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Notes From The Field - Conference Proceedings, Summer Fellows 2025, Center For Latin American, Caribbean, And Latino Studies (Clacls)

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

CLACLS presents proceedings papers from the third CLACLS Summer Fellows Showcase Conference, held on November 12, 2025.

The daylong event showcased the research endeavors of fourteen Summer Fellows, who offered succinct presentations on their projects funded by the CLACLS Summer fellowship. The included three panels: “Feminist and Queer Critical Perspectives”, “Language, Archive and Power”, “Social Movements and Political Imaginations.”

Reimagining Puerto Rican Sonic Identity: Musical Style And Creation After Hurricane María., Gabriel E. Bouche Caro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the manifestation of Puertorriqueñidad (Puerto Rican identity) in concert music composed after Hurricane María (2017), a catastrophe that catalyzed a profound shift in Puerto Rico's cultural consciousness. Focusing on four composers whose early careers were shaped by this period—Johanny Navarro, John Rivera Pico, Iván E. Rodríguez, and Christian Quiñones—the study combines close readings of scores and recordings with extensive original interviews to understand how musical identity is constructed in the wake of collective trauma. The analysis reveals that while the composers share a generational bond, their aesthetic practices are strikingly diverse: Navarro preserves Afro-Caribbean rhythmic structures, Rivera …

Gendered Resistance: Women’S Strategies Against Military Dictatorships, Argentina And Chile, Maricarmen Canales-Moreno

Publications and Research

This article compares the Madres de Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos (AFDD) in Chile to examine how women transformed their identities as mothers, wives, and daughters into strategies of political resistance under military dictatorship. It argues that maternal imagery, public mourning, and the transformation of private grief into collective defiance enabled women-led human rights organizations to challenge authoritarian regimes while strategically drawing on gender roles those regimes sought to enforce. The article traces the emergence of both organizations, their occupation of public space, hunger strikes, legal action, and engagement with international human …

Common Challenges Faced By Early-Career Researchers In Latin American And Small U.S. Universities, Daniela Cejas, Fatima Rodriguez Acosta, Juan Rivera-Correa

Publications and Research

Early-career researchers from Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and small U.S. universities are underrepresented in international scientific databases. They have geographical importance, infectious disease endemicity, and exceptional researchers in microbiology, but these factors do not translate to representation in high-impact scientific publications. Many reasons could be involved, including financial burdens such as the inability to pay article processing charges. Additional teaching, institutional, and service responsibilities also highly influence their research productivity. Despite this, they are expected to publish high-impact articles, and their career development highly depends on it. There is an opportunity for global peer collaboration to tackle this inequity and …

Armed By Design: Posters And Publications Of Cuba's Organization Of Solidarity Of The Peoples Of Asia, Africa, And Latin America (Ospaaal), Jen Hoyer, Lani Hanna, Josh Macphee, Vero Ordaz, Sarah Seidman

Publications and Research

This book reflects on the intersection of graphic design and political solidarity work of OSPAAAL, the Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Based in Havana, Cuba, OSPAAAL produced nearly 500 posters, magazines, and books beginning in the late sixties. Their output provides one of the most robust examples of political design ever seen; it offers a wealth of opportunities for thinking about how design is—and could be—deployed today in the search for more egalitarian social transformation.

Armed By Design brings together artists and thinkers from around the world whose work has been impacted by …

Notes From The Field - A Militarização Do Espaço Urbano Do Rio De Janeiro: Grupos Armados, Forças De Segurança E Forças Armadas E A Disputa Por Território, Thiago Sardinha

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

The Militarization of the Urban Space of Rio de Janeiro is the synthesis of different historical processes: The state through massive incarceration of black and racialized people, and the systematic elimination of black poor people from favelas through urban policing operations by security and armed forces, traffic patrols, and paramilitary/vigilante groups. Together, they result in the production of different actors that exert violent territorial domination for economic exploitation and social control.

Más Allá De La Crisis Y La Emergencia: Aproximaciones A Los Movimientos Migratorios Contemporáneos A Través De La Traducción Y La Comedia, Fabiola Fernandez Peer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Esta investigación propone una reflexión original sobre la migración más allá de los marcos de la crisis y de la emergencia en referencia a acontecimientos concretos de estos últimos diez años de “crisis/emergencias migratorias” en y entre las regiones sur y norte del continente. El análisis del ensayo visual de la escritora/artista visual Verónica Gerber; el ensayo y la escritura ficcional de la escritora Valeria Luiselli y los performances de comedia de los comediantes/influencers George Harris y Jóse Rafael Guzmán revela que estos materiales pugnan con el discurso oficial, mediático, artístico, humanitario referido a la migración. Señala el impacto …

Obesity Risk And Comorbidities Among Colombians In New York City And In Colombia, Carlos A. Devia

Dissertations and Theses

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in adults and children continues to increase worldwide, accounting for the mortality and morbidity from several diseases. Obesity disproportionally impacts Latinos in the United States (U.S.), and despite their diversity in origins, ancestry, and culture, it is still unclear the burden of obesity by specific Latino groups. For example, little information is available about how obesity impacts Colombians in the U.S. (the largest South American population). New evidence also indicates that Latino immigrants may no longer be arriving with healthy weight status to the U.S. because Latin American countries are undergoing epidemiologic and …

Spouse And Unmarried Partner Choices Among Largest Latino Nationalities In The New York Metropolitan Region, 1980 – 2021, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines the married and unmarried partner choices among the largest Latino nationalities in the New York metropolitan region by race/ethnicity and nationality among household heads by sex.

Methods: This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, …

Quisqueya In Borinquen: A Socioeconomic Profile Of The Dominican Population In Puerto Rico, 2023, Ramona Hernandez, Francisca L. Rivera-Batiz, Sidie S. Sisay

Publications and Research

This research report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current socioeconomic status of the Dominican population in Puerto Rico, examining changes over time using data from the U.S. Census for Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Community Survey.

Examining Indigenous Engagement In The Formulation Of Nationally Determined Contributions (Ndcs): A Comparative Study Of Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, And Bolivia, Viviana K. Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

This study assesses the extent to which indigenous peoples have been included in the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) of four Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. By examining the consequences of their exclusion, the study highlights the political marginalization of indigenous peoples. In addition, the study explores avenues for voicing indigenous concerns through regional organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICHR). By identifying lessons for Latin American states and advocating for regional cooperation, the research aims to strengthen the position of indigenous peoples in international climate negotiations …

The Demographic And Socioeconomic Patterns Of New Latino Immigrants In New York City In The 2010s, Qiyao Pan

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines the demographic and socioeconomic patterns of new immigrants that arrived between 2010 and 2019 in New York City. It focuses on the characteristics and shifting dynamics of these newcomers in three time periods: 2010-2012, 2013-2015, and 2016-2019.

Methods: This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public …

Education And Employment Trends Among Puerto Ricans In New York City, 1990-2019, Amber Ferrer

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction

This report examines demographic trends in educational attainment and employment among Puerto Ricans living in New York City between 1990 and 2019. The report also observes the relationship between race and gender with employment and education trends.

Methods

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: …

The Socioeconomic Background Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In New York City: Latinos In Corona, Elmhurst, And Jackson Heights, 1990-2019, Oscar Aponte

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report analyzes the socioeconomic conditions of Latinos between 1990 and 2019 in three of the neighborhoods in New York City hit the most by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the number of cases and deaths per capita. The cases per capita in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights neighborhoods were 1 in 19 people in Corona, 1 in 16 people in Elmhurst, and 1 in 19 people in Jackson Heights, significantly higher than the cases per capita in the rest of the city.

Methodology:

This study uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) for all …

Socioeconomic Conditions Of Foreign-Born And Domestic-Born Latinos In New York City, 1990-2018, Oscar Aponte

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the socioeconomic conditions of the five largest Latino nationalities in New York City (Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, and Colombians) between 1990 and 2018. The report reveals significant differences in the socioeconomic status of Latinos and other racial and ethnic groups as well as between foreign-born and domestic-born Latinos.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent …

The Puerto Rican Population Of The New York Metropolitan Region, 1970 - 2020, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the demographic and socioeconomic changes occurring within the Puerto Rican population of the New York metropolitan area between 1970 and 2020. In 2020, there were about 1.19 million Puerto Rican-origin people living in the New York City metro area.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew …

Cognitive Difficulty In The Five Boroughs Of New York City, 2000-2019, Marjorine Henriquez-Castillo

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

the percentage of people with cognitive difficulty reported in 2000, 2010, and 2019 among residents in New York City. Specifically, residents from the five boroughs in New York City—Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island—were included in this analysis.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use …

Poverty In New York City: Social, Demographic And Spatial Characteristics, 1990-2019, Marco Castillo

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report analyzes trends in poverty in New York City over a period spanning from the year 1990 to 2019, including maps of poverty hot spots in the city.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, …

Unequal Burdens: Cost Burdens In The New York Metropolitan Area, 2000-2017, Marco Castillo, Kasey Zapatka

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report analyzes different demographic cross-sections for cost-burdened households at various times over the study period (2000, 2010, and 2017).

Methods:

The metro areas include the Public Use Micro Areas (PUMAs) associated with following counties for New York (Rockland, Orange, Westchester, Putnam, Duchess, Nassau, Suffolk, Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond), New Jersey, (Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, and Middlesex), and Connecticut (Fairfield). Since counties are not identified in public-use microdata from 1950 onward and PUMAs change over time, we used consistent PUMA boundaries from 2000 to 2010 (https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/CPUMA0010#description_section). For more on this see a discussion here https://forum.ipums.org/t/i-can-see-couple-of-distinct-countyfips-whereas-the-rest-of-them-are-under-0-countyfips-for-minnesota/1585/4 …

Transit Equity: Trends In Commuting Among The Employed Population In New York City, 1990-2019, Beiyi Hu

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines key trends in commuting among the employed population in New York City between 1990 and 2019.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2021.

Discussion:

Between 1990 and 2019, most of the employed …

Commuting Times To Work In The United States, 1990 - 2018, Sebastián Villamizar-Santamaría

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report documents the evolution of commuting times in the United States between 1990 and 2018, focusing on disparities with respect to race and ethnicity, sex, marital status, income, and poverty status

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: …

Means Of Transportation To Work In The United States, 1990-2018, Sebastián Villamizar-Santamaría

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines how people commuted to work in the United States between 1990 and 2018, focusing on disparities with respect to race and ethnicity, sex, marital status, income, and poverty status

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: …

Changing College Graduation Rates Among New York City’S Latino Populations, 1990 - 2020, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines changing college graduate rates between 1990 and 2020 among all Latinos in New York City and within the five largest population nationalities in 2020: Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, and Colombians.

Methods:

All data in this report were derived from the 1990 and 2020 American Community Survey 5-year survey samples found at IPUMS USA found at https://usa.ipums.org/usa/. See Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Ronald Goeken, Megan Schouweiler and Matthew Sobek. IPUMS USA: Version 12.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V12.0 College graduation rates were calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the population 25 years of age …

Research Note: Did The Covid Pandemic Result In An Exodus Of The Latino Population Of New York City And The New York Metropolitan Region?, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2021 One-Year samples indicate that despite the catastrophic health impact of COVID on the Latino population of the region, there was not a mass exodus of Latinos from the City or the metro area. The 2021 ACS One-Year samples, when compared with previous ACS One-Year samples, indicate that the City’s overall population increased by 0.5% between 2018 and 2021 and 1.3% between 2019 and 2021. The ‘Hispanic’ population, excluding Spaniards, rose by 0.2% between 2018 and 2021 and 1.4% between 2019 and 2021 according to these data.

Purity, Exclusion, And Political Order In Colombia, Osha Smith-Gittelman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the relationship between purity and order, and the ways this relationship informs and reproduces exclusionary forms of governance. The starting point for this analysis is the puzzling use of the language of limpieza social [social cleansing] as a justification for violence in Latin America. Such language is publicly disseminated by vigilantes, criminal organizations, paramilitaries, and other extralegal armed actors as a frame for violence against those presumed to be criminals, drug users, sex workers, unhoused, LGBTQ, or mentally ill. Much has been written on criminal and political violence in the region, but there has been less emphasis …

The Dominican Population Of The New York Metropolitan Region, 1970 - 2020 (Revised), Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the demographic and socioeconomic changes occurring within the Dominican population of the New York metropolitan area between 1970 and 2019. By 2019 Dominicans had become the largest Latino nationality in New York City having surpassed Puerto Ricans a decade earlier in sheer numbers.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew …

Estimating The Latino Population In New York City, 2020, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report compares the population growth of Latinos in New York City using four different sources and finds that the numbers differ dramatically from those published by the Census Bureau.

Methods:

This report uses four data sources: (i) the 2020 Census Redistricting Files; (ii) the American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Experimental Data Release; (iii) the ACS 5-Year (2016–2020) Estimates; and (iv) the IPUMS-NHGIS 2016–2020 5-Year Summary File. The American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data used for all years was released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of …

Were Latinos Undercounted In The 2020 Census? An Assessment Of Latino Demographic Data From 2010 Through 2020, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines makes estimates about the Latino Population for 2020—in the United States, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, and Houston—that differ dramatically from those published by the Census Bureau.

Methods:

This report uses population growth rates calculated from the raw data found in the American Community Survey (ACS) five-year files for each year between 2010 and 2019 and 2015 to 2019 to project ‘assumed’ population totals for 2020. It uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population …

Elements Of Social Disorganization And Environmental Criminology: A Spatial Analysis Of Homicides In Villa Nueva, Guatemala, David J. Topel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to integrate the main spatial theories of crime, social disorganization, and routine activities theories while investigating the spatial dimension of homicides in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Empirical relationships at a small unit of analysis, the natural cadaster blocks as defined by the municipality offer a more appropriate unit of analysis for the context of the city. While there is a robust body of work in developed nations synthetizing social disorganization and routine activities theories, the exploration of criminological theory integration and the use of the smallest unit of analysis still needs the addition of empirical research in Latin …

Deficiencies Within Guatemalan Criminal Justice Institutions When Detecting And Prosecuting Sextortion Crimes, Julia A. Bolotovsky

Student Theses

Sextortion is a form of corruption involving sexual exploitation, in which requests for monetary bribes are replaced by requests for sexual acts. Within Latin America, this crime is especially pertinent in Guatemala. Therefore, this study aims to identify which factors contribute to the occurrence of sextortion within Guatemala, while also analyzing the larger realm of violence against women. Based on semi-structured interviews with local experts and civil society activists, this study argues that sextortion is enabled by deficiencies within Guatemalan criminal justice institutions when detecting and prosecuting this crime. In order to effectively counter sextortion, more emphasis needs to be …