Tag: Mexico

Today at the Law School: Estado de Silencio / State of Silence: Film Screening and Panel

Posted on by Liladhar

Film Screening & Discussion: “State of Silence”
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Estado de Silencio Film Title
The title of a film is “Estado de Silencio” (The State of Silence).

“State of Silence/Estado de Silencio” delves into the challenges facing press freedom in Mexico, chronicling the dangerous work of four journalists as they uncover the ties between organized crime and government corruption. Through their eyes, the documentary reveals the obstacles and risks they face in breaking the silence around systemic abuse and violence. A panel discussion and audience Q&A with will follow the screening:

RSVP here

Dia de los muertos in the East Bay

Posted on by Liladhar

Día de los Muertos and UC Berkeley Library Collections

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is an essential Mexican holiday, primarily celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. It is a time for families and friends to gather, pray for, and remember loved ones who have died. The celebration is vibrant, focusing on life and remembrance, rather than mourning. Key traditions include creating ofrendas (altars) decorated with marigolds (cempasúchil), favorite foods and drinks of the departed, candles, and colorful sugar skulls (calaveras).

In the pantheon of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artists who represent Mexico and Mexican art, the artwork of José Guadalupe Posada stands out as a bright constellation that continues to shine a light on important stories through woodcuts, imprints, and engravings. This virtual exhibition is a counterpart of the physical exhibition on Posada that was created by Liladhar P., the Librarian for Latin American Collections. The title of this exhibition is "Illustrating México one page at a time-Print Art of José Guadalupe Posada."The exhibition also highlights two important contemporary Mexican artists: Artemio Rodriguez and Sergio Sánchez Santamaría who continue to cherish and carry the legacy of José Guadalupe Posada. However, I note that these artists have their own stories and own unique style that illustrates the beauty of Mexico's printmaking heritage. This exhibition highlights selected print-items by José Guadalupe Posada. The curator owes a debt of gratitude to Aisha Hamilton and Virgie Hoban.

Illustrating Mexico one page at a time-Print Art of José Guadalupe Posada

Several venues across the East Bay feature Día de los Muertos altars. The Oakland Public Library is among the organizations hosting a related activity. Below are photos of the altar created by the library’s César Chávez branch (formerly the Latin American Library) to commemorate this important cultural tradition.

Photos below: Credit: Liladhar P.

Dia de los muertos altar at Cesar Chavez Branch Library of Oakland Public Library
Our Social Sciences Library at UC Berkeley Library, my departmental colleagues have created also an altar whose pictures I am sharing. Two colleagues who took initiative in supporting this activity are Angelica V.M. and Cody H.

Photos below: Credit Angelica VM.

A dia de los muertos altar at Social Sciences Research Library
A dia de los muertos altar at Social Sciences Research Library

The following subject terms can be helpful to our students when trying to locate materials on Dia de los muertos in our library’s collections.

Subject

Below is some music related to Dia de los muertos. Posted for non-commercial, educational and fair-academic use. The copyright belongs to the creators of this wonderful music. Enjoy!

Save the date: October 17, 1 p.m. PDT: Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales (Webinar)

Posted on by Liladhar

Thursday
Oct. 17, 2024
1 p.m. PDT
Zoom

Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales

In this webinar, Stephanie L. Canizales, Ph.D., will discuss her new book, Sin Padres, Ni Papeles, which explores the complex experiences of unaccompanied young migrants from Central America and Mexico in the United States. Canizales illuminates the long history of this migration and how young migrants find meaning and demonstrate resilience in the face of significant adversity.

Free and open to the public

The event will be recorded for archival purposes.

Register at

ucblib.link/3F8

Sponsors

Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative

Institute of Governmental Studies

Latinx Research Center

Sociology Department

UC Berkeley Library

This pictures shows image of professor Stephanie L. Canizales of UC Berkeley

Professor Stephanie L. Canizales

Stephanie L. Canizales, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Sociology Department
UC Berkeley
Faculty Director
Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative

Accessibility accommodations

If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact Liladhar Pendse at lpendse at berkeley.edu or 510-768-7610 at least 7-10 days in advance of the event. Organizer: Dr. Liladhar R. Pendse

Available in an alternate format

To request an accessible version of this document, please contact the Library Communications Office at librarycommunications@berkeley.edu.

A poster of webinar on October 17th with a title: Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales
Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales

Grito de Dolores, Aniversario de la Independencia and Fiestas Patrias

Posted on by Liladhar

Each year, Mexico marks an anniversary of its independence. One of the revered heroes of Mexico has been Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, whose Grito de Dolores has been frequently used as a rallying tool against the perceptions of injustice. UC Berkeley’s Library is rich in print and analog materials on Mexico’s history. Fiestas Patrias is one essential component of the holiday celebration, both here in the United States and Mexico.

Recently, I was surprised to see a box waiting to for me in the office that was mailed to me by the FCE in Mexico as a gift to the library. Below are some scanned images of the books that were in that box. Not all the books below deal with the Independence of Mexico, however these represent cultural and informational objects that inform their readers of Mexico’s rich yet complicated history and literature.

I leave you with a recent video of one of Mexico’s prolific writers and historian, Paco Ignacio Taibo II. We do have many books that deal with the subject of El Cura Hidalgo.

Besides this video, the resilience of el pueblo to survive through odds is something that inspires me to serve our students and faculty from diverse backgrounds as a librarian at a public academic library of University of California.

 

New book by Estelle Tarica

Posted on by Claude Potts

[book cover]

Holocaust Consciousness and Cold War Violence in Latin America proposes the existence of a recognizably distinct Holocaust consciousness in Latin America since the 1970s. Community leaders, intellectuals, writers, and political activists facing state repression have seen themselves reflected in Holocaust histories and have used Holocaust terms to describe human rights atrocities in their own countries. In so doing, they have developed a unique, controversial approach to the memory of the Holocaust that is little known outside the region. Estelle Tarica deepens our understanding of Holocaust awareness in a global context by examining diverse Jewish and non-Jewish voices, focusing on Argentina, Mexico, and Guatemala. What happens, she asks, when we find the Holocaust invoked in unexpected places and in relation to other events, such as the Argentine “Dirty War” or the Mayan genocide in Guatemala? The book draws on meticulous research in two areas that have rarely been brought into contact—Holocaust Studies and Latin American Studies—and aims to illuminate the topic for readers who may be new to the fields.

[from publisher’s site]

Estelle Tarica is Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture and former Chair of the Latin American Studies Program at UC Berkeley. She is incoming Chair of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. Her previous book The Inner Life of Mestizo Nationalism concers the discourse of indigenismo and mestizaje in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia focusing on the work of José María Arguedas, Rosario Castellanos and Jesús Lara. Her articles have appeared in edited volumes and in the journals Chasqui, Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana, Latin American Literary Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, Política Común and Yale French Studies, among others.

She discussed her latest book with Alejandra Decker (Hispanic Languages and Literatures, UCB) and Robert Kaufman (Comparative Literature, UCB) on April 7 through the Center for Latin American Studies.

 

Holocaust Consciousness and Cold War Violence in Latin America.
Albany: State University of New York Press, 2022.