Anthropologist Sarah England and Political Scientist Alfonso Gonzales Toribio join the pod to discuss their new issue of LAP “Latin Americans Seeking Asylum in North America,” as well as the history of US immigration policy and the current crisis of immigration enforcement and deportations in the United States.

Sarah England is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Soka University of America and the author of Afro-Central Americans in New York City: Garifuna Tales of Transnational Movement through Racialized Space (2006) and Writing Terror on the Bodies of Women: Media Coverage of Violence against Women in Guatemala (2018). She has served as an expert witness in asylum cases since 2012.

Alfonso Gonzales Toribio is Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He is the Director and Founder of the Latino and American Studies Research Center, Ronald H. Chilcote Endowed Chair in Latino and Latin American Studies, and has been long serving community organizer, immigrant rights advocate, and expert witness in asylum cases.

Access their issue here: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/lapa/52/2

For additional information about contacting the journal, podcast host, or guests, please contact latampodcasts@gmail.com

An excerpt from a political education session among LAP editors, featuring remarks by Sandra Levinson, executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Cuban Studies, and the founder and curator of the Cuban Art Space gallery in Brooklyn, New York. In her talk, Sandra offers her reflections on the contemporary state of Cuban art, culture and politics—drawing on decades of experience engaging with artists, intellectuals, and activists on the island.

Journalist and music historian Juan Data joins us to discuss his 2023 book, Hip-Hop vs. Argentina (Felipe Ibánez Editor)—an in-depth exploration of the evolution of hip-hop culture in Argentina.

Drawing on his experiences as an early participant in the scene and his expertise as a music industry journalist, Data traces how hip-hop, once viewed with skepticism, grew into a powerful cultural force among Argentine youth. The book offers a compelling analysis of the social, political, and industry dynamics that fueled this transformation, spotlighting the rise of freestyle battles, trap, and urban music.

Widely regarded as Argentina’s first dedicated hip-hop journalist, Data launched the fanzine Moshpit Posse in 1996, produced the documentary El Juego (1999), and served as Latin American correspondent for Hip-Hop Nation (Spain). His work has been featured in numerous publications across the U.S. and Europe. In 2020, he released La Evolución del Flow (Walden Editora), a memoir chronicling his early years covering Argentina’s hip-hop scene.

Hip-Hop vs. Argentina is available for purchase through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hip-Hop-Vs-Argentina-Freestyle-identitaria/dp/B0CMMQLTHV