14th International Conference on Chicano Literature and Latino Studies

Extremadura, a land of departure and return, has historically served as a point of connection between Europe and the Americas. From its landscapes departed travelers, conquerors, and dreamers—and back to it returned the echoes of transformed cultures. This congress seeks to explore the processes of transculturation —as conceptualized by Fernando Ortiz—, mestizaje, and the journeys of exchange that have shaped the history and literature of the Chicano and Latino worlds.
At a time when cultural boundaries are blurring and identities are constantly being negotiated, we invite participants to reflect on how these processes manifest in literature, art, language, and memory. The city of Cáceres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a crossroads of historical routes, offers the ideal setting for this transatlantic dialogue.

Likewise, the congress aims to open a space for reflection on global Hispanophony and on the discourses that have rendered invisible or delegitimized the complexity of the Hispanic legacy. In this regard, it proposes to examine how colonial America was not only a meeting point between Europe and the New World, but also a bridge to Asia—particularly through the commercial and cultural routes that linked the Americas with the Philippines and other Spanish possessions in the Pacific. This perspective broadens the lens toward a truly global dimension of mestizaje and transculturation, in which the metropolis and the peripheries intertwine in multiple directions.
 

On May 19, 20, 21, and 22, 2026, the 14th International Congress on Chicano Literature and Latino Studies will be held at the UEx space of the University of Extremadura, Cáceres. Proposals for panels/presentations/round tables on any of the following topics related to Chicano Literature and Latino Studies will be accepted. 

•    Transculturation and mestizaje in Chicano and Latino literatura
•    Extremadura and the Americas: historical, cultural, and symbolic connections
•    Round trips: migration, return, and memory
•    Language as a space of mestizaje
•    Hybrid and border identities
•    Narratives of displacement and belonging
•     The body as a site of transculturation
•    Spirituality, religiosity, and cultural syncretism
•    Food, music, and other cultural expressions as spaces of encounter
•    Re-readings of history from Chicano and Latino literatura
•    Global Hispanophony: discourses of invisibility and resistance
•    The Americas as a bridge to Asia: transoceanic routes and Pacific connections
•    Representations of Spain in Chicano and Latino literatura
•    The Hispanic legacy in transnational contexts

For more information please visit www.hispausa.com.