Abstract comics, regional development and poverty, and contemporary Mexican classical music are a few of the topics to be explored in this year’s Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies lecture series.

The lectures are co-sponsored by UT Dallas’ School of Arts and Humanities; School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences; and Center for Translation Studies. 

Partners include El Colegio de Mexico, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Autonomous University of Hidalgo, Autonomous University of Yucatan, University of Guanajuato, Mexican Association for International Education, and Association of International Education Administrators.

 

The UT Dallas lecture schedule is as follows:

“POW! La Revolucion! Comic Abstractions”
Sept. 11, 6 p.m., CentralTrak. 800 Exposition Ave. Dallas
Artist: Ruben Nieto

Ruben Nieto is a UT Dallas doctoral candidate in Art and Technology and an artist in residence at Centraltrak, a residency program for national and international artists. Born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, Ruben Nieto graduated from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Guanajuato  in 1996. From 1997 to 2007, he participated in solo and collective shows in Mexico and overseas. Since 1997 he has organized art workshops in Mexico and the U.S. He taught Painting and Digital Photography at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Penn. He finished his MFA in Arts and Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2008.


“Too Close for Conflict. Mexico, the Politics of Accommodation to the Superpower
Sept. 22, 2:30 p.m., Cecil H. Green Hall (GR 2.302)
Soledad   Loaeza

The lecturer, Soledad Loaeza, is a professor and political science researcher in the Center of International Studies at the Colegio de Mexico, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on international affairs, political science and public administration. Her research agenda focuses primarily on the democratization process and transition in Mexico, the National Action Party, the transformation of the Mexican society in the 20th century, and the impact of United States in the Mexican  institutional development.


“Duo Argentis”
Oct. 1, 8 p.m., Jonsson Performance Hall
Performers: Martin Candelaria and Mauricio Hernandez

Founded in 2007 by guitarists Martin Candelaria and Mauricio Hernandez, this Mexican duo from Hidalgo State has achieved recognition in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Recent performances include festivals in Ecuador, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Russia. Their repertoire focuses on contemporary music of American countries. The performance at UT Dallas marks their second visit to the U.S.


“Song of the Monarch: Women in Mexico”
October 28, 2010, 8.00 p.m., Jonsson Performance Hall
Performer: Ana Cervantes

Pianist Ana Cervantes has been praised for her approachable performance styleand imaginative programming, in which she joins the traditional repertoire with the music of today, has made her an artist much in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. Song of the Monarch: Women in Mexico is her second recording project.  It takes as its symbol the only butterfly capable of trans-Atlantic flight and whose manner of finding its sanctuary in México every year for the first time is still a mystery: a potent metaphor for extraordinary courage and determination inhabiting a seemingly fragile body. She also recorded Agua y Piedra/Water and Stone: Recent Music of México, which features the music of seven Mexican composers.