For the research project I am interested in studying either;

1. The Latin American film industry or;
2. How the Latin American fashion culture differs from the trends we see here in the United States.

If I choose to study the Latin American film industry, I would like to examine and compare the stages of production, from pre-production to post, to the corresponding stages in the film industry in the U.S. As someone who once considered being a film major with a Spanish/Latin American studies minor,  I am incredibly interested in how the two subjects interact within each other. Throughout my high school, Spanish classes would always use Latin American films to help promote Spanish skills, however, I would love to investigate the common themes in these films and what the commentary of those films have to say about Latin American culture. As I previously mentioned, I am used to seeing these films in intermediate Spanish classes, however, these films, as well as their actors and actresses, are becoming very popular in the United States’ culture and the world of entertainment. I am interested in exploring how these Latin American actors/actresses are becoming so popular in our society, as well as answer the question “why?”. Wikipedia had quite a bit of information on a select list of films. Included in this list was a brief explanation of the general theme of the films. Credo had much more information and even touched on details such as film festivals and how the films display Latin America culture and identity.

The second topic that I am interested in is Latin American fashion and couture. I am mostly interested in this topic because it is a topic I have never studied before. Throughout my years studying Spanish culture I’ve never studied the fashion trends and/or compared them with the trends that are exhibited here in the United States. I think this interest stems from experiences I had in Ecuador. It is very obvious that the fabrics, colors, and styles are very different but beyond that, I think it’s interesting to examine what “provocative” in one society means versus in another when it comes to clothing. When looking at the Wikipedia pages for Latin American culture, I couldn’t help but realize there wasn’t much information on the topic. There was one page that provided links to specific articles of clothing by country. Credo, however, did have a lot more information as well as a book listed as a source that looked particularly helpful on the topic.

The two research topics that I am interested in learning more about include women’s fashion in Latin America and the literary movement, known as the Latin American Boom that took place during the 1960s and 1970s.

Although fashion may seem trivial to some people, I think of it as a form a cultural expression and as a way of revealing more about an era and its people. It would be interesting to discover some of the traditional attire that define Latin American fashion and culture, as well as the influences that have led to newer pieces. One particular designer that I am familiar with is Oscar de la Renta who is from Dominican Republic. As I’m researching, I would like to explore his designs and what he used as inspiration to formulate his pieces. I would also like to discover what makes his designs and other Latin American designs different from other areas of the world. I will primarily ask the following questions. How can Latin American fashion be identified and what makes it unique from other fashion from around the world? Latin America also contains several cultures, and it will be interesting to discover and discuss what defines each country from a fashion standpoint. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a lot of information about this topic on Wikipedia, but Credo did offer a good source that speaks to “syncretic, or mixed, nature of fashion and style” that I will continue reading about if a choose this topic. (http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abccliopop/introduction_the_syncretic_beauty_of_latin_american_and_caribbean_fashion/0)

The other topic I am interested is the Latin American Boom, which was a major literary movement in Latin America. It includes some prominent authors, such as García Gabriel Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, and Jorge Luis Borges. I have read some of their works in the past, but I would like to know about this literary era. For example, to what extent did the Latin American political climate and socio-economic status influence literature? And how is this represented in the books, poems, and essays from the time period? It will be interesting to explore the origins and history of this movement in addition to the elements, themes, and rhetorical techniques that define this form of literature. Both Wikipedia and Credo offer plentiful information about the Latin American Boom that explain both the historical context and the common elements that define the literature from this era. A lot of good evidence can be extracted from both databases!

For my Wikipedia research project I would be interested in researching vigilante or autodefensas groups in Colombia. People these groups form in response to the formation of cartels and the lack of government response in order to protect themselves and their families. The problem is that these groups often lack order and this can lead to unintended violence. Because of all this, the difference between cartels and vigilante groups are not always clear. This is not necessarily an effective option for dealing with crime but what can people do about all of this? This could be related to culture because this is an increasingly common part of life in rural areas of many Latin American countries where drug crime is common. This could also be related to identity because the people who are part of these groups give up a big part of their identities as citizens of these countries to become vigilantes who are labeled as criminals by the government and often ostracized by others in their areas. Wikipedia does not have an official page for vigilantism in Colombia. Wikipedia does have a few specific pages for specific vigilante groups however most of these are stubs. Luckily I did find more comprehensive Wikipedia articles on the topic in Spanish so I may be able to use some sources from that page and translate them in order to create more comprehensive pages in English. Unfortunately, Credo also does not have a lot of information about these groups so if the sources on the Spanish Wikipedia page do not pan out I may be out of luck.

Another research topic I would be interested in for my project is Jews in Colombia. I am interested in Jewish culture (because I am Jewish) and I am interested in Colombia so I think it would be interesting to learn about Judaism in Colombia, especially because I am considering studying abroad there. This topic would relate to both culture and identity in Latin America and would be interesting to study because Colombia is a predominantly Christian country. Wikipedia already has an article about the history of Jews in Colombia, it is not super long but it is not a stub article either. Credo seems to have a bit more information on the topic, especially about Jewish contributions to Latin American and Colombian arts/culture however it is quite possible that there will be a good bit of overlap in the information that the two sites provide.

Macumba- animistic religious practice used in Brazil. I hope to discover what they worshiped and their beliefs. Wikipedia has little information on this topic.

Modernismo- literary movement in Spanish America. I hope to discover the type of writing style modernismo originated from, and how it influenced literature. Wikipedia doesn’t have a lot of information on it.