About
In 2017, I started my doctoral studies in Romance Languages and Literature at the University of Florida, I have also been teaching Spanish as an instructor since I entered this institution. In addition to teaching Spanish at a beginning and intermediate level, I taught an introductory lecture on the study of Latin American soap operas, as part of the program FLAC (Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum), which is offered by the department I work with. I was chosen as an outstanding graduate student in my field of study, Literature, thanks to my performance.
I am currently in my fifth year of studies, and I am a candidate for the Ph.D. (ABD) with a thesis plan aimed to analyze the behavior of the publishing industry within the present neoliberal setting. This thesis plan is focused on the analysis of selected novels of certain Nicaraguan and Uruguayan writers.
Education
Bachelor’s Degree in Art History (University of Havana, 2002).
Master of Arts in Spanish (Florida International University, 2015)
Ph.D Candidate in Romance Languages and Literature (University of Florida, since 2017) Publications
During the 2018 fall, I published a review on the book Diálogo de las artes en las vanguardias hispánicas (Dialogue of the Arts in the Hispanic Avant-gardes), written by Selena Millares, in Spanish and Portuguese Review from Colgate University. From 2002 up to 2007, in Cuba, I published varied and numerous cultural reviews in magazines like Esquife, Cubanow, Vercuba, etc. In 2006, I participated in the 9th course of narrative techniques in the Literary Training Center Onelio Jorge Cardoso, based in Havana. In this course I won a scholarship called El Caballo de Coral for a project consisting in a book of short stories. Two years later, I won Pinos Nuevos Prize in the category of short stories, with the book Tópicos, which was published the next year by Letras Cubanas publishing house, and presented in Havana’s International Book Fair. Pinos Nuevos Prize is one of the most important awards given to unpublished young authors in the island. Projects
In 2012, in the United States, I established La Pereza Ediciones (www.lapereza.net), an active publishing house that has published important Hispanic American authors such as Jorge Volpi, Rosa Montero, Ernesto Cardenal, Sergio Ramírez, etc. We have managed to bring some of the authors who are part of our catalogue to visit the University of Florida, for example, in the conference organized by the Mexican literary group of the Crack, during 2019 spring. However, due to my academic responsibilities, which are my priority, since I started my doctoral studies, my partner, who has worked with me from the beginning, has been running the publishing house. In any case, I am still involved in the making of every important decision.
As part of my work in the community, in 2013 I volunteered in the West Kendall Regional Library, Miami, FI, and in 2015 I participated in various talks and workshops with some schools from Miami Dade County, in order to encourage the habit of reading among students. Upcoming Talks and Conferences
Festivals, exposition fairs, publishing houses and universities have invited me to participate in various conferences. This year, I was invited to the Dominican Republic Book Fair to give a speech called: “Latin American Publications in the United States: a two-way road.” This event should have been celebrated this year in April, but it could not take place since the pandemic has affected us all. On the other hand, as part of the research task for my thesis, this year in January, I visited Nicaragua. In Managua, I held meetings with different young authors and independent publishing houses. There, I was invited to two discussion boards. One of them, called “Reading in the Age of Social Networks” took place in the Biblioteca Alemana; the other, “The Current Market of Literature in the United States and Nicaragua” was organized by SOMA, a publishing house.
Last year, in March 2019, I gave a speech in the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, in Mexico, on “Art and Literature: a very brief guide through Europe and Latin America.” In October 2015, I was invited to Festival de la palabra (Festival of Words) in Puerto Rico to take part in the panel devoted to the publishing world, which was called “The Future of the World of Books: Publishing in Troubled Waters.”
From 2002 up to 2007, in Cuba, I published varied and numerous cultural reviews in magazines like Esquife, Cubanow, Vercuba, etc. In 2006, I participated in the 9th course of narrative techniques in the Literary Training Center Onelio Jorge Cardoso, based in Havana. In this course I won a scholarship called El Caballo del Coral for a project consisting in a book of short stories. Two years later, I won Pinos Nuevos Prize in the category of short stories, with the book Tópicos, which was published the next year by Letras Cubanas publishing house, and presented in Havana’s International Book Fair. Pinos Nuevos Prize is one of the most important awards given to unpublished young authors in the island.
