Who We Are and Where We’re Located
Vamos a Leer is overseen by the Latin American & Iberian Institute (LAII) at the University of New Mexico (UNM).
Because of the geographic location and unique cultural history of New Mexico, UNM has emphasized Latin American Studies since the early 1930s. In 1979, the LAII was founded to coordinate Latin American programs on campus. Today, the LAII offers academic degrees, supports research, provides development opportunities for faculty, and coordinates an outreach program that reaches diverse constituents.
The LAII is committed to expanding awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Latin America and Iberia among diverse constituents. In particular, the LAII works to create a stimulating and supportive environment for K-12 educators so that they can produce, enhance, and expand knowledge of Latin America within their classrooms. To this end we work with educators across grade levels and subject areas, providing them with resources to support their teaching about Latin America.
Daniela Sánchez
LAII Program Coordinator of K-12 Educational Outreach
Telephone: (505) 277-2961
Email: sanchezdl@unm.edu
Review Policy
You may be interested in contacting us regarding reviewing forthcoming or newly released titles. If this is the case, thanks for thinking of us! Please know that we gladly accept suggestions for books to review. Hard copies are preferred. To send us a book for consideration, please mail to:
Attn: Daniela Luz Sánchez
801 Yale Blvd NE
MSCO2 1690
Albuquerque, New Mexico
87131-0001
Vamos a Leer 
Ailesha, this is Carol your Alabama cousin. I just passed my PRAXIS for ESL in order to earn Alternative Certification / Highly Qualified for ESL: K-12, and surprise or surprises, I just got hired to be the EL teacher in a school in the north-east corner of Alabama which is 46% Hispanic – mostly from Guatemala. I will be spending much time on this site, learning what materials you guys have pre-selected. Oh, and I’ll be the translator for the parent-teacher IEP meetings, as well. Dios mio! necesito practicar mas!! y rapido!
my email address is carolrdavidson@gmail.com Would love to hear of any other sites you might know. Regards!
Carol
Hi Carol!
So glad that you commented on the blog. Ailesha is one of our ‘alumni’ bloggers but doesn’t write for us anymore now that she’s starting her PhD program. We definitely miss her! I forwarded your comment to Ailesha, so she has your note and your contact information. I hope you found some useful information. Let us know if you have any questions, we’re happy to help. The right side of the blog has some useful author websites, blogs and other curriculum resource websites. Those may be helpful to you. Our World Wide Web posts–you can click on that category and see all the posts on the right hand side of the blog under authors–may also give you some useful online resources.
Good luck this year!
Katrina
I look forward to exploring your website. I am a reading specialist in Harrisonburg, Virginia working in a dual immersion program. We are teaching our students to read in their first language, Spanish. We are always on the lookout for authenic literacy materials.
Hi Candy! Sorry for the long-belated reply. We just noticed your comment tucked away on this page, but we’re glad you found us. Keep in touch and let us know if there’s anything specific we can help with!
Just discovered this site and it’s AMAZING.
Do you have any recommendations of comics about Latin American history and culture? Would love to expand our library!
Thanks, Nicole Marie! We’re glad you found us and asked such a great question. We have a few ideas, but we’re sadly out of touch with the world of graphic novels. I’m inspired to correct that omission this fall through a more complete review/compilation (so stay tuned!), but in the meantime here’s what we came up with for you:
1. Have you heard about the Chicano Con that just happened? Amazing collection of Chicano/Latino writers/illustrators coming together. Remezcla described it as “Like Comic Con, But With Tacos and Chicano Superheroes” (http://remezcla.com/culture/chicano-con-is-like-comic-con-but-with-tacos-and-latino-superheroes/). I don’t know about the comics that were displayed, but I imagine some research/digging would yield gems.
2. Dark Room: A memoir in black & white written by Lila Quintero Weaver: looks at an Argentine immigrant family in the 1960s in the US South (Latin American history becomes a sub-theme through the family’s experiences)
3. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernández looks promising. It’s a thick graphic narrative set in a fictional Latin american town
4. El Iluminado by Ilan Stavans highlights crypto-Judaism in New Mexico and the colonial relationship between Mexico and Spain during the Inquisition.
5. Marcelo d’Salete’s historical graphic novel, Cumbe, covers slavery in Brazil.
6. Che: A Graphic Biography by Spain Rodriguez, looks at Cuban history through the revolutionary leader.
7. Castro: A Graphic Novel Reinhard Kleist also looks at Cuban history.
8. Chicano Chicanery: Short Stories by Daniel Chacon looks at Chicano history, but bridges US and Mexico to do so,
8. Last but not least, here’s what appears to be a great list of Latin American comics and graphic novels compiled by LibrosLatinos: http://libroslatinos.com/libros/images/pdfs/graphnov1014.pdf
We haven’t read any of these, so they’re “blind” recommendations, if you will. Tell us what you think if you manage to check them out, or find others!
Cheers,
Keira
Thanks, Keira!
My pleasure!
Just wanted to thank you for this resource. I work at GirlForward, a nonprofit that serves adolescent girls resettled as refugees. We are in the process of creating resources for our literature circle groups that run during our summer programming. This website is fantastic and I love the mission.
So sorry for our delay in responding to your comment–May is always a bit chaotic around Vamos a Leer with the end of our university semester. We’re so happy to hear that our resources are helpful to you! Your program at GirlForward sounds wonderful! And, of course, we love the idea of literature circles as part of a summer program. Nothing makes us happier than teens reading during the summer. If there’s anything else we might be able to do to support your work, please let us know! Have a wonderful summer!
Is there a Vamos a Leer group on goodreads?
Yes, there is! Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/37877405-vamos-a-leer
Thank you!