CCNY Launches Prestigious Mexican Culture Lecture Series

Writer, poet, critic Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, scholar of Jewish mysticism in Mexican literature, to present three lectures April 23 - 25

The City College of New York has entered into a three-year agreement with the government of Mexico that will enable the College to host Cátedra Cultura de México, a series of Mexican culture lectures, on its campus and at offsite locations in New York City. The first event in the series is a three-day conference, April 23-25, at CCNY’s main campus in Harlem, the CCNY Center for Worker Education in Lower Manhattan and Instituto Cervantes New York in Midtown Manhattan.
 
“This is a way for City College to embrace a culture of intellectual exchange between nations that are highly represented in the community we serve,” said CCNY President Lisa S. Coico, in announcing the agreement. CCNY will host one event per semester for duration of the agreement.

Cátedra Cultura de México (Mexican Culture Series) promotes Mexico’s greatest artistic and intellectual productions in the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides established artists and young emerging Mexican creators with opportunities to visit American and British universities. Among the U.S. schools that participate in the initiative are Harvard, Princeton, Brown and University of Chicago.

“This is a way to access highly respected artists from Mexico at a time when U.S-México relations are becoming stronger due to NAFTA and the immigration processes,” said Carlos Aguasaco, assistant profesor of Latin American cultural studies and Spanish, who spearheaded the project for City College.

“Cátedra Cultura de México will provide our academic community and New York City with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to access the very best of Mexican fine arts. We hope to educate the community on the history of Mexico and its people.”

Dr. Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, a novelist, poet and literary critic who has published 45 books, will present the spring 2013 lectures, which will be simultaneously translated to English. Topics are “Contemporary Mexican Literature,” “Cervantes and the Jewish World,” and “Spanish-Jewish Kabbalah.” Times, dates, locations and a brief biography of Dr. Muñiz-Huberman follow:

Contemporary Mexican Literature: An Overview
6 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, City College Center for Worker Education, 7th Floor, 25 Broadway, New York.

Cervantes and the Jewish World
7 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, Instituto Cervantes New York, 211 E. 49th St., New York.

Spanish-Jewish Kabbalah
5 p.m. Thursday, April 25, Sciame Auditorium, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, 141 Convent Ave. New York.

About Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, PhD

Dr. Angelina Muñiz-Huberman is a novelist, poet and literary critic who has published 45 books to date. Her titles available in English include: “The Confidantes,” “A Mystical Journey” and “Enclosed Garden.” Her work also appears in: “The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories;” “The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature;” “Tropical Synagogues;” “With Signs & Wonders;” “The Scroll and The Cross,” and other anthologies.  

Her academic work covers the new historical novel, Jewish mysticism in Mexican literature and the Spanish Republican exile. Her many honors and awards include: the Woman of Valor Award (Hispanic Federation, American Sephardi Federation, Consulate General of Israel); the National University Award; the Order of Isabel la Católica, and an award from National Endowment for Culture and the Arts.

Cátedra Cultura de México is sponsored by: CONACULTA (National Council for Culture and the Arts); FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts); City College MA program in the Study of the Americas; CCNY Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures; CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies, and Instituto Cervantes New York.

For additional information, contact Professor Aguasaco at 212.925.6625, ext. 224 or via email at caguasaco@ccny.cuny.edu . Those interested in attending the lecture series must RSVP by April 17 to Professor Aguasaco.