Felipe's plática, entitled Colombia: Historias y Literaturas del Trópico, will be held primarily in Spanish, with some translation.
Felipe Martinez-Pinzon has had a lifelong fascination with stereotypes and the development of cultural identity. He examines how literature, cinema, and other elements of history and culture can affect the identity and perceptions of whole regions in Latin America — Colombia in particular.
As a child growing up in Bogotá, Colombia, he observed that people from other Colombian cities were often perceived differently. Bogotá, at more than 8,500 feet above sea level, was cooler. Its residents were considered more active, more productive than, say, residents of Cartagena, a much warmer place.