Contributed by undergraduate student Sol Ramirez.  I am happy to provide a summary of the expenses covered by El Instituto’s generous sponsorship of $200 for the Somos Uno Puppet Show. Your support made it possible for us to bring this celebration of Mexican and Latine culture to life through puppetry, music, poetry and dance. A […]

Contributed by graduate student Jhinia Garcia. My research focuses on understanding the structural determinants of health among Hispanic populations in the United States. Using national survey data and quantitative methods, I examine how socioeconomic conditions shape overall health through four key mediating pathways: access to healthcare, health behaviors, mental health, and physical health. In this […]

Contributed by graduate student Ivonne Cotorruelo. The fellowship funds were used to support transportation expenses related to my travel to the University of Tulane for Moving Media in the Americas, Conference, December 4, 5 and 6. Specifically, the funds covered the cost of my round-trip airline ticket and taxi transportation to and from the airport. […]

Contributed by graduate student Luis Palomino. My research focuses on spatial economics and regional development. I study local development economics using unstructured and structured data and machine learning methods. A key goal of my doctoral preparation is to build fine-grained measures of economic activity that can be linked to official statistics and applied across countries. […]

Contributed by graduate student Beatriz Torres Do Nascimento. I am very happy to have completed my initial research prospectus. At this stage, my research, entitled “From Brazil to the United States: The Reconfiguration of Privilege and Racial Identity among Brazilian Immigrants,” feels much clearer and more structured, which brings me a great sense of relief […]

Contributed by graduate student Michelle Miller. With the support of the El Instituto Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, I was able to center the lived experience of Latine1 UConn undergraduate students and complete the first phase of data collection for my dissertation research. My dissertation focuses on acculturative stress, which refers to the stress that occurs when navigating […]

Contributed by Director Charles Rob Venator-Santiago  In the case of Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo (September 8, 2025), a majority of the Supreme Court temporarily upheld the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and interrogate Latinos in California based on four criteria. Justice Sotomayor, in her dissenting opinion, noted, “Based on the evidence […]

Contributed by Director Charles Rob Venator-Santiago  The UConn Puerto Rican Studies Initiative (UConnPRSI) was launched in the fall of 2022. Initially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), it is now supported by the Connecticut General Assembly’s Puerto Rican and Latino Legislative Caucus. We are pleased to announce that we have secured funding for […]

Contributed by Graduate Student Adrian Chavarria This weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at the Latino Policy Agenda Summit 2025 held in Hartford, CT on Saturday October 4, 2025. I was able to hear from and interact with legislators, community leaders, and members of the community who provided policy recommendations to address the […]

Contributed by affiliate faculty Scott Wallace Associate Professor of Journalism Scott Wallace’s memoir of images and text, Central America in the Crosshairs of War, has won the Foreword INDIES Best Book in Political & Social Sciences and a Gold IPPY Winner for Independent Publisher Book Awards for best History Book. Scott’s book is also an International […]