Laura Pérez
Professor Laura Pérez is Chair of the new interdisciplinary and transAmericas research hub, the Latinx Research Center, formerly the Center for Latino Policy Research. She is author of Chicana Art: The Politics of Spiritual and Aesthetic Altarities (Duke University Press, 2007) in which she theorized decolonial aesthetics and decolonial spiritualities while archiving the work of more than forty Chicana visual, literary, and performance artists from the early 1970s through the early 2000s. She curated UC Berkeley’s first and only US Latina/o Performance Art series in 2001-02; co-curated, with Delilah Montoya, the multimedia exhibition Chicana Badgirls: Las Hociconas at 516 ARTS gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from January-March of 2009, and curated Labor + a(r)t + orio: Bay Area Latin@ Arts Now at the Richmond Art Center, CA (April-June 2011). She has published in numerous publications on feminism, Chicana/o and hemispheric decolonial cultures. Her book, Eros Ideologies: Writings on Art, Spirituality, and the Decolonial, was published by Duke University Press in 2019. She is also the editor of the exhibition catalog Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory, published in conjunction with the major retrospective organized with BAMPFA. With Dr. Ann Marie Leimer, she is co-editor of Consuelo Jimenez Underwood: Art, Weaving, Vision (Duke UP, forthcoming in 2022) which was awarded the College Art Association’s Wyeth Foundation for American Art Book Publishing Award. Pérez received her BA/MA from the University of Chicago and her PhD from Harvard.
Selected book publications include: Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory; Consuelo Jimenez Underwood: Art, Weaving, Vision; Eros-Ideologies: Writings on Art, Spirituality and the Decolonial; and Chicana Art: The Politics of Spiritual and Aesthetic Altarities.
Luis Javier Hernandez, BBA, is the Administrative Manager for the Latinx Research Center (LRC); formerly, the Program Manager for UCB's Latino Social Science Pipeline Initiative (LSSPI). He is a results-driven entrepreneurial professional with over 17 years of successful experience working in the private and public sectors in the United States and Mexico. He has ample expertise in developing international collaborations and negotiating with Governments from Latin American countries to develop programs and mobilize resources to promote the well-being of Latino immigrant populations.
Luis Javier has outstanding expertise in developing strategies, managing, and expanding programs and networks to generate research and improve communities' social development and global health. He has more than 15 years of experience leading efforts to promote access to health care and health education for vulnerable populations, including managing education, training, and research initiative programs and mobilizing government, academia, the private sector, and community-based organizations.
Luis Javier has strong communication and negotiation skills, proven success in establishing and developing coalitions to attain targets and complete projects on time, outstanding supervisory and coaching abilities, and effectively leading multidisciplinary and cross-functional teams to successful outcomes and program expansion. He has ample expertise as a senior event manager overseeing all aspects of planning and execution for internal and external meetings, policy briefings, and international events and conferences.
Agustín Cruz (he, xi, they) is Programmer of the Latinx Research Center’s cineteca. He is a senior Chicanx and Latinx Studies major, he was a 2022 LRC Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Research Fellow (FMURF), and founder of Wachale Cineteca in Los Angeles.
Agustin's scholarship investigates the distorted and rēstored images of Mexican-origin peoples. His research looks at images from Cōātlīcue to ASCO, to, on one hand, understand how the hegemonic gaze attempts to render (internal and external) subject as object; and on the other hand, theorize Xicane modes of liberating the denoted subject-object from colonial connotations. In addition to his scholarly endeavors, Agustín also worked in programming and box office roles at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), Cine+Mas: San Francisco Latino Film Festival, and GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF).
Alma Franco-Dominguez (she/her/ella) is the undergraduate Administrative Assistant for the Latinx Research Center (LRC); formerly, assistant for UCB's Latinx Social Science Pipeline Initiative (LSSPI). She is a dedicated third-year student at UC Berkeley, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with a minor in Public Policy and aspirations to work in public service, governance, policy, and equity for underrepresented communities. As a first-generation Latina college student, she is committed to advancing social justice and improving socioeconomic conditions for those in Latinx communities, like herself, making this the perfect role to foster additional, relevant skills to do so throughout her academic journey and beyond.
Alma brings with her a strong background in leadership, community engagement, and administrative support. With abundant experience in event planning, marketing strategy, website management, and outreach, she possesses the necessary skills to aid in and expand various LRC initiatives and resources. Her abilities in communication, adaptability, collaboration, and creative work acquired from various leadership, volunteer, and job experiences will aid her to support initiatives to empower underrepresented communities through this position.
Diego Montesinos
Digital Humanities Research Assistant, Latinx Research Center
diego.montesinos@berkeley.edu
Diego Montesinos is the Digital Humanities Research Assistant for the Latinx Research Center (LRC). He is a fourth-year undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying English and Data Science, and a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. At the LRC, he leads the migration and preservation of the Center’s digital archives, managing the transition from the former Pantheon-hosted site to the new UC Berkeley platform. His work includes creating and maintaining a structured data repository and developing the Center’s new digital archive infrastructure.
Diego’s academic interests center on Latinx and Andean literature, affect theory, and spatial analysis in the digital humanities. He is committed to expanding open-access scholarship and supporting interdisciplinary research across the humanities.