Latin American Languages and Societies Commons^™

La Santa Muerte And The Characteristic Damage Of Canonization, Ellen Webber

Journal of Global Catholicism

Devotion to La Santa Muerte, a Mexican folk saint who personifies Death, has

been condemned by the Catholic Church for its affiliation with Mexican drug

cartels. This article challenges mainstream interpretations of La Santa Muerte

devotion using the theological framework of characteristic damage, as defined

by Lauren Winner and Paul J. Griffiths. This framework understands liturgy

as celebrated by sinners in a damaged world, and therefore necessarily damaged

itself. As much as liturgy and Christian practice form us for good, they also per-

petuate damage. I argue that the sins present in La Santa Muerte veneration are

an expression of …

Editor's Introduction, Brent H. Otto S.J.

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Raising History From The Grave: Reparative Archival Pedagogy, International Virtual Exchange, And Community Engagement, Antonia Macdonald, Leah Rosenberg

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article brings together three threads in digital pedagogy: international virtual exchange, archival recovery work, and reparative pedagogy to argue that their convergence generates a transformative framework for reimaging critical archival practice and transnational collaborations. Our argument is supported by two related pedagogical projects that we undertook. The first is a collaboration with Pan Caribbean Sankofa (PCS) and the Panama Canal Museum Collection (PCMC) at the University of Florida (UF). The second is a collaborative online international learning (COIL) exchange that took place between two undergraduate classes at a university in the Eastern Caribbean and UF. Both initiatives were grounded …

Unaccountable Archives: A Review Of Underwriting Souls, Samantha Stephens

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

No abstract provided.

Measure By Measure: Reflections On Building A Quiz Map For Critical Caribbean Digital Pedagogy, Ra Bacchus, Medardo G. Rosario, Alexander S. Butler

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article reflects on the web development of a digital quiz map designed to help students critically engage with the representation of the Caribbean in digital space. Emerging from workshops organized by Visiones del Caribe—a digital humanities initiative using digitized maps and archives to teach Caribbean history, culture, and cartography—this tool responds to students’ inquiries about the region’s spatial boundaries. The quiz invites students to select on a map those countries and territories they consider part of the Caribbean, prompting reflection on the diversity of perspectives shaping Caribbean identity. Drawing from the discourse of critical cartography and digital pedagogy, we …

Tun Up: Building Digital Dancehall Fashion Archives From An Artist’S Perspective, Grayson Chong

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article investigates the opportunities and challenges of building a dancehall fashion archive with particular emphasis on the transition from the material to the digital. As an artist-scholar, I use my own dancehall fashion collection as a case study to explore the process of digitizing material artifacts (in this case, fashion and textiles). I focus on dancehall fashion in particular because it speaks to themes of resistance, self-fashioning, and creativity in the global fashion market. Throughout the article, I highlight what the transition between material and digital affords scholars and public audiences. In particular, I ask: "How do we retain …

Acervos Documentales De Puerto Rico Y El Caribe @ Upr-Río Piedras: On Designing Digital Strategies For Preservation And Access Of Unique Puerto Rican And Caribbean Studies Collections, Mirerza González-Vélez, Mila Aponte-González

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This paper documents Acervos Digitales de Puerto Rico y el Caribe @ UPR-Río Piedras, its origins, goals, activities and participants. It reflects on the team engagement with fundamental discussions regarding the use of Omeka in a Caribbean context, that resulted in the articulation and enactment of ethical principles for digital curation, as well as in its commitment for fundamental digital preservation efforts based on minimal technology requirements. The paper also provides an assessment of its continuity as a DH initiative committed to preserving, improving open access, and building capacity for the effective use of unique digitized humanities collections, and poses …

Digital Research Tools, Newspaper Texts, And Enslaved Fugitives In The Atlantic World, Gunvor Simonsen, Natacha Klein Käfer, Heather Freund, Felicia J. Fricke

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article demonstrates the benefits and pitfalls of utilizing Natural Language Processing to structure a large corpus of newspaper adverts on fugitive enslaved people from the Atlantic World between 1766 and 1821. We evaluate a model for multilingual event extraction trained specifically for fugitive ads and jail lists in its capacity to extract correctly the attributes relevant for historical analysis. Finally, we discuss how the current model may be used to expand and qualify databases concerning enslaved fugitives in the eastern Caribbean.

La Elaboración De Abc_Pr: Un Archivo Digital De La Literatura Infantil Puertorriqueña De Andrés Díaz Marrero, Adriana Morales-Díaz

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

Andrés Díaz Marrero (1940-2025) was a retired teacher in the Puerto Rican Public Education System. After his retirement as a teacher, he dedicated his life to writing poems, stories, plays, songs, and educational resources that highlight the values of Puerto Rican culture and the importance of education, publicly disseminating them through his website during the period of 1994-2025. This project showcases the development of a digital archive to safeguard the literary creations of this Puerto Rican author. ABC_PR presents itself as a living post-custodial repository, dialogically co-created from a familial, affective grandfather-granddaughter relationship, exploring instances of collaboration between writer-illustrator and …

Tracing Caribbean Narratives At The Intersection Of Language, Identity, And Social Media, Juan-Carlos M.E. Goilo

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article delves into how the creole language of Papiamentu navigates the complexities of cultural identity and decolonial praxis within the social media landscape. Drawing from literature reviews, digital ethnography, content analysis, and an interview with social media influencer Gerald Lijde, I explore Papiamentu’s deep-rooted colonial ambivalence—a legacy that shapes its contemporary online use. While digital platforms offer new avenues for celebrating and formalizing Papiamentu, they also risk commodifying its radical, anti-colonial roots into tourist-friendly narratives. By linking online content production to theories of agency and digital culture, the article illuminates Papiamentu’s enduring role as a vessel of resistance and …

“Un Compromiso Con La Tierra”: Digital Placemaking In The Art Of Rosaura Rodríguez’'S Instagram Stories, Jeannine Murray-Román

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

From a recording of a hot pink flower on a foggy hillside, its leaves trembling slightly in the wind, to the ink made from its petals pooling onto white cardstock, Puerto Rican artist Rosaura Rodríguez shares her experimental processes on Instagram stories, fifteen seconds at a time. Instagram is a fraught platform that encourages aesthetic homogeneity, and yet, continues to function as a site for developing micro-poetic techniques. This article focuses on Rodríguez’s in-process Instagram Stories, and particularly the “Highlights” feature which allows her to archive her working processes for two of her projects: 1. Temporada, a self-published comic that …

Infrastructure Of Lack: Defining Caribbean Vernacular Networks, Luis Rivera Jiménez

archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis

This article offers a theoretical reflection on the forms and meanings of networks in the Caribbean, moving beyond traditional definitions rooted in computation and formal infrastructure. By turning to vernacular, improvised, and culturally embedded modes of exchange—such as in "Club Nintendo" culture and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) in the Dominican Republic, the DIY internet practices of Cuban users, and the ubiquity of memes and WhatsApp threads across diasporic communities—this piece reframes the concept of the “network” through a Caribbean lens. Rather than seeing the Caribbean as disconnected or technologically incipient, this approach understands the region as a space of creative, strategic, …

Professionalizing Folklore In Latin America: Four Paradigms Of The Musician And The Coloniality Of Music Education, Matias Recharte

Visions of Research in Music Education

In this article, I discuss the professionalization of folklore and its entanglements with coloniality through an analysis of four paradigms of the musicians I encountered in conversations with students, administrators and instructors at the Escuela Nacional de Folklore Jose Maria Arguedas in Lima, Peru. I contrast two pairs of paradigms, the empírico with the académico and the chivero with the professional in order to show how the “professional folklore musician” is constructed through similarities and differences with these paradigms. For my analysis, I use a coloniality theory framework (Casto-Gomez, 2021; Quijan, 1980, 2000, 2007; Segato 2011, 2022) which considers social …

Our Heritage Vol Ii 2026, Ana Iraheta, Jake R. Turcotte, Siobhan Lahiff

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

"

Ana C. Iraheta and Jake R. Turcotte (Editors)

Siobhan Lahiff (Illustrator) "

Más Que Saltos: Patinar Me Hace Feliz/More Than Jumps: Skating Makes Me Happy, Amelia Costa

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Skater changes her goals, works hard, and finds new joy.

Por Siempre En Mi Corazón/Forever In My Heart, Valeria Barrón

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

A young woman honors her late friend with love and tradition.

Los Abuelos Viven Para Siempre/Grandparents Live Forever, Mariana Padilla

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

A young woman misses her grandpa, remembers his love, and applies his lessons every single day.

Una Historia Sobre Cultura, Familia Y Sueños/A Story About Culture, Family, And Dreams, Roseline Tavarez Cepeda

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Young immigrant celebrates culture, overcomes fear, and shares her story.

La Pequeña Defensora/The Little Advocate, Krystal Cuello Samper

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Krystal faces challenges, uses bilingualism to help others and grow.

Mi Loca Mundaza A Connecticut/My Crazy Move To Connecticut, Luciana Ybarra

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Moving from Hawaii to Connecticut taught values, adaptation, and cultural respect.

Cuando No Entendía El Por Qué/When I Didn't Understand Why, Nancy Nuñez

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Nancy moved to a new country, learned English with effort, and discovered how valuable education is.

Camino Al Corazón/A Choice From The Heart, Daniela Montoya

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Daniela felt unsure about her future, but chose to care for others and found her calling.

Carta Para Mi Tierra/Letter To My Country, Britnnie Minaya

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Britnnie misses her country, values her culture and her memories.

Barreras Rotas/Broken Barriers, Rachel Barrón

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

María faces change, grows through challenges, and honors her parents’ sacrifices.

Aprendí A Querer Mi Nombre/I Learned To Love My Name, Cici Martinez Osorio

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Citlally learns to love her name and value her culture.

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Making Noise Through Law: Indigenous Legal Mobilisation Against A Power Plant In “French” Guiana, Pierre Auzerau

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

In so-called “French” Guiana, or Guyane, the Kali’na village of Atopo Wipi has fought for years against a hydrogen power plant being built on their land. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2024 in Guyane and Western Europe, where I collaborated with various stakeholders to support Atopo Wipi’s resistance to the power plant, my research focuses on the legal dimensions of the Kali’na’s struggle to protect their land. Specifically, this article examines how the Kali’na navigated different normative frameworks, including international human rights standards and French law, to fight the project. Through this analysis, I show how the …

Parlache: The Spread Of Narco(Tics) Slang And Its Impact On The Colombian Lexicon And Culture, Savannah E. Taylor

The Corinthian

The current paper details the emergent use of Parlache, a unique Colombian urban slang, which has become popular among the low-income barrios, or slums, of Medellin and other cities in Colombia. Parlache was born largely out of the necessity for the Medellin Cartel to remain undetected by law enforcement, in conjunction with a major socioeconomic crisis that tore through urban sprawl in the 1980s. Much of its vocabulary is comprised of code words born in the cartel, however, has also been incorporated into popular urban culture in written and spoken form, such as songs, TV shows, day to …

Mita Y Mita: Bilingualism Beyond Identity Borders, Belén S. Yudess

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

“Mita Mita” asks audiences to reflect on the often discordant nature of identity development and how language, culture, and community impact this understanding. This piece is inspired by Gloria Anzaldua’s creation of the “mita y mita” framework in relation to border identity and politics theory as a way to conceptualize the doubling of identity that occurs between binaries. Through this lens, I attempt to dismantle the borders I have constructed around my identities by analyzing how reclaiming my name has begun to mend my sociocultural insecurities. As you engage with this material, I encourage you to let down your guard …

Storytelling, Henry D. Juarez

CouRaGeouS Cuentos: A Journal of Counternarratives

No abstract provided.