Spanish and Portuguese
Ph.D. Student, Spanish and Portuguese
Caperton Graduate Fellow 2019-2020, Fontaine Fellowship Recipient
Marco Avilés is a Quechua-Peruvian writer. He was born in the Andean city of Abancay, then migrated to Lima with his family at the start of Peru's civil war. He holds a BA in Communications from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. A career journalist who has chronicled stories from across the continent, his recent work explores the cultural production of indigenous Latin America. He is the author of three books, including De donde venimos los cholos (New York Times best 10 books published in Spanish, 2016). Marco has lived in the US since 2014, along with his wife and a Peruvian hairless dog.
Research Interests:
- 21st Century Latin American and the Caribbean
- Contemporary Quechua, Mapuche, Aymara literatures
- Race and racism across the Americas
- Migration and Territorial Displacement
- Latina/o Journalism and Media
Selected Publications:
- “Abrazos y disputas: proyectos de mestizaje en dos textos de Nicolás Guillén y José María Arguedas”. Revista Cuadernos de Literatura del Caribe e Hispanoamérica, 39. [2024, In Press]
- “La hora de las nietas: ¿Por qué tantas poetas en el Perú están escribiendo sobre sus abuelas?” El País. September 14, 2024
- “Quinientos años de choledad”. Granta en Español, 25. 2023:195-209
Courses Taught:
- Texts and Contexts of Hispanic Civilization
- Intermediate Spanish
- Elementary Spanish
Education:
- Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Latinx Studies Program, Clals, UPenn
- MA in Literature, UPenn, Spanish and Portuguese
- BA Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos University, Journalism