Summer 2007
Next summer as part of the CHLS Latino Transnational Experience in the Caribbean project, we are planning to travel to Venezuela. The trip will include a 4 day stop in Puerto Rico and from San Juan the group will join a delegation who will visit the missions that are developing the Bolivarian revolution led by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. We will also meet with social and political organizations both in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. We are also coordinating meetings with the Bolivarian student organizations in Caracas.
Experience social change
Summer 2006
Cuba Graduate Research, June 29-Juy 8 2006
Eight CSULB graduate students conducted exploratory research in Cuba as part of their respective programs of study. Three students from the graduate program in Psychology, two from Communication, one from History and another from Art History travelled to Cuba from June 29 through July 8. They also participated in a series of acitivities commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Puerto Rican mission in La Habana where senior members of Cuba’s government were in attendance, including, Ricardo Alarcon Quesada, President of the Cuban National Assembly.
Below, are the Cuba trip participants with Dr. Rodriguez.
Below is one of the trip participants conducting and interview with Lillebit Fradraga, assistant to renowned Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa in the artists’ studio in Old Havana..
Below is Ricardo Alarcon Quesada, president of the Cuban National Assembly and guest speaker of one of the events at the Puerto Rican Mission 40th anniversary.
CSULB Students Meet Ricardo Alarcon Quesada, President of Cuba’s National Assembly.
La Habana provincial headquarters of the Cuban Communist Party.
Below is a group of Puerto Rican activists who gathered at the Puerto Rican Mission’s 40th anniversary reception in Havana with the CSULB contingent.
Latino Transnational Experience in the Caribbean: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Haiti
Winter 2007
December 26 2006 through January 6, 2007 a group of 7 undergraduate/graduate CSULB students accompanied by Dr. Rodriguez visited Puerto Rico (7 days), and the Dominican Republic (5 days). Dialogues, presentations, visits to museums, communties were part of the experience. Below are some snapshots of the visits.
Elizam Escobar, artist and art professor at Puerto Rico’s School of the Arts, led the group as a docent in viewing an exhibit of Puerto Rican contemporary art.
Group of CSULB students and Dominican Haitian children who participate in a program to feed children from the local Dominico-Haitian community. Here they show their artwork after CSULB students described CSULB pyramid and the “Go Beach” slogan.
In a visit to the headquarters of a local Afro-Puerto Rican community organization fighting the expropriation of the ancestral Maroon community of Pinones, the group met with Dr. Palmira Rios, Director of the Graduate Public Administration School of the University of Puerto Rico, who spoke about the impact of race in the marginalization of Black Puerto Ricans.
Visit to a local community where African Dominican rituals are preserved by the Cofradia del Santo Espiritu. For hundreds of years this community has preserved its African culture. Here is the beginning of a dance ritual called Conga.
One of Latin America’s best known singers, Danny Rivera, while performing at a “Vente Tu” a community celebration which is open to anyone and that is supported by Puerto Rico’s best known musicians. The event is organized every 1st of January by Puerto Rican painter and graphic artist Marcano Garcia. The entire street is closed and music and food is offered free to any participant.
“Parranda” at the home of Nestor Nazario, a local political activist. The parranda is similar to the Mexican “Posadas.”
Altar dedicated to the Three Kings at the Nazario’s, a celebration which rivals the Santa Claus traditions. Judith Nazario is the artist who creates these representations of the “Tres Reyes Magos.”
Latino Transnational Experience in the Caribbean: Puerto Rico Winter 2006
Some photos of our most recent short study trip to Puerto Rico and Vieques. Students were lodged at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, in the heart of Santurce, a San Juan neighborhood. Three University of Puerto Rico professors, Drs. Aaron Ramos, former director of the Institute for Caribbean Studies, Dr. Juan Mnauel Carrion and Dr. Zaida Rivera Casella led conferences on various topics including the Caribbean as a socio-cultural reality, nationalism and identity, women, history and culture in the Caribbean.
Below is Dr. Aaron Ramos, former director of the University of Puerto Rico Institute for Caribbean Studies and expert in the political economy of the region.
Below the group exploring Puerto Rico’s eastern rain forest.
Espie and Susan enjoying the white sands of Vieques
Ismael Guadalupe, Viequense community leader and CHLS group
Participants in the Puerto Rico Summer 2005 Trip
Camuy Caves, Puerto RicoCuartel Ballajá, Old San Juan Puerto Rico
Prof. Zaira Rivera, Caribbean Literature and Women
San Juan’s New Metro Train CSULB students,anthropologist Duany and sociologist Carrion
July 2006 CHLS 490 II Summer Session
| For the last tthree years during the third summer session, the Department of Chicano/Latino Studies has offered a unique international experience to all CSULB students by sponsoring a short study trip to Cuba. In July of 2002, CSULB professors, Dr. Victor M. Rodriguez, Associate Professor and Dr. Juan Benitez, Assistant Professor, from the department in Chicano/Latino Studies, accompanied 23 CSULB students on a 10 day trip to Cuba. Recently, Dr. Rodriguez accompanied 19 students to Cuba during the summer of 2003. In the summer of 2004 another group was led by Dr. Juan M. Benitez to Cuba. All participants enroll for academic credit, have meetings and lectures prior to the trip, engage in reasearch and write a paper, keep a journal of their impressions during this short study trip. Previous groups have traveled from Santiago, on the eastern coast of Cuba to Havana on the northwestern tip of the island. They visited Trinidad, Bayamo, Camaguey, and Santa Clara on their return trip to Havana experiencing the island’s culture and history. They also experience the social and economic challenges this country is undergoing as a result of the “special period” and the U.S. embargo. However, participants also experience the warm hospitality of the Cuban people. We are preparing to offer another study trip during July 2006. | 
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Since 1959, Cuba, 90 miles from Miami, became a mystery and a source of political conflict for the United States. However, Cuba is also one of the countries of Latin America with the longest history of cultural and political exchange with the United States. Since President Thomas Jefferson expressed interest in annexing Cuba, Cubans have struggled to maintain their autonomy and independence while at the same time experiencing a strong American cultural influence. In turn, Cubans infused the United States with its strong Afro-Cuban culture. From Jazz, to Mambo and Baseball, Cubans have left their imprint on important symbols of American culture.
This international experience offered new ways of understanding our complex relationship with our Communist neighbor less than 90 miles from the United States.
Contact: Dr. Victor Rodriguez, Chair of the Chicano and Latino Studies Department at vrodrig5@csulb.edu or the trip coordinator Dr. Juan M. Benitez at jbenitez@csulb.edu for more information. Or call 562-985-8560 or 562-985-2482.
| July 8- August 1, 2004 At CETLALIC Institute in Cuernavaca, México www.cetlalic.org.mx |
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FEATURES:
· 45 hours intensive instruction of Spanish and Mexican culture (M-F 9am-12pm), daily afternoon lectures, cultural and archeological excursions, visit universities and schools;
· Cost includes evening and weekend excursions, homestay lodging and social activities;
· CSULB credit for CHLS-*490 course during the 3rd summer session (July 12-Aug. 20)
CHLS-*490: COMPARATIVE LATINO EDUCATION in the U.S. and MEXICO
This experimental course will meet the requirements for the CHLS-340 “Latino Education in the US” course, and expose the student to the educational system and pedagogy in Mexico for 3 weeks and Cuba for one week (optional). The primary goal of the course will be to compare and connect theory and practice, and for the student to develop a critical understanding of how history, culture, politics, and economics are factored into education.
COST: $2,100 Includes: Airfare, room & board, local transportation, insurance, CETLALIC fees and CSULB tuition.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 2, 2004. DEPOSIT: $100 SOME SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE ! ! !
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: http://www.csulb.edu/~avazque4/
Prof. Armando Vázquez-Ramos, California-Mexico Project E-mail: avazque4@csulb.edu
Home: (562) 430-5541 Office: (562) 985-4648 Cellular: (562) 972-0986
To apply: Please fax to (562) 985-4631 or (562) 430-5534, email or mail the following information to:
Prof. Armando Vázquez-Ramos, California-México Project
CSULB Chicano and Latino Studies Department
1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840-1004
Name:_______________________________________ Mexico Summer study only:______
Cuba also:______($500 additional cost)
HomeAddress:_________________________________
City:____________________________
State/Zip:____________________
Phone: ( )_________________________Cell/Pager: ( )________________________
Email:____________________________
Major:_______________________________Minor:__________________________
Spanish Proficiency Level:______________CSULB Student: Yes ( ) No ( )
Class Standing: Freshman ( ) Sophomore ( ) Junior ( ) Senior ( ) Graduate ( )