Consejero de Felipe III en su Real Consejo de Indias: venalidad y corrupción en el servicio a la Monarquía

During the reign of Philip the III, one of the most famous legal proceedings of the 17th century took place. It was conducted against Pedro Franqueza and Alonso Ramírez de Prado, who were charged for taking advantage of the king's trust to obtain personal benefits and in detriment of the Monarchy. Two of the charges were referred to the case of an adviser from Indias: Lic. Francisco Alonso de Villagrá, who might have obtained the position through fraudulent activities with the all-powerful Pedro Franqueza. Based on the analysis of the documents pertaining to this case, the aim of this research is to unravel the events that took place, understand the causes that led Villagrá to become involved and the consequences of the way in which the position was acquired.     

Indigeneity,Race, and the Media from the Perspective of the 2019 Political Crisis In Bolivia

This article analyses the disputes over images related to indigeneity and plurinationalism in the post-electoral crisis in Bolivia, focusing mainly on the realm of social media. It pays particular attention to how images such as memes, photographs, and videos produced and circulated by the movement for “democracy” opposed to Evo Morales and by sectors of the Right, project ideals of national unity based on racialised imaginaries that tend to obliterate references to plurinationalism. I also analyse the dichotomous ways in which multitudes and episodes of violence were represented by the two main sides in the conflict, such as the references to “mobs” and “hordes” versus “civic movements” and “resistance” respectively. I conclude by considering examples of promotional materials that the current interim government of President Jeanine Añez has developed since its inauguration, in order to reflect on the ways in which these display certain images of the “permitted Indian” for the national project that the social sector represented by her government is beginning to outline.     

Finding Our Place: Reconstructing Community through Oral History

Abstract "Finding Our Place: Reconstructing Community throughOral History," analyzes how oral histories not only give newmeaning to places, but play a significant role in locating sitesspecific in the development of the Spanish-language music industry.These oral histories chronicle the emergence and growth of businesses,particularly their role in maintaining the economic and socialinfrastructure of Mexican American communities throughout southTexas. The use of oral history interviews proved the only avenueof documenting Mexican American rural communities, singers,and businesswomen finding that culture means turning our attentionto parks, church halls, cantinas, and dance halls. These placesgather significance when an experience is attached, and embodya sense of communal or shared space. Focusing on women in themusic industry, cantantes [singers] and businesswomen illustratedhow they negotiated travel, interaction with audiences, andexperiences on the stage. Though many of the interviewees expressedtheir distrust of the oral historian initially, stemming frompoor treatment in the music industry, their reluctance gaveway after hours of interviewing by the oral historian. Importantto this study, their narratives pinpointed the existence ofpopular socializing spots in south Texas small towns and surroundingcommunities.     

Small Product,Big Issues: Value Contestations and Cultural Identities in Cross-border Commodity Networks

This article follows the trajectory of maize husks from their production sites in rural Western Mexico to diverse consumption and commercialization locales both within the country and in the United States, showing how the uses and meanings of specific products are continuously reassembled and transformed within the livelihoods and social networks of Mexicans living in a transnational world. By highlighting the multiplicities and ambiguities of social value and cultural identities implicit in the workings of commodity chains and globalization processes, the study leads to a questioning of commodity-chain analysis. It also challenges theories of cultural production and circulation based on a unified and hierarchical system of value.