Areas of Research/Interest

Ethnographic film and visual studies; gender and sexuality; feminist anthropology; nationalism; late-socialist Cuba; Cherokee cultural politics

Publications

“Debating Jineterismo: Feminist Critiques and the Cuban Sex Trade” Journal of Latin American Studies (Forthcoming, 2008)

Book Review, “Caribbean Pleasure Industry: Tourism, Sexuality, and AIDS in the
Dominican Republic” (Forthcoming)

Book Review, “The Changing Dynamic in Cuban Civil Society” Journal of Latin American StudiesJournal of Latin American Studies (Forthcoming)

Films

Luchando (2006) - A non-fiction film chronicling the lives queer sex-workers in Havana. www.luchandofilm.com

Current News / Projects
Updated July 2009

I was delighted to spend my fellowship year getting settled at NYU.
I dedicated the majority of my time to writing.  I worked on two articles--one that explores the rise of queer tolerance in post-Soviet Cuba and another that analyzes the ethical and representational dilemmas of filmmaking with sex workers in Cuba.  I also began revising my dissertation on same-sex discourse and practices in contemporary Cuba for publication. My article, “Feminist, Queers, and Critics: Debating the Cuban Sex Trade” was published in the Journal of Latin American Studies.
Continuing my research on Cuban sexuality, I was invited to participate in the SSRC’s Cuba Working Group.  We began to lay the groundwork for a collaborative project on sexual diversity in Cuba funded by the Ford Foundation.  I helped to assemble a team of Cuban and U.S.-based scholars and advocates for planning meetings that I will chair in Havana.  Some possible projects include creating a queer-studies program in Cuba, supporting ongoing anti-homophobia education, and publishing a collection based on recent social scientific work on Cuban sexualities.
I continued to tour with my ethnographic film Luchando, which won the Latin ACE award for best documentary.  The film had a particularly remarkable reception at the International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Miami where we sold out two screenings totaling more than 600 tickets.  During the festival, the film received an extremely favorable feature article in the Nuevo Herald and I had an opportunity to participate in a popular radio talk show about the current state of Cuban queer communities.
In addition to my Cuba-related work, I became involved in the Native People’s Forum at NYU.  Through NPF, I participated in the organizing of the Indian/Not Indian conference at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).  At the conference, I facilitated a panel on Native American urban artists.  During NMAI’s biennial Film Festival, I organized a dinner and screening for Native/Indigenous/First World graduate students at NYU.
I was also pleased and excited to join Anthropology Now as its film editor. I look forward to working with anthropologists to publish essays on contemporary films, photography, social media, and film festivals.
The photograph was taking at the Miami Film Festival under the marquee displaying Luchando.