Center for Latin American & Latinx Studies at University of Pennsylvania

03/20/2026

Join us for the Closing Event of Migrating Lives—a celebration of community, culture, and creativity through participatory murals! Be part of the unveiling of the completed mural, co-created by the Karen Community Association of Philadelphia, Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación, and our partners at Penn. Together, we honor the stories and experiences that shape Greater Philadelphia. Check the schedule and pick a session to join us as we celebrate and connect!

Thank you — Ta blu — ¡Gracias!

Date: Friday, April 24
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: McNeil Building Atrium (2nd Floor)
RSVP at this link: https://upenn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_80QRJkIKWSrqcE6

03/20/2026

We are thrilled to invite you to our 4th Annual Carnaval, a celebration of Indigenous and Andean traditions. Hosted by Quechua at Penn and Andean Representation, this event honors our youth, families, Pachamama, and the hope for a fruitful harvest.

Date: Saturday, April 4
Time: 7-9PM
Location: 3601 Locust Walk, ARCH 208

Join us for an exciting lineup featuring the Andean band and the Peruvian folkloric dance group .usa.

This year’s celebration will highlight Carnaval traditions across the Andes, with cultural representations from Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, and Bolivia, showcasing the diversity and richness of our communities. Carnaval is more than just a celebration; it is an expression of cultural pride, resilience, and the spirit of community. We warmly welcome everyone to join in the joy of Carnaval.

A huge thank you to our incredible co-sponsors: Campaign for Community, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the Penn Music Department, and the Wolf Humanities Center.

02/06/2026

Join us at Migrating Lives, a participatory art initiative led by the Karen Community Association of Philadelphia (KCAP) and Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE), in collaboration with Asian American Studies Program (ASAM) and the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (CLALS) at Penn. Learn more about our partnership here!

Sponsored by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Migrating Lives highlights the vital role of immigration in shaping Greater Philadelphia. The project brings together community voices through murals that reflect the history, culture, and lived experiences of immigrant and refugee communities.

Date: Saturday, February 28
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM
Location: 1246 W. Main St. Norristown, PA 19401
RSVP in our website: https://clals.sas.upenn.edu/

02/06/2026

Join us for the First Glocal Conference on Quechua Languages and Cultures, a virtual event taking place Friday, February 27 – Saturday, February 28, 2026 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. This inaugural online conference brings together Indigenous leaders, scholars, educators, and community advocates from around the world to share research, experiences, and insights on the Quechua languages and cultures — from pedagogy and policy to revitalization, community engagement, and global linguistic collaboration. Whether you’re interested in Indigenous language preservation, cultural studies, or multilingual education, this conference offers an exciting opportunity to learn, connect, and celebrate the richness and resilience of Quechua traditions and voices.

02/06/2026

Join us for Indigenous and Imperial Histories: A Roundtable on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM in College Hall 209! This engaging panel brings together leading scholars of the Iberian world to explore the deep and complex intersections between Indigenous political orders and imperial rule across the early modern Atlantic. Through comparative and connected approaches, panelists will illuminate the diverse modes of negotiation, entanglement, and resistance that shaped how Indigenous communities and African sovereign polities engaged with, challenged, and transformed Iberian imperial governance. Featuring experts Pedro Cardim (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), Tatiana Seijas (Rutgers University), and Rafael Chamboleyron (Universidade Federal do Pará), this roundtable promises dynamic dialogue and fresh perspectives on histories that continue to resonate today. Whether you’re passionate about Indigenous histories, colonial encounters, or global early modern studies, join us for a thought-provoking evening of interdisciplinary conversation and insight!

02/06/2026

Join us for For(u)m: Re-forming Value, Re-valuing Form in Music Studies, a dynamic graduate-student-led conference taking place February 13–14, 2026 at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts in Van Pelt Library. This two-day gathering brings together scholars, artists, and interdisciplinary thinkers to explore how musical forms are created, circulated, challenged, and reimagined — and how value is assigned, negotiated, and transformed across cultural, historical, and social contexts. Through a wide range of presentations and conversations, the conference invites participants to reflect on themes such as historical flow and re-performance, material and sonic transformation, and the economic and social forces that shape musical meaning. Designed as a space for lively exchange and critical engagement, the forum welcomes graduate students and attendees from across disciplines who are interested in music, sound studies, performance, and cultural theory. Come be part of the conversation and help rethink how we listen, analyze, and value music today.

02/06/2026

Please join us for the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies External Speaker (CLALSES) Series with Esther Gabara, Professor of Romance Languages, Duke University, for a presentation of her book Non-Literary Fiction: Art of the Americas Under Neoliberalism (2022, University of Chicago Press). This talk is hosted by Alhelí Harvey, CLALS Postdoctoral Fellow.
Date: Monday, February 23
Time: 12PM
Location: McNeil 473, 3718 Locust Walk

02/06/2026

We are pleased to announce a new Latin American Studies Film Series at the Center, which is curated by Kristina Lyons (Anthropology) and graduate students.
The second film of the series is Ozogoche by Joe Houlberg Silva, which tells the story of the migration of the cuvivís, sandpiper birds, from central North America near Chicago to highland Ecuador and their final flight into the Ogozoche lakes. The film explores the significance of the cuvivís with the Kichwa community and how their lives and relationships are impacted by migration and climate change. Read more about the film in this article published by Screen Daily.
Date: Friday, February 20
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: McNeil 473
RSVP in our web: https://clals.sas.upenn.edu/

02/06/2026

We hope you can join us for the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies Internal Speaker (CLALSIS) series with Professor Tulia Falleti (Political Science, Penn), Mariela Eva Rodríguez (CONICET & Universidad de Buenos Aires, Antropólogica), and Adolfo Millabur Ñancuil (Mapuche Social and Political Leader.) They will present, "Collective memory and action of the Mapuche people: towards the repair of coasts, ocean, and maritime resources in Chile," on Friday, February 20 at 12PM in McNeil 473. The event will be hybrid.

02/06/2026

Please join us on Friday, February 6 at 12PM for a Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies Internal Speaker (CLALSIS) Series presentation with Bonnie Samantha Maldonado Asencio, Ph.D. Candidate in Africana Studies.

She will present, "La Cuna de la Alimentación: San Cristóbal as a Black Geography," which is a segment of her dissertation which examines the intersection of food, gender, power, and transnational identity in and beyond the Dominican Republic.

Date: Friday, February 6
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: McNeil 150
RSVP in our website: https://clals.sas.upenn.edu/

01/16/2026

We hope you can attend this important panel on Venezuela next Wednesday, Jan. 21!

Join Penn Arts & Sciences for a timely lunchtime discussion examining recent U.S. actions involving Venezuela.

This special panel brings together faculty experts from the Center for Latin American & Latinx Studies at University of Pennsylvania to unpack the political, historical, and economic implications of these developments—and what they mean moving forward.

Panelists include: Tulia Falleti, Professor of Political Science, Amy Offner, Associate Professor of History, Angel Alvarado Rangel, Senior Fellow, Economics, and Robert Vitalis, Emeritus Professor of Political Science.

For more information, please go to https://bit.ly/3LhHsMB

Graduate Student Center at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Latinx Coalition, University of Pennsylvania, , Penn LPS, SASgov - Graduate Student Government of the School of Arts and Sciences, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania History Department, University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences, Penn's Fels Institute of Government