The CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

The CUNY Mexican Studies Institute The CUNY Mexican Studies Institute serves as a resource for the Mexican community in New York, promoting college enrollment, research and advocacy.

The CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies, based at Lehman College, is the culmination of nearly a decade of work by faculty, administrators, staff, and students to boost enrollment of Mexican and Mexican-American students, foster research with and about Mexico and Mexicans in the United States, and collaborate with community-based organizations to support and empower the Mexican immigrant community.

With a special focus on Mexicans in the diaspora, especially Mexicans in New York, the Institute offers a space for the Mexican community to consider its own and an institutional location for support of scholarly and community advocacy projects. Fundamental to the Institute's foundation and success will be its ability to further new projects with community and cultural organizations, to channel projects already underway and to build on existing efforts within and outside of CUNY. Mexicans constitute the fastest-growing national sub-group in New York City, due to high rates of immigration and births. If these rates remain the same, the Mexican population will surpass that of other Latino groups in New York City by the year 2024. The number of Mexicans living in New York City has grown 57.7 percent in the last decade. The Mexican population in New York City is 319,126, according to U.S. Census data for the most recent year available, 2010. With the growth of this population comes a need for institutions that advocate for the population and support the development of community leadership and mobilization. In CUNY, the Mexican student population has grown 265% since 2000!

José Pablo Moncayo representa uno de los legados más importantes del nacionalismo mexicano en la música, junto a Silvest...
06/16/2026

José Pablo Moncayo representa uno de los legados más importantes del nacionalismo mexicano en la música, junto a Silvestre Revueltas, Carlos Chávez y Julián Carrillo. Su obra más conocida, “Huapango”, está inspirada en los sones veracruzanos que estudió durante una visita al puerto de Alvarado, Veracruz.
 
“Huapango” se estrenó el 15 de agosto de 1941 en el Palacio de Bellas Artes de la Ciudad de México, interpretada por la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional bajo la dirección de Carlos Chávez, quien encargó esta composición especial a Moncayo. Chávez incluyó esta obra maestra en su gira por América Latina, que tuvo tal repercusión que hoy en día se le considera “el segundo himno nacional”.
 
José Pablo Moncayo nació en 1912 en Guadalajara, Jalisco. Falleció el 16 de junio de 1958 en la Ciudad de México, hecho que también marcó el fin del periodo musical conocido como “nacionalismo mexicano”. Sus restos descansan en la Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres, en la Ciudad de México.



Research Report “Food Apartheid and the Retail Food Environment in The Bronx” by Aissatou Barry This report was produced...
06/03/2026

Research Report “Food Apartheid and the Retail Food Environment in The Bronx” by Aissatou Barry This report was produced through the Bronx Educational Literacy Initiative (BELI), a community-based program led by the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute and the New York City Writing Project. BELI advances educational opportunities by engaging the power of multiple literacies and supporting research on issues impacting Bronx communities. MSI Archives & Library collects, organizes and preserves bibliographical sources documenting the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latinx experience in New York, and helps identify research lines that generate meaningful data on local, national and international issues. Consult our Academic Works site at https://academicworks.cuny.edu/msi_pubs/
Aissatou Barry is a student at Lehman College. Learn more about this research on the link in our bio.

06/02/2026

As the school year is coming to an end, we would like to highlight the enormous effort from the Mexican Student Associations across all CUNYs to streghten the Mexican, Mexican-American and latino communities with their activities and leadership in each event they are part of such as “Pathways To Success”, one of CUNY Mexican Studies Institute main events.
 
We encourage you to keep working hard to reach your goals and if you will be a new CUNY student, don’t Forget to así about the student clubs at your college! To have a strong Community around you Will help you to get where you want to be.

.mehsa25 .immigrantsuccess .uisp

LAST WEEK TO APPLY!Summer 2026 MSI Research Fellowship for Graduate Students This fellowship offers advanced graduate st...
05/30/2026

LAST WEEK TO APPLY!
Summer 2026 MSI Research Fellowship for Graduate Students
 
This fellowship offers advanced graduate students and early-career scholars a $500 stipend and editorial support to produce written academic work in the fields of Mexican and Mexican American Studies, Latinx and Ethnic Studies, Migration Studies, Critical Sociolinguistics, Language Policy, or other within the Institute’s main research fields.
 
This fellowship is intended for projects already underway, such as revised seminar papers or ongoing research. It offers a pathway to transform existing work into a polished, publishable format, with an emphasis on clarity, contribution, and accessibility rather than formal peer-review expectations.
 
Two fellows will be selected for the Summer 2026 cycle, which runs from July 1 to September 15. Final submissions will be published in the Mexican Studies Institute Research and Publications series.
 
Submit your application by June 7: https://forms.gle/pvAsYAbgjtWoArja7
 

Les compartimos unas imágenes de lo que fue “El fotolibro como proceso social: Conversatorio entre Marco Garro y Musuk ...
05/20/2026

Les compartimos unas imágenes de lo que fue “El fotolibro como proceso social: Conversatorio entre Marco Garro y Musuk Nolte ” acontecido en la Librería Pública de Nueva York el pasado 14 de mayo.

Marco Garro, fotógrafo y artista visual cuyo trabajo se centra en problemáticas sociales, derechos humanos y cuestiones medioambientales, principalmente en los Andes y la Amazonía del Perú, dedicó más de quince años a investigar historias vinculadas al extractivismo minero en distintas regiones del país, con especial énfasis en Cerro de Pasco, considerado uno de los lugares más contaminados del mundo.
Como parte de su proceso de investigación y documentación, recolectó muestras de agua tóxica de la laguna de Quiulacocha para utilizarlas en el revelado de fotografías tomadas en el entorno y entre las comunidades afectadas. El resultado fueron imágenes atravesadas por manchas, corrosiones y texturas que evocan el deterioro que sufren los cuerpos al entrar en contacto con metales pesados, detectados en diversos análisis de sangre y cabello realizados a habitantes de la región.
Su libro Quiulacocha busca visibilizar los efectos corrosivos de la minería tanto en los cuerpos humanos como en el paisaje, revelando aquello que con frecuencia permanece oculto o que la sociedad prefiere ignorar.
El proyecto fue publicado por la editorial peruana KWY Ediciones y realizado gracias al apoyo del programa de becas de la National Geographic Society, en colaboración con la plataforma de periodismo de investigación Ojo Público. Actualmente, el libro se encuentra disponible para consulta en la New York Public Library.

📸 Nyoman Cerrens /

05/19/2026

En la ceremonia de graduación del 2 de mayo, el Dr. José Higuera López , Director del Instituto de Estudios Mexicanos de CUNY, recalcó el esfuerzo de los graduados y de sus familias y amigos que hicieron posible tan significativo logro, y los invitó a escribir un nuevo capítulo en la historia de nuestra comunidad con “excelencia profesional e integridad personal, así como un compromiso inquebrantable con nuestra identidad y con las raíces que dan sentido a nuestra vida.”

El Instituto de Estudios Mexicanos de CUNY agradece a la Dra. Lizbeth de la Cruz Santana  por su compromiso con los estudiantes y su visión de futuro que impulsaron la primera Graduación de Estudiantes México-Americanos de todo el sistema CUNY, la cual celebra, enfatiza y visibiliza los logros y las contribuciones de nuestra comunidad en Estados Unidos.

🇲🇽🇺🇸

ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION // Theatrical Release in NYC 🎬 May 22nd-28thVillage East by Angelika Theater, 181-189 2nd Ave....
05/18/2026

ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION // Theatrical Release in NYC 🎬
May 22nd-28th
Village East by Angelika Theater, 181-189 2nd Ave.
 
🎬 Following the Friday, May 22nd screening at 7:30pm, there will be a Q&A with Director Travis Gutiérrez Senger, Moderator Marcela Guerrero (Whitney Museum of Art) and Artist Gabriela Ruiz (Whitney Biennial 2026).
 
🎬 Following the Saturday, May 23rd screening at 7:30pm, there will be a Q&A with Director Travis Gutiérrez Senger and special guests TBA. 
 
 ASCO: Without Permission challenges the limits of documentary conventions to tell the story of a revolutionary Chicano art group who turned 1970s LA into their defiant canvas. Merging activism with radical art-making, ASCO challenged the established order of Hollywood, museums, and media and are now considered amongst the 20th century’s most significant artists. Director Travis Gutiérrez Senger mirrors their boundary-breaking spirit through a groundbreaking approach, weaving nonfiction and fiction together with a new generation of artists. The result is more than a profile — it’s a reimagining of what’s possible in art and cinema, celebrating iconoclasts who were decades ahead of their time.



05/13/2026

On May 2, we celebrated the first CUNY-wide Mexican American Commencement to recognize the academic achievements and cultural identity of nearly 200 graduates across CUNY. Dr. Fernando Delgado, President of Lehman College, was our keynote speaker, and he addressed the graduates, their families, and friends with words of encouragement rooted in his own experience as a first-generation Mexican-American and in our shared culture and values.

“I’m not assimilated; I’m American. My Mexican and my Spanish identities don’t negate my Americanness, don’t detract from it; they add to it. Because not only am I an American, I’m an American who is part of a bigger world.”

🇲🇽🇺🇸



On May 2, we celebrated the first CUNY-wide Mexican American Commencement, a landmark event recognizing the academic ach...
05/07/2026

On May 2, we celebrated the first CUNY-wide Mexican American Commencement, a landmark event recognizing the academic achievements and cultural identity of nearly 200 graduates across CUNY

Held at the Center for the Performing Arts at Lehman College , the ceremony brought together students from the Class of 2026, representing a wide range of academic programs across 14 CUNY institutions:
Inspired by student advocacy and developed in collaboration with Dr. Lizbeth de la Cruz Santana , the initiative responds to the need to recognize and make visible the Mexican-American student experience within CUNY, particularly in a broader sociopolitical context where representation remains uneven.
The ceremony featured remarks from Dr. José Higuera López , Director of the Institute ; Fidel Malena, representing the State of New York; NYC Council Members Pierina Sanchez  and Justin Sanchez ; Dr. Fernando Delgado, President of Lehman College ; and a surprise appearance by Peso Pluma , who joined as class sponsor.

Beyond individual achievement, the ceremony recognized the collective journeys behind each graduate: families, migration stories, and the resilience that shaped their paths.

📷 CUNY MSI

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