The Latino Midwest, was the 2012-13 University of Iowa Obermann Center for Advanced Studies-International Programs Humanities symposium, that examined the history, education, literature, art, and politics of Latinos in the Midwest in light of the demographic changes experienced by states in this region with growing Latino populations. The main symposium took place Oct. 11-13 and included panels, lectures, performances, and literary readings.

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The Latino Midwest was organized by Claire Fox, associate professor of English and Spanish and Portuguese at UIowa, whose  interests include inter-American cultural studies, Mexican and U.S.-Mexican border arts and culture, visual culture studies; Omar Valerio-Jiménez, associate professor of history, who wrote a study of Latinos in early 20th-century Iowa; and Santiago Vaquera-Vásquez, who was assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese, whose research focuses on literature and art from the U.S./Mexico borderlands.

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The symposium had a series of cultural and academic events associated that I had the fortune to document photographically the following events for The Daily Iowan:  

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• “Migration Letters”– installation on the Englert’s stage exploring misconceptions and political incorrectness around immigration via the alphabet, featuring visiting artist Alejandro García-Lemos.

• Junot Díaz – A reading and talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, sponsored by the UI Lecture Committee – 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, Englert Theatre

• Lila Downs concert, sponsored by Hancher – 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, Englert Theatre

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