Santiago Vidales Martínez

I was born in Bogotá, Colombia and moved to Virginia when I was 11 years old. I earned a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Latin American and Latinx Literary and Cultural Studies. My M.A. thesis focuses on Latin American (re)interpretations of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and how these processes are anchored in revolutionary politics. Specifically, I studied the recasting of Calibán as an ever-evolving symbol of Latin American identities.

M.A. Thesis 2014: Correspondencias tempestuosas: Tres ensayos para acompañar a Sycorax y Calibán

I recently finished my Ph.D. in Latin American, Chicanx and Latinx Literary and Cultural Studies with a focus on recovering hemispheric literary histories.

Dissertation:

‘Y mi rebelión se convirtió en arte’ Raúl Salinas y su poesía política: una historia literaria chicana

Abstract:

I present a literary history of poet and revolutionary Raúl Salinas. Born in 1934, Salinas left a major legacy for Latinx and Chicanx letters. I focus on narrating, for the first time in Spanish, the relationship between his prison radicalism and his poetic production. The time Salinas spent as a political prisoner in Leavenworth Penitentiary (1967-1972) was foundational to his political transformation and (re)education. Along with members of the Black Panthers, AIM, Puerto Rican Nationalists, and other radicalized Chicanos, these inmates formed study groups, networks of support, and established a newspaper to both combat the oppressive conditions of the prison and create spaces for solidarity connected to global social movements. Through textual studies, archival research, and literary analyses, I highlight the influence that these movements and moments had on Salinas’ poetry. His work expresses the complexity and creativity of the Chicano and Black Power Movements through his inclusion of jazz, corridos, tattoos, and graffiti in his poems. At the same time, his prolific production and ability to put his work in circulation while behind bars, facilitated his release from prison and his eventual path towards canonization. Salinas’ lifelong call to collective action, abolition, and visualizing radical possibilities, holds inspiration and guidance for today’s struggles for liberation.

Contact: santiagovidales12@gmail.com