Editor’s Letter: Views from the South
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard (DRCLAS), ReVista is focusing on inequality.
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The Return of the Caricature
I grew up in Mexico with a very clear —and very simplistic—image of the United States. It was the empire. The country that overthrew governments, invaded nations, spied on its allies and decided the destiny of the world without asking permission. In school, at home, in the media, this vision appeared over and over again: that of a powerful giant, egotistical and dangerous. Ronald Reagan was the…
A Prayer for New York
Teresita, my aunt, was born in 1933 in a small city in Colombia's coffee region. In the 60s, she left to live in New York. She studied social work at New York University and worked in Queens and the Bronx for more than 20 years. In the 80s, she returned to Colombia.
Aspirations
I never longed to study at the American School in Mexico, as my cousins did. My mom adamantly explained that there was no way we would start the week by honoring a foreign flag. But it was still evident that going to summer camp in California, as they did, and learning the language, as they had, would undoubtedly imply great and better things for me and my siblings. For that I did long. And my…
A Review of The Invention of the Future: A History of Cities in the Modern World
“The past might not offer clear lessons. But it can be a source of forms, modes, and dreams to keep nurturing life.” This is the last sentence of Bruno Carvalho’s The Invention of the Future, and it is my point of entry to this thought-provoking book. The author surveys the history of how cities have become challenging subjects to the imagination of kings, religious authorities, government…
A Review of Torn Asunder
The Monroe Doctrine not only appears to be alive and well, but to have metastasized into the Donroe Doctrine. As is often the case with the current Trump administration (or is it time to label it a “regime”?), the instrumentalization of the past is highly selective. Utterly absent from its latest incarnation is any pretense to hemispheric solidarity, present in the original; all that remains is…
From Santos to Cambridge
In March 2005, I rocked my baby girl's chair with one foot while calling every newsroom in São Paulo...
In Conversation with Samanta Schweblin
I found Samanta Schweblin’s latest book of short stories in the Spanish Literature section of the Cambridge Public Library.
Built Between Empires: How British History and U.S. Influence Shape Belize
Belize achieved independence in 1981, free of colonial rule from Britain and ripe for neocolonial influence from elsewhere.
Central America: From Filibusters to Deportees
In Costa Rica, every April 11 we celebrate the defeat of the United States in the war of 1856-1857...