Texas at Austin. tion for hosting presentations and discuss- tions. The topics varied widely, from an Available from Mansell Publishing ing ideas that are consistently in the van- examination of the roles of the Uruguayan Limited, 215 Park Ave. South, New York, guard of contemporary issues regarding judiciary (UT's own Jason Pierce), to a NY 10003. (Price not available) Latin America. discussion of the creation of new sexual After warm and inspiring welcoming identities on the U.S.-Mexico border, to a remarks to the attendees by ILAS Director presentation on the presence of African- Mexico, continuedfrom page 4 Nicolas Shumway, the conference com- American baseball players in the Mexican menced with the keynote address by Cu- leagues from 1930 to 1950. Theresa ships, ten students have received awards. ban national assembly member Fernando Esquibel, a joint-degree master's candi- The newly created C. B. Smith Disserta- Portuondo. A Yale-educated sociologist date at ILAS and the LBJ School, enjoyed tion Enhancement Travel Scholarships at- who moved back to Cuba to join the Revo- the presentations regarding the roles of tracted considerable interest, and awards lution, Portuondo was well prepared to women as political actors and symbols. were offered to seven students. (See Stu- deal with questions relating to the salient "Women as political actors in Latin dent News, p. 14, for a list of recipients.) issue of the day. He described the recent America have always fascinated me, and I Finally, warmest congratulations go to downing of two American Cessnas alleg- was specially impressed at the level of Eduardo Torres (Sociology) who, during edly piloted by members of Hermanos al scholarship during [these] presentations." 1996-97 will hold the prestigious "Soli- Rescate-an organization dedicated to aid- Festivities for the participants were ar- darity" Presidential Scholarship. ing Cuban refugees intent on reaching U.S. ranged to provide ample opportunity to Once again, may I close by extending shores-as the result of continued incur- relax and socialize. Informal gatherings my personal thanks to all of the faculty and sions by American planes into Cuban air- were held at the popular Latin nightspots staff who have supported the Mexican space, maintaining it was the sovereign Calle Ocho and Club Palmeras, and the Center in the past few months, not least, right of Cuba to defend her borders. Most restaurant Baby Acapulco was reserved those who have participated in the selec- attendees, although not in agreement with for a dinner attended by the entire confer- tion process of the various scholarship all of his assertions, concurred that ence. The final night of the conference, La competitions outlined above. Also I would Portuondo was an impressive speaker. Zona Rosa restaurant was rented, and the like to acknowledge the support and work Emily Nordloh, who as deputy conference evening's activities featured the intense of Lisa Stevak and Kateri Arag6n, both treasurer made invaluable contributions Latin rhythms of the popular Austin band part-time assistants in the center who will arranging subsidized or free airfares, said Son Yuma. Participants could leave Aus- be leaving this summer, and to work-study that "the speech was interesting in that it tin secure in the knowledge that they had Mario Garcia. Without them the center presented another point of view from the taken part in an event that had conveyed its would have imploded; with them we just one which we as Americans are accus- appreciation of their efforts in their field. about managed to keep abreast of the many tomed to reading." Special recognition should be given to activities enumerated above and many oth- Conference participants then broke up this year's conference organizers, all of ers besides. One thing I know we have into carefully selected discussion groups, whom worked very hard to promote a learned in the Mexican Center is how to in which presenters were allotted approxi- successful event, but especially to coordi- cope with bomberazos! I hope that faculty mately twenty minutes to expound on what nators Marcia Grimes and Hannah Holms, and students will continue to contribute to for many of them had amounted to years of who, despite some difficulties, still man- this intense activity. research. Each discussion group was part aged to create an outstanding gathering of PeterM. Ward is director of the Mexi- of a two-hour session that included issues Latin Americanists. can Center of ILAS. and ideas of similar nature, and each was Cameron Vandegrift is a student in the allowed its own room in the UT Union so ILAS master's program and 1995-96 that students and participants could easily copresident of ILASSA. &..A.A-&VTVVAV AAAVV 8-ILAS Newsletter

Afoot in the Field: Reports from Graduates on Life after ILAS

"Disaster a Go-Go" ing on from ILAS, I'm forced to explain those positions in El Salvador, Nicaragua, by Douglas E. Mercado, USAID, Angola why I've been working in the field of or Belize had opened up since we last spoke disaster relief in Sudan, Bosnia, and Angola in 1991. I figured that I had done my time in I am a graduate of UT-Austin's Insti- for the past five years. I had every inten- a field outside my "specialty" both geo- tute of Latin American Studies. At least tion of securing a worthwhile job in the graphically and professionally. The big pay- that's what my diploma says. Over the past Americas, so sure was I that I could be of off was just around the corner. Community five years I've been approached by family, use to the World Bank, USAID, or count- development in Rio de Janeiro, no doubt. friends, acquaintances, and strangers on less nongovernmental organizations I was thinking Brazil, but heard Bosnia the street who have peppered me with (NGOs) involved in development work. from the voice on the other end of the questions about my academic, professional, In my search for a job, I adopted the telephone. My response seemed hauntingly and romantic history. Leaving the embar- "shotgun" approach. More than two hun- familiar, almost too mechanical. A "Yeah, rassing details of my social life discreetly dred cover letters with accompanying OK" and I was committed to spend a year in behind, I normally launch into a thorough r6sumes fanned out from the base camp central Bosnia as a field officer for IRC's accounting of my struggles up the established atmy parents' house in Spring- relief program. For sure, the Balkans would foodchain of academia. The story begins field, Virginia. "Reject letters" arrived be the stepping-stone that would lead back with life in the primordial soup of primary quickly thereafter. Job offers were slow in to Latin America. Besides, I figured the education and ends with the successful coming. I took to the phones and to bad- challenge of delivering humanitarian aid to acquisition of thirty-odd credit hours and a gering as many human resource officers as communities trapped by war would prepare master's degree in Latin American stud- possible. The first to give me any sign of me for any future work in the field of ies, focusing on community and regional hope was an extremely pleasant Colom- community or economic development. planning and economic development, at bian woman working for the International Trucked up to the city of Tuzla during UT during the period 1989-91. Rescue Committee (IRC). I felt sure at the the middle of winter and unceremoniously Most of my interlocutors then de- beginning of the phone interview that our dumped off with minimal training, I set out mand a complete recitation of all the pro- "Latin connection" would lead to me to a to learn as much as I could about the con- fessional milestones I have passed on the position with one of IRC's programs in flict, the people of Bosnia, and the aid way to becoming one of the world's lead- Central America. She reviewed the aca- business in as little time as possible. One of ing authorities on development and com- demic and professional content of my the first lessons I learned was that most of munity and regional planning in Latin r6sumd, which practically screamed, "Put the humanitarian assistance amounted to America. (Certainly, employment in Latin Me in El Salvador." As the conversation little more than a "band-aid" covering a America and the achievement of mighty wound down, I was asked how I felt about gaping wound. Only the will of the world to goals in one's particular field of study are employment in a resettlement program for intervene (politically and militarily) would to be considered standard requisites for all Ethiopian refugees in Khartoum, Sudan. save the country and its people. The world graduates of ILAS.) It's only then that my Obviously, she must not have read my finally found the courage to stop the slaugh- half of the dialogue begins to falter. resum6, I thought to myself. But then ter, but only after too many years of inac- If the truth be told, I have not set foot visions of water-skiing on the Nile began tion. The efforts of IRC and other relief in Latin America (or the Caribbean) since to appear in my head and I blurted out, agencies certainly saved a number of lives packing up my bags and leaving Austin "Yeah, OK." It would be a great chance to and relieved the suffering of thousands of after the summer of 1991. I have not read see both the Middle East and Africa all displaced and war-affected families, yet it any literature about the developing econo- wrapped up in one country. Ten days later always seemed to be an insufficient re- mies and countries in the Western Hemi- I was winging it to Sudan with my ILAS sponse to the hatred and violence. Bosnia sphere. I have not attended any profes- diploma in tow. I left the United States taught me quite a bit about the will of a sional conferences or seminars focusing secure in the belief that Latin America people to survive. on Latin America. From time to time I'll would still be around after my one-year While in Tuzla over fifteen months, read a Fuentes or Vargas Llosa novel or contract with IRC in Sudan expired. my water-skiing skills took a plunge. How- dance to a little samba music in order to A year of processing Ethiopian refu- ever, my listening skills were sharpened maintain some contact with the region that gees in Khartoum passed quickly. My immeasurably as I became sensitized to the I "studied" for two years in case I have to water-skiing skills reached a respectable sounds of whizzing bullets and incoming prove my academic credentials to any- level. I came down with hepatitis A and mortar rounds and tank shells. One ear body who challenges the value of my M.A. headedhomefortheholidays. Whileloung- always had to be tuned to the slightest After dropping the bombshell that I ing on the couch in my parents' basement sound of an impending attack. This height- have been pretty much disengaged from after New Year's, I phoned my Colom- ened sense of awareness will probably never development in Latin America since mov- bian connection at IRC to see if any of disappear completely. - -- -- ~m~m~m ~ ~ - m m~- - - An A Spring 1996-9

A good deal of our funding came from war. Millions of lives out of balance be- fying on many days. You can't ask for USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster As- cause of the idiocy of a relatively few much more than that. My plans are to have sistance (OFDA). After many visits by individuals. I am leaving as the country a "coming of age" summer in the United OFDA field staff to Tuzla to monitor our makes a transition from more than twenty States and then move on to Liberia, Burundi, projects, the fact that I had studied Portu- years of conflict toward what will, one Afghanistan, or Chechnya come Septem- guese at ILAS slipped out. My fate for the hopes, turn out to be a lasting peace and ber. "Disaster relief' is, unfortunately, a next two years was sealed! OFDA needed national reconciliation. I've taken my wa- growth industry. At least Latin America desperately to fill the"Relief Coordinator" ter-skiing to new heights on the beautiful has managed, over the past five years, to spot at the U.S. Embassy in Luanda, Angola. waters of Mussulo Bay, the traffic lights in move away from the type of devastating Luanda, I mused, would at least put me Luanda are starting to function on a regular conflicts that now seem all too routine in within a five-hour, nonstop flight to Brazil. basis, and the emergency is largely behind Africa, Eastern Europe, and the former I accepted the offer and packed my bags for this country for the moment. USAID asked Soviet Union. the journey out of the supposed "safe ha- that I stay on another year to use my aca- I hope never to work in Latin America ven" of Tuzla, managing to depart the war demic background toward the effort to in the capacity of a disaster relief special- zone without any major illnesses (unless guide U.S. government assistance as it ist. scabies can be considered a major illness) makes the transition from emergency re- Douglas E. Mercado graduatedfrom this time. lief to rehabilitation and development. My ILAS in 1991 with a master's degree in Angola has been home for the past two response ... "Where's the next disaster?" Latin American studies and community years. Different country. Another tragic This line of work can be immensely grati- and regionalplanning.

ILAS Grad Enjoys back while twelve people snored in hyp- obstacles, called elements, that can be suc- "Challenging" Career notic chorus in the back of the van. Things cessfully negotiated only through group, got better, though. I started teaching bike rather than individual, effort. by Luke Stollings, It is used as a maintenance, which paid three times more Experiential Challenge Programs, Inc. therapeutic intervention, as teambuilding, for less and less dangerous work. I could as a diagnostic tool, and as a learning tool. Since graduation, life has been fascinat- assist on outings like canoe trips that were Some activities do not even require a ropes ing and not what I expected. I began work- more fun, if not better paid, and learn a lot course. One example: I ask the group ing part-time, while still in school, with a to boot. By the time I graduated I had led (maybe twelve people, but any size will guy who makes custom Southwestern fur- cross-country ski trips to Colorado, canoe work) to put on blindfolds. Then I hand niture. I learned how to make drawers and trips, kayaking workshops, and hiking trips, them thirty or so feet of rope and challenge such on the table saw. My impending de- and managed to keep the credit card wolves them to make a perfect square using all the gree soon showed its usefulness in two at bay. rope and all the people. This can take ways. First, the guy who carved for us was So, armed with mortarboard and two anywhere from 10 to 110 minutes, and the a monolingual Spanish speaker and my degrees, I . .. ran the table saw and taught resulting figure can have anywhere from 3 boss a monolingual East Texas speaker- bike maintenance. Out of the blue, I was to 8 sides. It's harder than it sounds. After- with a short temper. My services as trans- called to lead a group rock climbing on the ward, it is important to talk about what lator and intermediary introduced a revo- Barton Creek Greenbelt. I'd worked with happened and what issues came up. This is lutionary dimension to their professional this company, Experiential Challenge Pro- where a transfer can be made, applying this relationship. The other practical applica- grams, Inc., two other times in the previous experience back to "regular life." tion, more culturally profound, was to ex- three years. Over the course of the day I When I have office days, I try to drum up plain to my boss that the carver was not, in learned more about what the company did, business, document the groups I do, draft fact, Mexican (or "Spanish" either). "Gua- and the owner learned that I was looking policies and procedures for course usage, temala is the next country south of Mexico," for a job. So it is that one thing leads to sometimes help write a grant, troubleshoot I explained, enlightening my boss with the another. computers, and supervise two people on fruits of my education. I bored him to tears Today I am Director of Planning and our staff. Right now I am helping create an with the whole sordid history of U.S. in- Program Development for Experiential outing program coalition for colleges and volvement in the region. He told me to get Challenge Programs, Inc. Our company is universities in central Texas that don't back to work. small, only seven people, but we do lots of currently offer outdoor trips. My job is I also guided outdoor trips with the Uni- different things for lots of different people. varied, often exciting, rewarding, and fun. versity of Texas Outdoor Adventures Pro- Experiential (not Experimental, I am al- The atmosphere in our office is easygoing gram. I was paid paltry wages to put in ways gently correcting) means learning by (most of the time), very supportive, and fourteen-hour days driving to Enchanted doing, and two or so days a week I work positive. Everyone I know envies how Rock, teaching others to rock climb while with groups on a ropes or a challenge much I enjoy my job. I got married and never getting to climb myself, then driving course. The challenge course is a set of cont. page 10 10-ILAS Newsl lO-ILAS Newltter -

hopped around Ecuador and the Galapagos I speak Spanish not nearly often enough. sonal communication, and understanding on our wonderful honeymoon. This past My boss asks me how to tailor our criminal subcultures very different from my own, October we bought a house. Hmmm. Hard justice intervention programs or chemical then I'm right where I belong. to leave Austin once you find out about it. dependency treatment programs to Hispan- Luke Stollings earned an M.A. from Where does the Latin American sudies ics. I don't know the answers, but some- ILAS and an M.S. C.R.P. from UT-Austin. fit into my present career path? The joint times I ask good questions. I wonder if I will He and Rich Ann Roche (below) were degree gave me some computer and data ever "get back into my field." But if my copresidents of ILASSA during the 1990- analysis skills that have been very useful. ILAS "field" is critical thinking, interper- 91 academic year.

Skills from ILAS who graduated ahead of you. Six months cervical cancer education program that Serve Grad Well of hard searching led me my current posi- took place in El Paso. tion. I certainly never would have imag- The skills that I learned as a student in by Rich Ann Roche, ined that I would be working at the state the ILAS program and as a member of the Texas Departmentof Health health department. student association (ILASSA) have served Although I am not an "official" alumnus I have had an interest in public health, me very well. Perhaps these skills are best of the ILAS program, I consider myself a however, for many years. I administered described as being prepared to deal with faithful "unofficial" one. I entered the ILAS vaccines and fluoride treatments as an people from various academic fields. Any joint-degree program with Community and Amigos de las Amdricas volunteer in the ILAS student has experienced the neces- Regional Planning (CRP) in spring 1989. I Dominican Republic and in Paraguay af- sity of being flexible enough to deal with received a fellowship to spend a year in ter finishing high school. These experi- the interdisciplinary environment that is Paraguay in 1992, and upon my return ences reinforced my desire to at least ILAS. Epidemiologists may not know what decided not to finish the ILAS degree-the maintain my Spanish ability, and I went a planner with a strong background in year in South America would be my M.A. on to receive my bachelor's in Spanish. Latin American affairs has to offer, but I I completed my thesis during spring 1993 My goal upon entering the joint-degree believe my combination of research skills and graduated that May. master's program was to work with a and the ability to communicate effectively ILAS graduates often bemoan the diffi- nonprofit, community-based health orga- in Spanish as well as English are excellent culties in finding a job. How do you market nization that offered programs in Latin tools to accomplish whatever they present a Latin Americanist with a master's de- America. I didn't find that job, but the me. gree? Try marketing yourself when you're position I now hold comes awfully close. Rich Ann Roche earned an M.S.C.R.P. a Latin Americanist and a research-ori- I am a research specialist at the Texas from UT-Austin. She and Luke Stollings ented planner. Not many such positions Department of Health, and I have spent were copresidents of ILASSA during the exist, and those that do are taken by friends the last two years evaluating a breast and 1990-91 academic year.

ILAS Professional Development Office Links Grads to Job Market by PaulaBurrichter The ILAS Professional Development Office (PDO) officially publications, including select career guides and employment opened its doors in September 1995 (although I started working out listing subscriptions. We keep specific organizational literature of the ILAS student lounge last summer, appropriately enough), arranged in notebook and file form, distinguishing between jobs and now I can look back on a very productive year and forward to and internships for our users. I have also put together a searchable an even brighter future. Students conceived of the PDO, and past database of more than 150 organizations ranging from NGOs to director Peter Cleaves approved it as an essential informational and the private sector, as well as a WWW page with on-line classifieds networking bridge between ILAS students and the "real world." and resum6-posting mechanisms (http://lanic.utexas.edu/ilas/pdo/ Through numerous ILASSA meetings, a jobs/internships commit- for our cyber-searchers). tee, the administering of a career-interest survey, and the com- ILAS Director Nicolas Shumway's commitment to strengthen- ments of job consultants who passed through ILAS's doors, the ing alumni ties (e.g., ILAS alumni clubs) dovetails nicely with the PDO was designed and has begun to connect with the vision and networking aims of the PDO. Besides my more recent involve- efforts of many ILAS students past and present. ment with incipient alumni clubs in Austin and Washington, D.C., Since the "real world" means many different things to both I keep an alumni database that allows ILAS students to search for undergraduate and graduate students in our interdisciplinary pro- ILAS contacts according to professional interest and geographic gram, I have focused on accommodating and organizing these location. Without the PDO, several internship programs sent our various interests and opportunities for students in a user-friendly way by recent ILAS alumni might not have received the attention and multimedia way. The office maintains a small library of of our students. More alumni clubs are in the works, and we look AAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA A A AAAAaAkAAAAAAAAAA LA AA LA AAAAAAA &AAAAAAA L.A A A AA A Spring 1996-11 forward to the more personal contacts Director Meets with ILAS Alumni in Washington with the PDO. Simply put, in my nineteen hours a On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., try. Although each chapter will be handled ILAS Director Nicolas Shumway met week this year, I have succeeded with the with entirely by the local leadership, ILAS will the Washington-area PDO in building an informational infra- branch of the ILAS provide support where possible, for ex- Alumni Club. As part of his continuing structure that students can readily utilize ample, in the form of computerized mail- commitment to strengthen ties between in their search for quality jobs and intern- ing lists. (Anyone interested in forming a ILAS and its graduates, Shumway arranged ships on par with ILAS's top-notch repu- club in their city, please contact ILAS for an evening with the group April 2 to discuss tation. Through PDO orientation semi- any guidance we can provide.) Shumway their concerns as ILAS graduates and nars, flyers, e-mail, and bulletin board to hopes eventually to send faculty lecturers hear their suggestions for students currently postings, I have tried to keep ILAS stu- to Alumni Club events and to organize in the ILAS program. dents informed on what's new at the PDO; educational trips, such as the recent guided One point made repeatedly by the alums the feedback has been interactive and re- tour by ILAS Ph.D. Kent Reilly to the was that students need a strong technical warding, but there is still much to be done. Houston Museum of Fine Arts Olmec ex- core in their education to meet the demands My wish for the coming year is that the hibit (see article, p. 2). The clubs will serve of today's job market. Beyond the obvious PDO takes the communication tools now to link ILAS graduates and afford an op- need to be computer-savvy, the grads em- in place and fashions a strong and dy- portunity for networking and mutual sup- phasized that students need marketable skills namic networking body with ILAS alumni port as students leave ILAS and move out such as those afforded by the joint-degree and Latin America-related organizations. into the job market. programs. The ILAS grads were in univer- Assess, Prepare, and Network should be Summing up the evening, Shumway says, sal agreement, however, in defending the the PDO's anthem for 1996-97. "Meeting with ILAS graduates in the D.C. breadth of the ILAS master's program. PaulaBurrichter, who graduatedfrom area renewed my pride in ILAS. The qual- ILAS with an M.A. in 1996, was the ILAS In addition to the Austin and Washington ity of our graduates bears strong witness to chapters, there are plans to form ILAS ProfessionalDevelopment coordinator. the value of our programs." Alumni Clubs in key cities around the coun-

A Hope-Inspiring Day at the White House by Theresa Esquibel Once-in-a-lifetime experiences that ernments that have more equitable gender become etched into our minds can inspire compositions than ours, and the impact that an idealism that motivates, invigorates, women politicians have had on those soci- and even complicates life. Often our ide- eties. She also emphasized the need for x alism is what keeps those moments alive. young women to pursue that kind of career. 3

L This is my attempt to describe the per- In order for the strategies agreed to in China 0 sonal impact of attending a White House to become anything more than rhetoric, we reception for 130 women with First Lady need to contribute to their implementa- UU O Hillary Rodham Clinton in January as a tion-I now plan to do my share in a policy- a follow-up briefing to the 1995 UN World making capacity some day. Conference on Women. The end result for We next learned about the worldwide ILAS student Theresa Esquibel with First me was another life-changing experi- political disregard of women from surprise Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. ence-as if being in China at the largest speaker UN Ambassador Madeleine tional approaches to policy and diplomacy UN conference ever was not enough! The Albright who had returned that day from must be changed. Women must participate impact: not only did it inspire me to define Rwanda. She made the point that peace is in politics for this to happen, but they must my career goals, it gave me hope for the not strictly about an absence of war or do so with women's concerns in mind. future of politics-a hope based on faith rebellions. Rather, it necessitates a har- Regarding post-Beijing action strategies, in women's ability to make politics better. mony among all humans-with a complete White House staff and other speakers asked This hope in women results from the absence of violence such as rape that occurs the attendees to serve as community liai- speeches I heard both there and at the UN with or without wars. Ignoring this type of sons with the White House-updating them conference. The conference had impressed violence is an example of the disrespect for about pertinent activities and serving as attendees with the importance of having and disregard of women that pervade na- contact persons for executive visits to our women with a women's agenda in policy tional and international security concerns. areas. Efforts such as this have emerged making, whether in elected office or an- For the achievement of true equality-sus- from the new Office for Women's Initia- other capacity. This point was echoed by tainable development and peace, the theme tives and Outreach, developed specifically the First Lady as she discussed those gov- of the women's conference-such tradi- cont. page 18 12-ILAS NeU sleter AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Spring 1996 at Texas A&M University and vice-president ment. Distinguished Mexicans in Texas Lec- Co of Brazil's oldest environmental NGO. Spon- ture Series. Sponsored by the Mexican Center Institute of sored by Real Brazil and the Brazil Center of of ILAS. Latin American Studies ILAS. March 1-2 Events February 13 Conference-16th Annual Student Confer- Mexico al Mediodia-Relaciones hombre- ence on Latin America. Students from Latin January 26 fauna en Xochicalco, Morelos by Eduardo Co- America, the U.S., and Europe presented pa- Slide Show-A Brazilian slide rona, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/INAH. Spon- pers on topics ranging from literature and music show presented by photographer Irene sored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. to microenterprise and political ecology. Spon- c Faiguenboim. Sponsored by the Bra- February 14 sored by ILASSA. zil Center of ILAS. Workshop-Introduction to the ILAS Pro- March 4 January 30 fessionalDevelopmentOffice. A session to help Film-Brazilian Film Festival. Sponsored Mexico al Mediodia-El norte de students learn job search skills, how to research by the Brazil Center of ILAS. Mexico y Texas (1850-1880): un companies on the Net, how to identify potential March 5 a) espacio econ6mico binational en employers, and about the professional resources Mexico al Mediodia-Sexualidades torn al Bravo by Mario Cerutti, available at ILAS. Sponsored by ILASSA. marginales y sociabilidades modernas: la C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/Univ. Lecture-The SIVAMAffair: Reflections on experiencia porfiriana by Jorge Bracamonte Aut6noma de Nuevo Le6n. Sponsored BrazilianDemocracy by Jorge Zaverucha, Vis- Allain, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/El Colegio by the Mexican Center of ILAS. iting Fulbright Professor, Government Dept. de Mexico. Sponsored by the Mexican Center February 1 Sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS. of ILAS. M6xico al Mediodia-Frontera February 21 Lecture-Borges y Dios (in Spanish) by sin barreras:trabajadores mexicanos Lecture-Chilean Democracy after Nicolas Shumway, ILAS Director and Profes- en Texas, 1850-1880 by Miguel Pinochet by Ricardo Israel Z., Director, Insti- sor of Spanish Language and Literature. Dept. Gonzalez Quiroga, C. B. Smith Visit- tute of Political Science, Univ. de Chile, and of Spanish & Portuguese Faculty Lecture Se- ing Scholar/Univ. Aut6noma de leading Chilean political commentator. Spon- ries. Nuevo Le6n. Sponsored by the Mexi- sored by ILAS. Lecture-Women's Experience as Immi- can Center of ILAS. February 22 grants in the United States by Kathy Martin, February 6 Poetry Reading and Commentary-Martin Immigration Counseling and Outreach Services. Mexico al Mediodia-Procesos Espada, Nuyorican writer and winner of the Sponsored by the Forum on Latin American electoralesen el Ayuntamiento de la 1990 PEN/Revson Award for Poetry and the Women in Celebration of International Ciudadde Guadalajaraby Luz P6rez 1991 Paterson Poetry Prize. Cosponsored by Women's Day. Castellanos, C. B. Smith Visiting the Dept. of Spanish & Portuguese, ILAS Car- March 7 Scholar/Univ. Aut6noma de Nuevo ibbean Working Group, and the Dept. of En- Brown Bag-ILAS Professional Develop- Le6n. Sponsored by the Mexican Cen- glish. ment Office Resources by Paula Burrichter to ter of ILAS. Mexico al Mediodia-Sindicalismo en la help students find out how to research compa- February 7 frontera norte: de la participation al con- nies and find jobs and internships. Sponsored Mexico al Mediodia-The Con- formismo, los casosde PiedrasNegras y Ciudad by the ILAS Professional Development Office. temporary Mexican Novel by Martha Juarez by Cirila Quintero, C. B. Smith Visiting Mexico al Mediodia-Trabajo y Robles, Visiting Professor in the Mexi- Scholar/El Colef-Matamoros. Sponsored by reestructuracionindustrial en la dicada de los can Seminar. Sponsored by the Mexi- the Mexican Center of ILAS. noventa en Mexico by Jordy Micheli, C. B. can Center of ILAS. February 23 Smith Visiting Scholar/Univ. de Paris III February 8 Discussion-Web Page Design by Scott (Sorbonne Nouvelle). Sponsored by the Mexi- Mexico alMediodia-Los alfarjes McClain, UT-LANIC research associate. Spon- can Center of ILAS. U - del estado de Michoacdn. by Ndlida sored by ILAS. March 8 Sigault, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/ February 26 Lecture-The First Year of the NAD Bank El Colegio de Michoacin. Sponsored Lecture-Gateway to MERCOSUR (Argen- by Alfredo Phillips, CEO, NAD Bank. Distin- by the Mexican Center of ILAS. tina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay): Com- guished Mexicans in Texas lecture series. Spon- February 9 mon Market of South America. by Alvaro Diez sored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. Film-Real Brazil Film Forum: de Medina, Uruguay's ambassador to the U.S. March 19 The Violent Struggle for Land. North Sponsored by ILAS. Lecture-Federalism,Governance, and the American premiere of Massacre at February 27 PAN in Mexico by Vicente Fox y Quesada, Co Corumbiara,a video by the Workers Mexico al Mediodia-Techioloyan Picto- Acci6n Nacional governor of Guanajuato. Dis- TV Network, followed by discussion. rial Manuscripts:The Last Tango of the Colo- tinguished Mexicans in Texas Lecture Series. Sponsored by Real Brazil and the Bra- nial Tlacuilolli by Xavier Noguez, C. B. Smith Sponsored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. zil Center of ILAS. Visiting Scholar/El Colegio Mexiquense. Spon- Lecture-The State of U.S.-Mexico Rela- Film-Massacre at Corumbiara. sored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. tions by James Jones, U.S. ambassador to C North American premiere of a video March 1 Mexico. Distinguished Mexicans in Texas Lec- by the Workers TV Network, Sio Lecture-Strategiesof EnvironmentalLaw ture Series. Sponsored by the Mexican Center Paulo, followed by discussion led by Enforcement in Mexico by Antonio Azuela, of ILAS. Gustavo Tornquist, Fulbright Fellow Mexico's Attorney General for the Environ- AAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA AA A AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A AAAAAAA AAA&AAAAAA A AAA A Spring 1996-13

March 22-24 Cardoso. Sponsored by the LBJ School of Pub- Sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS as part Conference-Theorizing the Hybrid. UT- lic Affairs and the Brazil Center of ILAS. of Brazil Week. Austin. This international conference with a April 9 April 17 Latin American focus involved many disci- Mexico al Mediodia-El monstruo entre la Dance Demonstration-DanceBrazil. plines and was cosponsored by ILAS, Anthro- descripci6n y la imagen: el estudio de las Sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS and the pology, and Folklore. anomalias y monstruosidades en la medicina Performing Arts Center as part of Brazil Week. March 25 mexicana de finales del siglo XIX by Frida Lecture-Caliban'sCooptation: The Ideol- Lecture-Brazilian Women Writers and the Gorbach, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/ ogy ofRace Relations as Reflected in Literature Social Status of Women in Brazil Today by UNAM-Filosofia y Letras. Sponsored by the by Heitor Martins. Sponsored by the Brazil Helena Parente Cunha and Consul General Mexican Center of ILAS. Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. Ministra Maria Lucia Pompeu Brasil. Spon- April 10 Roundtable-Public Policy and the Envi- sored by the Brazil Center of ILAS. Mexicoal Mediodia-Household Workers' ronment. Featuring graduate students, profes- March 26 Unions in Twentieth-Century Mexico by Mary sors, and visiting scholars. Sponsored by the Mexico al Mediodia-Partidos en la Goldsmith, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/ Brazil Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. transformacidndel sistemapolitico en Mexico UAM. Sponsored by the Mexican Center of Roundtable-Scenes of Brazilian Life: Ex- by Juan Reyes, Visiting Scholar/Former Coor- ILAS. cerpts ofArt and Culturefrom the Baroque to dinator of COMECSO. Sponsored by the Mexi- April 11 the Contemporary.Featuring graduate students can Center of ILAS. Lecture-Mujer y avance democrdtico by and visiting scholars. Sponsored by the Brazil March 28 Maria de los Angeles Moreno, senator and Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. Lecture-Pain, Memory, andthe Gendering former president of the PRI. Distinguished Lecture-The Development of "Presi- of PostcolonialMedicine by Luise S. White. Mexicans in Texas Lecture Series. Sponsored dencialismo"inMexico by Jos6 Marfa Sernade Sponsored by the Working Group on Disease, by the Mexican Center of ILAS. la Garza, Instituto de Investigaciones Juridicas, Culture, and Identity; ILAS; and the Depts. of Mexico al Mediodia-La medicine UNAM. Sponsored by ILAS and the UT Law Anthropology, English, and History. estadistica mexicana: entre lo normal y lo School. Mexico al Mediodia-Politicassanitarias patol6gico en el caso de la medicina y la April 18 en los puertosde la cuenca del Caribemexicano sociologiade la segunda mitad del siglo XIX by Mexico al Mediodia-La unidaddomestica durante el porfiriato by Jose Ronz6n, C. B. Laura Chazaro, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/ y la segmentacidn ocupacional por sexo del Smith Visiting Scholar/El Colegio de Mexico. UNAM-Filosoffa y Letras. Sponsored by the mercado de trabajo en la zona metropolitana Sponsored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. Mexican Center of ILAS. de Guadalajaraby Beatriz Bustos, C. B. Smith March 29 April 15 Visiting Scholar/CIESAS. Sponsored by the Lecture-Diary of a Survivor: Nineteen Mexico al Mediodia-Housing, Law, and Mexican Center of ILAS. Years in a Cuban Women's Prison by Ana the Family: Gender Issues in Mexico by Ann Lecture-A View from the MIGs: Inside Lzara Rodriguez, coauthor with Glen Garvin Varley, UT Visiting Scholar/U. College Lon- Havana amid the Recent Crisisover Brothers of a book by the same title. Sponsored by ILAS. don-Geography. Sponsored by the Mexican to the Rescue by Alta Charo, Univ. of Wiscon- Lecture-Sustainable Development and Center of ILAS. sin. Sponsored by ILAS. Human Rights by Dalmo Abreu Dallari, Univ. Lecture-Brazilian Indians and the Global Workshop-Job Search Techniques. Paula of Sao Paulo. Brazil Center Speakers Series. Ecological Imaginary by Laura R. Graham, Burrichter, ILAS Professional Development April 2 Univ. of Iowa. Sponsored by the Brazil Center Office. Sponsored by ILAS. MexicoalMediodia-Mujeresydemocracia of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. Lecture-MacroeconomicIssues Facing the en Mexico: las mujeres panistas de Ciudad Lecture-How Much Political Power Do Brazilian Energy Industry. Sponsored by the Juarez by Dalia Barrera Bassols, C. B. Smith Economic ForcesHave? Conflicts over Social Brazil Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. Visiting Scholar/El Colegio de Mexico. Spon- Insurance Reform in Brazil byKurt Weyland, Lecture-A poesia na masica popular sored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. Vanderbilt Univ. Sponsored by the Brazil Cen- Brasileiraby Jos6 Miguel Wiznik. Sponsored April 4 ter of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. by the Brazil Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Mexico al Mediodia-Arte popular April 15-19 Week. mexicano y ginero by Eli Bartra, C. B. Smith Film Festival-Brazilian Filmsand Videos. April 19 Visiting Scholar/UAM. Sponsored by the Mexi- Sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS as part Lecture-InternetJournalism in Brazil by can Center of ILAS. of Brazil Week. Rosenthal Calmon Alves, UT-Austin. Spon- Lecture-Decentralization in Brazil: Im- April 16 sored by the Brazil Center of ILAS as part of plications for Social Policy by Vilmar Faria, Mexico al Mediodia-El imaginario en el Brazil Week. social policy adviser to Brazil's President discurso de la politica educativa mexicana: Lecture-Fighting Feet: Afro-Brazilian Cardoso. Sponsored by the LBJ School of Pub- 1920-1940 by Luz Elena Galvin, C. B. Smith Capoeiraby Sandra Lauderdale Graham. Spon- lic Affairs and the Brazil Center of ILAS. Visiting Scholar/CIESAS. Sponsored by the sored by the Dept. of History and the Brazil Lecture-Physics in Cuba by Carlos Mexican Center of ILAS. Center of ILAS as part of Brazil Week. Trallero, Univ. de la Havana. Sponsored by the Roundtable-Symposium of Brazilian Re- Musical Performance-UT Brazilian En- Dept. of Physics and ILAS. searchers:Who, What, and Why at UT-Austin? semble. End-of-semester performance. Under April 5 Sponsored by the Brazil Center of ILAS as part the trees at ILAS. Lecture-Decentralization in Brazil: Im- of Brazil Week. April 20 plications for Social Policy by Vilmar Faria, Workshop-Business in Brazil. Organized Carnaval Party-Featuring Atravessados social policy adviser to Brazil's President by the Brazilian-American Business Group. cont. page 14 14-ILAS Newsletter A&*~&&*A~ ~ do Houston. Sponsored by the Brazilian Stu- ILAS Working Groups Brazilian Education dents' Association as part of Brazil Week. In conjunction with the Brazil Center of April 23 ILAS, the Brazilian Education Working Mexico al Mediodia-"Senor Provisor y Latin American Political Group sponsored Vicario General, solicito la separacionde mi Economy Brazil Week (Semana do matrimonio. . .": La relacion conyugal en el Brasil) April 15-20, 1996 (see related story, This working group, which serves as an arzobispado de Mixico: 1750-1800 by Dora p. 1). During this week, guest lecturers interdisciplinary forum for faculty and stu- Divila, C. B. Smith Visiting Scholar/El Colegio from many fields attended to give talks on dent work in the area and for presentations de M6xico. Sponsored by the Mexican Center campus. Films and videos were also pro- by outside political economists, brought of ILAS. vided, and a phtoto exhibit took place at the Arun Agrawal from the University of April 24 Benson Libary. The group DanceBrazil Lecture-Pure Florida, Gainesville, for an April 29 lec- Diversity:A Discussion with gave performances both on campus and at Argentine Artist Mirta Toledo. Sponsored by ture on PoststructuralApproaches to De- Dobie Middle School, the latter arranged the Forum on Latin American Women. velopment. Lecture-Civil-Military Relations and by the ILAS Outreach Office. Democratic Consolidationsin Latin America. Cultural and National Identity; The Role of Latin American Militaries and the Faculty News U.S. Military by Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Fishel and Disease, Culture, and Identity Henry A. Dietz, ILAS Associate Direc- Lt. Col. DeEtte Lombard, General Staff and in Latin America tor and Associate Professor of Govern- Command School, Fort Leavenworth. Spon- These two working groups joined forces sored by Government Dept. and ILAS. ment, has been named to the editorial board group of fac- April 26 to host an interdisciplinary of the academicjournal Politica,published rela- Lecture-CulturalDiversity in Brazil and ulty and graduate students to explore by the Institute for Political Studies at the Its Consequences on Work Performance by tionships between cultural and national Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Dietz is Tomasz Lenartowicz, UT-Austin. Sponsored identity as well as the relationship between also coeditor with Gil Shidlo of the forth- by ILAS. disease, culture, and identity. Funds were coming volume Urban Elections in Demo- Presentation-Sangre Boliviana and En- used to bring Luise S. White from Emory craticLatinAmerica (Scholarly Resources, dangered and Imaginary Animals. CD-ROM University to give a March 28 talk on Pain, in press). presentation by Lucia Grossberger-Morales, Memory, and the GenderingofPostcolonial Patricia A. Wilson, Associate Profes- Dept. of Radio-TV-Film. Sponsored by the Medicine. This group also cosponsored a Dept. of Radio-TV-Film and ILAS. sor of Community and Regional Planning, lecture by Joseph Bastien of UT- April 30 May 8 is directing a research project on measur- entitled Cultural Context of Mexico al Mediodia-Construction and Arlington ing empowerment in Cali, Colombia, dur- Cosmology: Politics and Ideology at Kallawaya Herbalists: The Cultural Set- ing summer 1996. The project is funded by Tenochtitldn by Leonardo L6pez, C. B. Smith ting of Herbal Curing in the Andes. the Hogg Foundation. ILAS/CRP student Visiting Scholar/Museo del Templo Mayor. Jason Belanger is assisting Wilson in her Sponsored by the Mexican Center of ILAS. Gender, Ethnicity, Political field research. Wilson is also coeditor with May 2 Economy, and Popular and Christophe Demaziere of Local Economic Book Discussion-Talons of the Eagles: Development in Europe and the Americas Dynamics of U.S. -LatinAmerican Relations by Expressive Culture in Latin Peter H. Smith, Director, Latin American Stud- America; Material Culture and (Mansell, 1996), reviewed on p. 6. ies, UC-San Diego. Sponsored by the LBJ Museums School and ILAS. Student News Funds for these two working groups May 7 Two students were awarded Anna Mae were used to help fund the conference Lecture-Cultural Context of Kallawaya Ford Fellowships for 1996-97. Jennifer Herbalists: The Cultural Setting of Herbal Theorizing the Hybrid, held at UT-Austin Goett, a student in the ILAS master's Curing in the Andes by Joseph Bastien, UT- March 22-24. This international confer- program, is studying environmental pollu- Arlington. Sponsored by ILAS; Depts. of ence, which focused on the mixing and tion and solid waste management. She is Botany, Geography, and Anthropology; and blending of cultures, including language, currently doing research in Honduras. Thea the ILAS Disease and Cultural Identity Work- art, cinema, and music, was cross-disci- ing Group. Kayne, a student in the joint master's plinary and was supported on campus by May 8 program with Community and Regional many departments and programs, includ- Lecture-Promising Drug Leads from Planning, is focusing her research on eco- ing ILAS, Anthropology, and Folklore. A Kallawaya Medicinal Plants: Treating AIDS nomic development. Latin American focus predominated, with with Andean Plants by Joseph Bastien, UT- Seven C. B. Smith awards were given Arlington. Sponsored by ILAS; Depts. of presentations on, for example, creole lan- for 1996-97. Recipients were Alberto Botany, Geography, and Anthropology; and guages in the Caribbean. ILAS hosted a Levy, Philip Lawrence, Adela Pineda the ILAS Disease and Cultural Identity Work- luncheon for conference participants. Maricela ing Group. Franco, Eric Perramond, Oliva, Michael Hironymous, and Tracy Citeroni. AAAA&AA*&A&AAAA&AAAAAAAa*AAAAAa&AAAAAAAAAAAA*A&AAA*aa&aAA*AAAAAA Sp ring 1996-15

Brazil, continuedfrom page 1 Outreach Program Introduces Middle School Students to Brazil Week by Suzanne VanderPoel

Students' Association in bringing together A new ILAS outreach program, children. The Special Ed teachers asked the Brazilian community at UT and in "Multiculturalism: Focus on Brazil," had afterward if they could bring their students Texas. Nor would it have been the same a successful trial run this semester. In col- again because they related so well to without the willingness of faculty, visiting laboration with J. Frank Dobie Middle DanceBrazil. During the second visit on scholars, and students to come together to School, the ILAS Outreach Office and Thursday, DanceBrazil worked with a make joint presentations. Third was the Brazil Center developed a pilot program smaller group who joined in the dancing. importance of outreach and the involve- for middle school children that we hope to The teachers, administration, and students ment of the Austin community in the week's expand next year. Valuable to any school, were thrilled that something very special activities, from local and state agencies to it offers special promise in reaching "at was happening at their school. area schoolchildren. One of the highlights risk" youth in inner city schools. Using On Friday, the Dobie students who had of the entire week was the visit to ILAS by Vamos ao Brasil!, an exploratory language completed "Focus on Brazil" visited ILAS students from Dobie Middle School for unit developed by Elizabeth Jackson and for an awards ceremony under the trees. cake and cookies and to receive certifi- Dale Koike, as a starting point, David All of them received special certificates, cates of completion of a language and Workman and I worked with teacher Lillie and the top five received DanceBrazil t- culture program on Brazil coordinated by Webb, a team of Dobie teachers, and shirts. They practiced their new Portu- the ILAS Outreach Office. Fourth was the Brazilianist graduate students to offer a guese language skills with ILAS grad stu- variety of activities that were included in Brazilian focus in environmental, language, dents Zreg Lee, who had just returned from Brazil Week, from music, dance, and vid- music, and multicultural social studies. Brazil, and Marvin McNeese, who was eos to scholarly presentations and Brazil Week was the grand finale of this headed to Brazil after final exams. After roundtable discussions. year's program. On Tuesday, April 16, celebrating with ice cream and cake, they No single lens captures the spirit, vital- ILAS and the Performing Arts Center spon- were treated to a special performance by ity, and complexity of Brazil. Nor can a sored a lecture-demonstration by Dance- the UT Brazilian Ensemble. Before it was single week of activities do justice to the Brazil in the Dobie gym. More than five over, most of the children tried out musical breadth of resources and opportunities for hundred children and a number of teachers instruments and joined in the music-mak- Brazilians and Brazilianists at UT-Austin. and administrators watched a spectacular ing. It was a fun, memorable day for every- However, as a culmination of the first year performance. One teacher commented that one-and a promising beginning to the of activities coordinated by the Brazil Cen- she had been there nineteen years and had kinds of collaborative activities the ILAS ter, and as a precedent for future never seen the children so attentive, re- Outreach Office plans for the future. campuswide activities, Brazil Week was spectful, and excited. The musicians and Suzanne VanderPoel is coordinator of an important step. The goal of Brazil Week, dancers interacted wonderfully with the the ILAS Outreach Office. and the role of the Brazil Center, is to bring together and strengthen the Brazilian stud- ies community in the Institute of Latin American Studies, UT-Austin, and beyond. These goals were met and there are great 1 ; hopes for the future. A complete list of Brazil Week events is available in the Institute Events section here (see p. 12) or on the Brazil Center Web page (http://lanic.utexas.edu/ilas/ brazctr). The organizing committee of Bra- zil Week included Gerard Bdhague (Mu- sic), Lawrence Graham (Government and the Brazil Center), Cristina Ferreira-Pinto (Spanish and Portuguese), David Work- man (Brazil Center), and Teodoro Netto (Brazilian Students' Association). T

David Workman is the administrative 0. assistantforthe Brazil Centerandagradu- ate student in the jointILAS/LBJ School of Public Affairs master's program. A member of DanceBrazil (left) inspires some moves from a student at Dobie Middle School at the performance there. Photo courtesy of the UT Performing Arts Center. LAAA*AA&AAAA&AAAAA.& A A LA AAAAAAAA&AAAAAAAA AA LA A 16-ILAS Newsletter AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A A

Visiting Rockefeller Scholars UT's Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery sponsors the program Latin American and Latino(a) Art Research in the University Museum Context, which encouragesand develops curatorsof Latin American art through a generous grantfrom the Rockefeller Foundation. The visiting scholars are housed at ILAS during their stay, and they write here of their research projects.

What Do You Call That? drawings of tools, etc. In many The Trilingual Museum Terminology Project instances the other two languages do not have an exact by Tony Rajer, University of Wisconsin equivalent, so a descriptive term is being writ- Lexicon is an elusive beast, especially when it comes to defining ten. Chapter 3 provides standard terms for museums throughout the hemisphere. What one museum museum work forms for examina- calls a "picture hook" another calls a "gancho." The matter is tion, loan agreements, and mu- further complicated by the multilingual regional character of the seum surveys, and standard facil- many nations the hemisphere comprises. ity reports included to act as mod- With the dramatic rise in international museum projects, espe- els for agreements between muse- cially loans within the past decade, the need has arisen to document ums. The total compendium is a and standardize terms related to the operation of museums, not document in excess of 35,000 words in three languages. unlike the linguistic standardization projects that swept the medi- The idea is to create a book that will be useful to all museums that cal field in the 1970s. The intent of the current Trilingual Museum have a need to communicate in these languages. Within the past Terminology Project is to create a document in English, Spanish, decade more than five hundred regional exhibitions were held that and Portuguese that will serve the museum field. The book will be required multilingual skills. Since the vast majority of the muse- divided into three sections: common phrases, individual terms, ums in the area are in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, I have chosen and reports that promote improved communication within the to use their terms to describe objects. Emphasis has been placed on cultural sphere for museums in North, South, and Central America. writing a book that has immediate practical application in the field. The first chapter comprises a series of commonly used phrases The research is being sponsored by the Huntington Art Gallery about loans, copyright, exhibits, and so on, such as "Who owns under the auspices of the Rockefeller Fund for Research on Latin copyright on this work of art ?" or "Can you help us organize this American Art and an anonymous donor. Because of the exhibition ?" Each English phrase is followed by its equivalent in Huntington's renowned collection of Latin American art, it seems Spanish and Portuguese. It is further subdivided by headings that only logical that the book be illustrated with works from the relate to general communication, shipping, and documentation. gallery's outstanding Latin American collection. In addition, The second chapter is an 11,000-entry trilingual glossary of several other UT departments are participating in the project, commonly used words that relate to practical museum topics, such including the Institute of Latin American Studies and the Benson as administration, fund-raising, conservation, legal terms, and Latin American Collection. tools. It is organized in English with the equivalent term following The result will be a usable reference book, practical in scope and in Spanish and Portuguese. This section is also illustrated with applicable to all the museums in the Americas.

Art and National Identity to use that term). Spending time in be- by John Wineland, University of California, Los Angeles Oaxaca and Mexico City, I came enamored of Mexican paint- My experiences in Latin America began in Mexico when I was ing, especially the work of the thirteen. My grandmother was running a Red Cross station in the I Mexican School. In my mind, it Valle de Guadalupe at the time, and my sister and I would often was the perfect art form-grand, travel from Los Angeles to work with her for the summer. bold, and with a social agency that Although I have a limited recollection of the experience, one sought to address the problems of aspect of that central Baja California reality stands out: the rural poverty and urban inequality amazing poverty that permeated the mostly indigenous townships that continued to plague Mexico. we visited. It left a lasting impression on me. It was also the Looking back, I feel lucky to have beginning of a love affair with Mexico that continued throughout learned about art in a country high school and college. Although curriculums did not allow for where artistic production was not concerned simply with gallery the study of Latin American or U.S. Latino history at the time, I exhibitions and market values (although, as my current work is read everything I could get my hands on. unfortunately proving, that is rapidly changing). In 1983, I began to work with a group of artists in Oaxaca. My In 1993, I entered graduate school in the UCLA Department of father had established a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that Latin American Studies. Because there are so few university specialized in weaving and "folk" art (although I now am reticent programs that offer art history degrees in modern and contempo- kAAA&AA*AA&A&AA&AAA*AAA~AkA*aA*m&AAA&A&**aAAA&& & A&A&& " r. . .Yrr:.W T V STVing 1996-17

rary Latin American art, I was forced to construct my own the right-are being challenged by "globalization minded" elites curriculum. I drew from a variety of disciplines, including film, who make it very difficult for art to play a social role. This cultural studies, art history, economics, history, and anthropology. movement is an international phenomenon that is resulting in what In retrospect, this cross-disciplinary approach has afforded me the Pierre Bordieu calls "the abandonment of the critical intellectual" opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the complex changes and is characterized by the reification of the art market. Hence, the that have befallen the artistic and cultural field in contemporary incentive is for the corporate-sponsored museums to support Latin American society. During my stay at UCLA, I became noncritical/noncontroversial projects deemed less risky and there- especially interested in the role of the museums (in both the United fore better public relations vehicles. Or there is a movement toward States and Latin America) in constructing and presenting national support of the "spectacular" exhibition, which can then be pack- identities. The large, newly opened corporate-sponsored institu- aged and exported to Europe or the United States in support of tions, I found, were the most ambitious in the importing and sociopolitical or economic agendas. The goal of this project is to exporting of culture-from Europe and the United States to Latin document these tendencies and, one hopes, offer some more America and vice versa. I also discovered that they were playing democratic alternatives: ones that support the possibility of artists' a unique role in the "modernization project" that has become so entering into a dialogue with civil society, challenging it to dear to the Latin American and U.S. elite who are fighting to open examine recent changes with an honest and critical eye. up the region to neoliberal economic policies-no matter what the I consider myself fortunate to have the chance to study a social costs may be. phenomenon that is still developing. I am also thrilled to have It is on the strength of interest in this subject that I was awarded learned from the other scholars in the program, including Gustavo the Rockefeller Fellowship for the Study of Latin American Art at Buntinx, Mario Sagradini, and Maria Jos6 Herrera-an opportu- the Archer M. Huntington Gallery. My current project at the nity that does not often exist for Latin American art historians in the University of Texas is to continue this examination into the rapidly United States. I hope that the Rockefeller Fellowship Program, changing cultural fields of Brazil and Mexico, for I feel that they which will continue to bring scholars from various areas of Latin are emblematic of the larger problems that are sweeping Latin America and the United States, will help to lessen the distance that America. As neoliberalism takes hold, national artistic para- now exists-and that future participants will enjoy it as much as I digms-so important to the utopian visions that sustain the dia- have. logue between the intellectual left and neoconservative forces on

Art and Mass Media in 1960s Argentina appropriated reality by means of by Maria Jose Herrera, Universidadde Buenos Aires artistic strategies, trying to show some of the social conditions of The purpose of my research here as a Visiting Rockefeller contemporary society. At the same Scholar is to explore the relationship between mass media and art time, they were also interested in in Argentina during the 1960s. The early sixties created an intense - using art as a way of expanding interest in communication issues. common perceptual skills. Most This historic period, named after the economic model of them based their ideas on desarrollismo (development) produced not only in the economic Marshall McLuhan's theories field, but in the cultural field as well, a process of modernization- about media. By reading Guten- deeply questioned in its goals and strategies at the end of the berg Galaxy or Understanding decade. Modernization meant the incorporation of advanced tech- Media, they got such ideas as "ev- nology for industry and communication and also attempts to create ery medium means an extension of the human being's sensory a new and modern art market as never before. Under these new capacity" or the famous statement "the medium is the message." conditions the entire cultural field needed to be redefined. The As a result of these ideas, many events and experiments took place. spread of mass media during the middle 1950s had an impact A sense of understanding comes when you realize that what strong enough to modify the conditions of modern life as well as McLuhan is establishing is the material aspect of each medium, artistic practices. A new dimension of the cultural industry was perhaps offering a new creative dimension to the media as artistic born during those years, and consumer strategies (marketing, material. advertising) were applied to cultural objects as well. The artist's The relationship between art and mass media was developed, image was transformed into a fashion/lifestyle paradigm. Weekly basically, in three different ways. First of all, by using specific magazines and newspapers were more deeply attentive to art conditions of representation (iconic conceptions) of mass media subjects than ever before. and mass production. Such is the case in the Pop Art approach, This is why a group of artists worked to utilize the mass media which used comic strips, graphic advertisement, serialization, and as artistic material. One of the goals of the period was to unify two repetition. The second way was specific research in each of the separate topics: art and life. Happenings, environments, and media languages and their appropriation for aesthetic proposals. performances were the way they attained that utopian goal. They cont. page 19 h&aAKAA AAAAAAAA ~A A A LA &AAAA&A AAA&AAAAk& A A LA LA*AkA& AhAAAAAA &A A A LA A 18-ILAS Newsletter

Twenty Years Walking: The Memory Mothers of the a culture of fear to a culture of impunity. Amnesia is promoted as a healthy exercise. Plaza de Mayo by Susana Kaiser In the name of reconciliation, society is Every Thursday at 3:30 P.M., in the Plaza anger, and courage, the Mothers of the encouraged to look to the future and forget de Mayo of Buenos Aires, a group of Plaza de Mayo, as they became known, the past. But memory is not regulated by women wearing white scarves, accompa- managed to build the movement that posed laws or decrees, and the need for truth and nied by supporters, watched by some curi- the only visible resistance to the dictator- justice resurfaces, like a dark mark on a ous, monitored by the police, and ignored ship. Twenty years later,justice has not yet wall, impossible to cover with many coats by rushing passers-by, holds a silent march been achieved, no one has explained what of paint. No one can hide the presence of circling the central monument of the square. happened to the disappeared people, and thirty thousand disappeared people. Even For half an hour, the desaparecidos, re- the Mothers' struggle against impunity when their existence is denied, the van- pression, and the need for justice are em- continues today, as strong as yesterday. ished return; the Mothers bring them back bodied in a public demonstration that acti- Categorized as madwomen, ridiculed, every Thursday. vates society's collective memory. At the harassed, ignored, beaten, and jailed, three Twenty years later, the time for mea end, the marchers loudly demandAparicion of the founding Mothers disappeared dur- culpas has arrived. A few arrepentidos con vida (reappearance alive), a claim that ing the early period of the dictatorship. But (repentants) from the armed forces have summarizes their struggle. It signifies that they continued to march, for weeks, for come forward to describe tortures and the disappeared people were taken alive so months, for twenty years. Since the com- murders. Some within the army regret what they need to reappear alive. It means that it mencement of civilian rule, the Mothers happened. But regrets cannot replace the is necessary to have an explanation of who have gained new labels: intransigent, in- justice that is due to the victims, their kidnapped them, by orders of whom, who sistent, vindictive, unyielding, disturbed, families, and society. tortured and raped, who abducted children, insatiable, and politicized women. The rea- The Mothers claim that they will neither won't let and, if they are dead, who killed them, son? They have refused the deals that they forget nor forgive and that they when, and how. were offered: exhumations, posthumous anybody else forget what happened. For Twenty years ago, a military coup in- homages, or financial compensations. The them, as Milan Kundera wrote once, the stalled a dictatorship in Argentina during Mothers would not settle for less than truth struggle for power is the struggle of memory which an estimated thirty thousand people and justice. against forgetting. The Mothers have be- disappeared. A group of women, whose Amnesty laws protect those responsible come those "memory women" who oper- and who, twenty daughters and sons had literally vanished, for human rights violations. The criminals ate a "memory factory" decided to join forces to search for them. are free and accountability seems like an years later, continue to demand truth, jus- for the culprits. Starting with nothing but their anguish, alien word. The country has switched from tice, and punishment Susana Kaiser is a Ph.D. candidate in the ILAS doctoralprogram.

White House, continuedfrom page 11

to link the White House to NGO women. Another newly created entity is the President's Interagency Council on Women, which consists of high-level ad- ministrators representing Executive Branch agencies. It coordinates the implementa- tion of U.S. commitments made at the UN conference. This council may be reached at http://women.usia.gov/usia/ and 202/ 456-7350. I extend my deepest thanks for the help given to me by Nicolas Shumway and Pat Boone of ILAS-which, with the UT Graduate Studies Office, sponsored my flight and enabled me to attend the event. Theresa Esquibel is a student in the 0 ILAS/LBJ School of Public Affairs joint Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires gather following their weekly march. master's degree program. Spr

Art, continuedfrom page 17 Latin Americanist Geographers Convene in Honduras The UT-based Conference of Latin and planners from all over Latin America And the third was the beginning of a new Americanist Geographers (CLAG) held its attended this meeting, which continued discipline, videoart. most recent international congress in CLAG's tradition of organizing interdisci- An outstanding example of the second Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jan. 3-6,. 1996. plinary meetings focusing on human-envi- piactice of experimentation was "Happen- Numerous field trips included expeditions ronment relationships. CLAG's next meet- ing for a Dead Boar or the Happening That to the northern coast, La Mosquitia, and ing is scheduled to be held in Lima, Peru, Never Took Place," performed by the art- various national parks. Many Texans were in late July 1997; the local organizer will ists Roberto Jacoby, Raul Escari, and in attendance at this largest CLAG meet- be UT alumnus Hildegardo C6rdova de Eduardo Costa. The event was an interven- ing ever. Current ILAS master's candi- Aguilar. tion within the graphic media circuit. They dates who participated included Eric Keys In other CLAG news, the latest (1995) made up an event ("a happening") by pro- (speaking on women's agriculture in Gua- issue of CLAG's refereed journal, the viding false information in a press release. temala) and Jennifer Goett; other current CLAG Yearbook, has now been published; The press published the information, which UT students included Mark Bonta (bird distributed by UT Press, the issue features became real after being circulated in the conservation in Honduras), Catherine a variety of articles on refugees, local poli- media. What the artists wanted to prove Hoover de Castaneda (sociocultural com- tics, regional planning, tourism, frontiers, was that in contemporary society the exist- parison of reproductive risk), Karl Offen religious geography, and the historical ge- ence of facts in itself is mediated by the (conservation discourses in Nicaragua), ography of ethnicity. CLAG's Internet media. The event was a reflection on power and Eric Perramond (Sonoran ranch geog- news service, CLAGnet, continues to pro- and, at the same time, in an aesthetic way, raphy). Eric Perramond won a special vide information on cultural, environmen- one of the first approaches to a conceptual honor's award for best student paper, while tal, spatial, and planning issues. For further art. One of the means to conceptualism Catherine Hoover de Castaneda led a field information see the web page (http:// came after that kind of experimentation trip to La Tigra National Park and Valle de www.maxwell/syr.edu/orgs/clag/ with the mass media. Latin American con- los Angeles. index.html). CLAG's headquarters con- ceptualism has remarkable specificities, UT alumni presenting papers included tinues to reside at UT under the direction of compared with American conceptualism, Hildegardo C6rdova Aguilar (Pontifical Greg Knapp. that make it quite original. The artists were Catholic University of Peru, Lima) and The papers presented at April 1995's dealing not only with ideas referring to art Deborah Salazar (now with the Bureau of Symposium on the Environment and the as language but trying to put in a social Economic Geology at UT). New GlobalEconomic Order(cosponsored context of meaning. This ideologicalcon- Geographers, environmental scientists, by ILAS) are now available on-line on ceptualism, named after a Marchan Fiz cont. page 20 characterization, talked about the social uses of the mass media in terms of manipu- lation in a clearly political way. The first part of my work focused on formulating a chronology of events, classi- fying them into three different practices, and making an aesthetic interpretation. The second part-which I am presently work- ing on with a Rockfeller Scholarship here at UT-Austin-involves trying to put those events in the international context of artis- tic discussion about mass media and to present my project as an exhibition. My research evolves within the particular lan- guage of museums. The challenge is how to communicate such immaterial things as interventions, performances, or happen- ings and deal with different records: pho- tographs, tapes, films, and published docu- Anne Dibble, ILAS Instructional Programs Coordinator, is presented with a compli- An important source for me mentation. mentary ticket to Guanajuato by Martin Acevedo of ILASSA, the ILAS student will be to study other past exhibitions with organization, in appreciation of her more than fifteen years of service to the student similar subjects presented in both the United program. The ceremony was held April 26,1996, under the trees at ILAS. The trip was States and Europe. financed entirely by contributions from ILAS students. 20-ILAS Newsletter &A*Ah* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 AA&A LAAAA AA*AaA AA A AA AAAAA&*.AAAAAAAh AAL

Geographers, continuedfrom page 19 Attendance at Maya Meetings Continues to Grow

EarthWorks, the first on-line journal of The theme for the 1996 Maya Meetings Looper on Quirigua and Copdn: Sibling geography and human-environment stud- at Texas, which took place March 7-16 Rivalry in a Classic PeriodKingdom. ies. The conference helped develop a cam- and were particularly well attended this An in-depth introduction to reading Maya pus-wide community of interest in the in- year, was Paradigms of Power: Genesis hieroglyphs was presented by Peter tersection of law, economics, business, and Foundation in Mesoamerica. The Mathews on Friday night, March 8. geography, area studies,and government, meetings consist of four main events: The This year's Long Workshops event was and its availability on-line will help diffuse Texas Symposium, the Introductory Pub- especially successful, with more than 160 its innovative ideas to the global commu- lic Lecture on Maya Hieroglyphics, the people attending week-long workshops nity. The new electronic journal (edited by Forum on Maya Hieroglyphic Writing, March 11-16. Hands-on sessions for nov- UT's Ken Foote, Greg Knapp, and Bill and the weeklong Long Workshops/Ad- ices were conducted on both Maya Doolittle) can be accessed on the World- vanced Seminars. The Maya Meetings are hieroglyphs and Mixtec codices. Advanced wide Web (http://www.utexas.edu/depts/ sponsored by the College of Fine Arts, sessions focused on the history of Copdn grg/eworks/eworks.html) ILAS, the Dept. of Art and Art History, the and Quirigua, Classic Maya grammar, the In student news, UT Latin Americanist Maya Workshop Foundation, and, this year, Dresden Codex, the iconography of students Karl Offen and Juanita Sundberg by a generous grant from the Bernard Selz Teotihuacan, and other topics. were honoredwith Fulbright grants and Foundation. The Maya Meetings at Texas have ex- began their field research in Central This year's Texas Symposium featured panded over the years to include all of America in early 1996. Juanita Sundberg's papers by John Clark, George L. Cowgill, Mesoamerica and other releveant areas of project focuses on the conservation pro- Ann Cyphers, Federico Fahsen, John Fox, indigenous America. For information on cess in the vicinity of the Maya Biosphere Gary Gossen, Nikolai Grube, Richard the 1997 meetings, call 512/471-6292 Reserve, while Karl Offen's project fo- Hansen, Marion Hatch, Jeff Kowalski, and (=MAYA) or write: Peter Keeler, Maya cuses on forest history in interior Nicara- Robert Sharer and David Sedat. Meetings, P.O. Box 5645, Austin TX gua. Eric Perramond has more recently The Forum on Maya Hieroglyphic Writ- 78763. received a Fulbright to study ranching in ing featured Linda Schele and Matthew northwestern Mexico.

- - ~~AA&AA~A&AAAA&A&AAAAAAAAAAA**AA1 ILAS Newsletter ISSN 0730-2576 Virginia Hagerty and Carolyn Palaima, editors Published twice a year (fall and spring) by the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Address correspondence to the editors, at the address below. The ILAS Newsletter serves Latin Americanists in this country and abroad by encouraging the exchange of information among them. The ILAS Newsletter is distributed free to interested individuals and organizations. Institute of Latin American Studies/University of Texas at Austin/Sid W. Richardson Hall 1.310/Austin, TX 78712/USA Nicolas Shumway, director ' Henry A. Dietz, associate director

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