October 12, 2004
Shimer College receives Illinois Humanities Council grant for series on Latino Art and Literature

Celebración de las artes latinas/ Celebrating Latino art and literature, a four part series celebrating Latino art and literature will be hosted at Shimer College thanks to a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council. This series will feature lectures and discussions with prominent Spanish-speaking scholars from the Chicago area. This series is intended for all Spanish-speaking residents from the Waukegan area who have an interest in Spanish literature and arts. All events will be conducted in Spanish.

Shimer alum Victor Alejandro Sorell. (Class of ‘66), who currently serves as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Chicago State University will begin the series with a lecture about the recent rebirth of Mexican muralism in Chicago This talk will take place at Shimer College on Thursday, October 21st at 7:30 pm. In particular, he will describe the influence of three major Mexican muralists - Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros - on Chicago mural artists.

The following three evening events focus on great works of literature in the Latino tradition. Three scholars of Hispanic literature from Chicago universities will host discussions on works by great authors of Latino literature: Gabriel García Márquez,. Mario Vargas Llosa and Rosario Castellanos. Each scholar will speak about a single text for about 15-20 minutes and then open the program up for discussion among the participants. The discussion of these texts will be held in Spanish. See below for the specific readings and dates of these events. All events will be held at 7:30 in Prairie House Lounge on the Shimer College Campus.

October 21, 2004:
Víctor Alejandro Sorell, Art Historian and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Chicago State University, will speak on El renacimiento del muralismo mexicano en Chicago (1970-Hoy)

November 29, 2004:
Fabiola Fernández Salek, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages at Chicago State University, will speak on Violencia y realismo mágico en Cien años de soledad de Gabriel García Márquez

January 24, 2005:
Mario Santana, Associate Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Chicago, will speak on Los engaños de la ficción criminal: ¿Quién mató a Palomino Molero? de Mario Vargas Llosa.

February 28, 2005:
Susana Cavallo, Professor of Spanish, Loyola University Chicago, will speak on Álbum de familia de Rosario Castellanos: Cuatro visiones de la mujer mexican.