We continue our celebration of Women’s History Month with an illustrated presentation by Ana María Hernández, author of a newly published annotated critical edition of Cecilia Valdés, Cirilo Villaverde’s anti-slavery classic, considered paramount among 19th century Latin American novels. Villaverde’s work is particularly important to our celebration because it also reflects the growing interest in the role of women in society at the time, and it provides a sensitive portrayal of the female psyche, as well as the subordinate role of women in patriarchal societies.
Prof. Hernández’s unprecedented analysis of the women in the novel will not not only focus on Cecilia, the protagonist, but also on the other central female characters in the story, bringing to light their subjugated status and their shared mechanisms of survival, regardless of race, age or class. Hence, her analysis is relevant not only vis-a-vis the literary and historical context of the novel, but also because it resonates with us today, as it informs and enriches our ongoing conversation about gender inequality.
The author will be introduced by Prof. Lourdes Gil, who teaches Latin American Studies at Baruch College, CUNY.
This presentation will be in Spanish. Reception to follow.
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Ana María Hernández del Castillo has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University, and specializes in literature from the Caribbean and Río de la Plata regions. She heads the Program of Latin American Studies at La Guardia College, CUNY, where she was also chair for many years of the Humanities Department. Since 
2005 she has played a key role at CUNY’s Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, where she organizes talks on Cuban culture. Her scholarly work has received wide recognition, including a special grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her numerous essays highlight the works of Julio Cortázar, Horacio Quiroga, Julio Herrera y Reissig, Felisberto Hernández and Nicolás Guillén. Excerpts of her literary correspondence with Julio Cortázar (1972-1978) were included in the recent publication of the author’s letters (Cartas. Buenos Aires: Alfaguara, 2012). Her most recent books include an annotated edition of Fantoches 1926: Folletín Moderno por Once Escritores Cubanos (Stockcero, 2011); Las Hortensias y Otros Cuentos (Stockcero, 2011); and the annotated edition of Cirilo Villaverde’s Cecilia Valdés o La Loma del Ángel (Stockcero, 2013) cited above, which will be available for sale after the presentation.
Lourdes Gil is a widely published poet and essayist. Her poetry collections include El cerco de las transfiguraciones, Empieza la ciudad, Blanca aldaba preludia, Ve
ncido el fuego de la especie and Neumas. Additionally, her poems have been anthologized in Burnt Sugar: A Cuban Anthology, edited by Oscar Hijuelos; Poetas cubanos del siglo XX, Editorial Hiperión, Madrid; La Cervantiada, edited by Julio Ortega in El Colegio de México, among many others, and her essays on the art and literature of the Cuban diaspora have been included in several books, journals and encyclopedias. Ms. Gil has been the recipient of writing fellowships from The Ford Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Poetry Society of America and the Oscar Cintas Foundation, and has held writer’s residency fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Casa de Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela, and the US-Japan Foundation.
This lecture is part of our Women’s History Month celebration and is presented in association with the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature of Baruch College at CUNY, and is made possible by a grant from the PAUL ANDRE FEIT MEMORIAL FUND of Baruch College.
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