As a resident of North Carolina and a Latin Americanist, I am also interested in the geographies of Latina/o migration in the South. I am particularly interested in how political art and activism work to start conversations and dialogue about migration, border-crossing, and borders crossing people, in a variety of public spaces–from educational settings to galleries to churches to parking lots–and among a variety of people, from elementary school kids to city and state representatives. Altha Cravey and I guest-edited a special issue in The Southeastern Geographerexploring these sorts of questions.
In collaboration with Durham-based artist Cornelio Campos, Joseph Palis (North Carolina State University), Altha Cravey, and the FedEx Global Education Center, we coordinated the art exhibit Suenos Americanos/American Dreams, which explores geographies of Latina/o migration in the U.S. Follow this link for more information on the exhibit and its programs: Suenos Americanos/American Dreams.
To learn more about the work of Cornelio Campos, check out this short video on his perspective on art, border-crossings, and The American Dream. Also, check out this short documentary on Walking the Border, featuring the photography of Susan Harbage-Page and short interviews with Cornelio Campos.
Publications on Latin American diaspora in the U.S.:
Accepted. Palis, J., Cravey, A. and Valdivia, G. Imagining the future from the margins: Cyborg labor in Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer. Geojournal.
2011. Cravey, A. and Valdivia, G. Carolina del Norte. Introduction to special issue on Carolina del Norte: Geographies of Latinization in the South. The Southeastern Geographer 51(2): 213–226.
2011. Valdivia, G., Palis, J., and Reilly, M. Borders, Border-Crossing and Political Art in North Carolina. The Southeastern Geographer 51(2): 287–306.