University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies

05/05/2026

How it started ⏩ how it's going 🥹 It's always amazing to see the changes between MALAS orientation and graduation day! What an honor to witness the intellectual and personal development of our students, and the special bonds they create within our community over the course of two years 💙🧡

05/05/2026

Our own Drs. Rick Stepp and Luis Felipe Lomelí are featured in this article that digs deeper into the popularity of Cinco de Mayo in the U.S., thanks to our friends at The Alligator!

Frequently misunderstood as Mexico’s Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates an entirely different victory — and it’s not a major national holiday in Mexico.

05/04/2026

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to affiliate faculty Max Deardorff (History) for being awarded fellowships from the Gulbenkian Institute for Advanced Study (GIAS) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)! 👏🎉

Both grants support the development of Dr. Deardorff's forthcoming book, "At Sea and Ashore: Convicts, Slaves, and the Galleys of the Spanish Global Monarchy," a social and cultural history of the military penal institution in Spain’s American and Asian colonies.

05/02/2026

Congratulations to all our graduates celebrating this weekend! 🎓🐊🎉 Thank you for choosing Latin American Studies and being a part of our community. We can't wait to see what's next for you! 🌎🩷

05/01/2026

Alumni: we'd love to connect with you! If you have any updates to share, ways you'd like to get involved with the Center, or even just want to say 'hi' — you can fill out the form here 😊 http://bit.ly/3s5H2KA

05/01/2026

Our 2026 cohort of MALAS students graduates this weekend! 🎓🎉👏 Enhorabuena, parabéns, and congratulations to Elaine, Salenka, Artis, Isa, Ivonne, Jonny, Nicolle, Melisa, Caroline, and Gigi on completing your master's degrees. Thank you for making the Center part of your journey. 🐊🌎 We're so proud of everything you've accomplished! 🧡💙

05/01/2026

FELICITACIONES to MALAS '26 Salenka Chinchin for successfully completing her capstone, “I Have Learned to Be Like This: Adolescent Identity Expression as an Analytical Lens of Ecuadorian Education — a Participatory Experience in Quito.” ¡Bravo, Salenka! 🎉

04/30/2026

PARABÉNS to MALAS '26 Elaine Machado for successfully completing her capstone, “From Academia to elementary school, from elementary school to Academia — A children’s book as a bridge.” Estupendo, Elaine! 🎉

04/30/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to MALAS '26 Artis Trice for successfully completing his capstone, “Nyam Like Yaad Abroad: Mapping Jamaican Cultural Food Security in Two Southern Immigrant Enclaves.” Well done, Artis! 🎉

04/29/2026

ENHORABUENA to MALAS '26 Ivonne Zelaya for successfully completing her capstone, “Participatory Almanac for Conservation and Food Sovereignty in Casitas, Güinope, Honduras.” ¡Ejemplar, Ivonne! 🎉