Mariana Sabino-Salazar

Name:

Mariana Sabino Salazar

Title:

Lecturer III

Department:

Latin American and Iberian Institute

Describe your research in about 200 words.

My work delves into the representation of diasporic and immigrant populations in Latin American popular culture from a trans-Atlantic perspective. For the last twelve years, my research has focused on Romani Latin American history and the Gypsy stereotype in film, music, and literature. I have two ongoing research projects: a book manuscript about how the recurring female Gypsy character in Mexican horror films and Brazilian Westerns projected communist fears during the Cold War era; and the analysis of Romani and Afro-Latino self-representation in visual and literary narratives. I am also collaborating with the United Nations on a crowd-sourced Romani Memory Map for the Americas to bring attention to Romani history, value the participation of Romanies in national histories, and encourage the emergence of public and private spaces of memory. In my dissertation, “The Hypersexualized Diasporic Gypsy Archetype: Carmen and Severa Iterations in Mexican and Brazilian Cinema from 1940 to 1990,” I analyzed the female Gypsy trope with a focus on race, gender, and nationalism. I have worked as a Spanish and Portuguese language and culture instructor, a history lecturer, and a research assistant in projects related to human rights. I am interested in counter-archives and counter-mapping as a means to preserve subaltern histories.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

I have learned a lot about resilience from my immigrant and first-generation students. My teaching methodology relates strongly to problem-posing and problem-solving. I have learned to accept responding to some student questions with: “I don’t know, but let’s find out together.” This turns the classroom into a creative space where we are constantly collaborating and questioning preconceived ideas. Since the pandemic, my students have taught me a great deal about technology. Also, ten minutes before class starts, we play music and videos and they have introduced me to some incredible artists.