Highlights: Rethinking Memorials in Greater Latin America | Latin American Studies

Highlights: Rethinking Memorials in Greater Latin America

This round table discussion took place via Zoom on Wednesday, July 8. It was moderated by Adela Pineda (Romance Studies and Latin American Studies). The presenters included Andrea Berlin (Religion and Archaeology), David Carballo (Anthropology, Archaeology, and Latin American Studies), and David Colmenares (Romance Studies and Latin American Studies).

Memorials have always served the purposes of the periods in which they are constructed rather than the times in which the commemorated events took place – but it is equally true that as years pass and societies change, so too do the messages of the memorials and their reception by viewers. Parallel to conversations and political action relating to memorials to the Confederacy in the United States are those surrounding figures connected to Latin American colonialism, including Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, Juan de Oñate, and Junípero Serra, as well as historical indigenous figures, such as Cuahutemoc and Xicotencatl.

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