On March 28 and 29, 2023, there will be a two-day virtual symposium hosted by the Cuban Heritage Collection and Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuba and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami; the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, Tulane University; and the Atlanta Global Studies Center, The Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University. This symposium will be presented in both English and Spanish. For more information and reservations, see Eventbrite.Diaspora.  

Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think. Perhaps instead of thinking of identity as an already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent, we should think, instead, of identity as a “production,” within, not outside, representation.  – Stuart Hall

In his influential 1996 essay “Cultural Identity and Diaspora,” Jamaican-born theorist Stuart Hall described the power of “a new cinema of the Caribbean” to reflect, refract, and enact new conceptions of identity among citizens of the region and their diasporas around the world. In the years since, migration has solidified its centrality as “a constant motif in Caribbean history,” to quote Hall’s words elsewhere. This has reinforced the need for filmmakers to continue engaging diaspora, migration, and exile as not only cornerstones of the region’s past and present, but also sites from which to convene new publics, preserve cultural memory, and imagine alternate futures.

Bringing together film scholars, curators, and filmmakers, this symposium applies Hall’s questions about the relationship between cinema and representation to recent cinematic production from the Spanish Caribbean and its global diasporas. How, we ask, are contemporary filmmakers from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico—whether on their respective islands or residing abroad—contending with diaspora as subject of their work, as site of production, and/or as intended audience? What platforms are they leveraging, or creating, to do so? In asking these questions, we follow Hall’s call to understand film “not as a second-order mirror held up to reflect what already exists, but as that form of representation which is able to constitute us as new kinds of subjects.”

Symposium Schedule:

DAY 1 – TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023

10:00 a.m. EST: Welcome Remarks

• Charles Eckman, Ph.D. Dean and University Librarian
• Amanda Moreno, Chair, Esperanza Bravo de Varona Chair of the Cuban Heritage Collection
• Michael Bustamante, Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies
• Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish and Co-Director of the Atlanta Global Studies Center, The Georgia Institute of Technology
• Ana M López, Ph.D., Professor of Communication, Director of the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Tulane University

10:30 a.m. EST: Diasporic Representations: Past, Present, Future | Representaciones de la Diáspora: Pasado, Presente, Futuro

• Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Ph.D., University of Michigan
• Mary Leonard. Ph.D, Universidad de Puerto Rico – Mayagüez
• Zaira Zarza, Ph.D., Université de Montréal
• Moderator: Michael Bustamante, Ph.D., University of Miami

2:00 p.m. EST: Engaging Diaspora Audiences: New Platforms | Participación de Audiencias Diaspóricas: Nuevas Plataformas

• Juan Carlos Dávila, El Centro/ Hunter College
• Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas, Aurora Dominicana
• Eliecer Jimenéz Almeida, Florida International University & Santiago Juan-Navarro, Ph.D., Florida International University
• Moderator: Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Ph.D., The Georgia Institute of Technology

DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023

2:00 p.m. EST: Diasporic Filmmaking Today: A Conversation with Filmmakers of the Region |Cine Diaspórico Hoy : Una conversación con cineastas de la región (Presented in Spanish)

• Pavel Giroud, El caso Padilla (2022)
• Victoria Linares, Ramona (2023)
• Pedro A. Rivera Muñoz, Desalambrado (2016)
• Damian Sainz, Los cimarrones (2021)
• Moderator: Ana M. López, Ph.D., Tulane University

For more information, see https://www.eventbrite.com/e/diaspora-in-recent-film-from-the-spanish-caribbean-tickets-558905460277?