Students and the general public are invited to view three outstanding films relating to the theme “Environmental Issues in Latin America:” Nostalgia de la Luz (Ulises Porra & Silvina Schnicer, 2021), Abrazo de la Serpiente (Ciro Guerra, 2015), and A Million Miles Away (Alejandra Márquez Abella, 2023).
Lee sobre el Festival Anual de Cine Latino Internacional en Español aquí.
Admission to the festival is free, with a suggested donation of $5 (cards only, no cash). For all questions regarding this event, please contact the Cal Poly Department of World Languages & Cultures at (707) 826-3226.
The special guest speaker for this year’s festival is Myrna Santiago, a history professor and director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Saint Mary’s College of California. She received her B.A. from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
She teaches Latin American history with courses on environmental history, Central American women, revolutions in the 20th century, and the history of the drug trade.
Her research has focused on labor and environmental history in Latin America, analyzing the social and ecological effects of extractive industries.
Her book, The Ecology of Oil: Environment, Labor, and the Mexican Revolution, 1900-1938, won two prizes. She has published about oil and mining in English and Spanish. Her current research is on disasters, specifically two earthquakes that destroyed Managua, Nicaragua, in the 20th century.
At Saint Mary’s, Santiago is on the advisory board for the Institute for Latino and Latin American Studies and has organized fact-finding trips to the San Diego-Tijuana border for both faculty and students. She is also the faculty advisor for the student Latinx organization, La Hermandad.
The films and panelists for this year’s festival will appear in the following order:
Feb. 27: Nostalgia de la Luz (2021)
A documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by military officer and politician Augusto Pinochet's regime.
The panelists will include keynote speaker Santiago, Cal Poly Humboldt World Languages & Culture Emeritus faculty member Lilianet Brintrup, and History instructor Ryder Dschida Montel Vander Horck, Career Center manager at College of the Redwoods, will moderate the panel.
Feb. 28: El Abrazo de la Serpiente (2015)
The film showcases the story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together for 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
The panelists will include Santiago, College of the Redwoods Art professor Gabrielle Gopinath,and Cal Poly Humboldt Botany professor Óscar Vargas. Russell “Carlos” Gaskell, co-director of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Language Lab, will moderate the panel.
Feb. 29: A Million Miles Away (2023)
This biopic follows engineer José Hernández and his path from a farm worker to NASA astronaut. It’s a tale of perseverance, community, and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible dream.
The panelists will include Santiago, College of the Redwoods Astronomy Professor Jon Pedicino, and Humboldt’s Fisheries Biology professor José Marín Jarrín and be moderated by Humboldt’s Biological Sciences professor Catalina Cuéllar-Gempeler.
This long-standing community event is generously sponsored by Equity Arcata and a collaboration between College of the Redwoods Multicultural Equity Center and Humanities department and Cal Poly Humboldt’s World Languages & Cultures department.
For more information on this event, please call the Cal Poly Humboldt World Languages & Cultures department at (707) 826-3226.