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Artwork of Mexican-American Artist Paul Valadez is being exhibited in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center
Paul Valadez (San Francisco) is a Mexican-American artist who explores identity issues with food imagery and intertwined references from American and Mexican culture. His work is invigorated by childhood memories of growing up in a bi-cultural household in the Central Valley of California during the social climatic changes of the 1960s and 1970s. He navigates the complexities of migration and identity through mixed media and food spices that add texture to the pieces. Still, he emphasizes the importance of his artworks not as fixed narratives, but as open interpretations. This approach invites personal reflection and engagement, making the artwork more meaningful through the diverse perspectives it evokes.
Some of his original pieces from the series Mysteries of Mexican Food and Icons are currently displayed in our community room at HJP 4112. We invite you to visit us and learn more about this amazing artist.
Explore Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UMD
About
About LACS
LACS is a a dynamic research center on the College Park campus and is well known internationally. In 1996, an undergraduate Latin American Studies and Caribbean Certificate program was established and the first cohort of LACS students signed up in fall 1997. The Certificate program continued in 2017, along with research support, academic presentations, student and faculty conferences and co-curricular cultural events. The Minor program started in the spring of 2019. The minor helps prepare students for careers related to Latin America.
About Latin American and Caribbean Studies CenterUndergraduate Students
Undergraduate
LACS provides a variety of undergraduate interdisciplinary programs and courses concerning the histories, cultures and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, including transnational migrations in and beyond the region.
UndergraduateGraduate Students
Graduate
LACS is firmly devoted to supporting the work of graduate student researchers and furthering a network of graduate student researchers and graduate education.
GraduateResearch
Research
LACS is a dynamic and supportive research community, in which each participant (undergraduate, graduate student, faculty, staff and public) is a crucial component of the whole.
ResearchResidency Programs
Residency Programs
The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center offers two residency programs for graduate students and community members.
Residency ProgramsPublications
Our current publications include El Boletín and El Terrapino.
El Boletín is our bi-weekly email featuring exciting cultural information and Latin American and Caribbean events on campus and in the local community.
Learn more about our publications
Recent Research
Predicting crime in middle-size cities. A Machine Learning model in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Machine learning strategies to predict crime tested in mid-size cities in Colombia.
Author/Lead: Juan GelvezNon-ARHU Contributor(s): María Paula, Nieto-Rodríguez & Carlos-Andrés Rocha-Ruiz
Crime prediction models are a useful tool for building prevention strategies in major cities. However, there are limitations for its application in intermediate cities, which have little information. This paper offers an effective computational strategy for crime prediction.
Conflict in Brazil: Evolving criminal actors, political linkages, and increased global relevance
The internationalization of Brazil's largest drug cartel, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)
Author/Lead: Carolina SampóNon-ARHU Contributor(s): Marcos Alan Ferreira, Ryan Berg, Paula Miraglia & Juan Pablo Medina Bickel
Carolina Sampó, the 2022-2023 LACS Postdoctoral Fellow, was invited to present her research on the global activities of drug cartels at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, UK.
How International Donations of Environmental Aid Reach Subnational Beneficiaries in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico
The fight against climate change increasingly connects International Organizations (IOs), national governments, and subnational governments.
Author/Lead: Isabella AlcañizNon-ARHU Contributor(s): Agustina Giraudy
How are international funds to fight climate change and environmental degradation distributed to subnational beneficiaries? This research develops a novel multilevel theory that poses that tension between the preferences of the IO and national governments helps explain the subnational distribution of environmental aid – even more than pure environmental or social need.