Research

Expanded Poetry: Poetic Artifacts, Media, and Participation in Chile during the Cold War (1952-1989)

My first book project, Poesía expandida. Artefactos poéticos, medios y participación en Chile durante la Guerra Fría (1952-1989), is based on my doctoral dissertation at Princeton University. This study examines the role of expanded poetry in Chile as an imaginative and critical response to the cultural and political tensions of the Cold War. By focusing on the work of four key figures—Nicanor Parra, Juan Pablo Langlois, Guillermo Deisler, and Cecilia Vicuña—this project analyzes how their poetic practices transcended the boundaries of traditional genres, incorporating media such as installations, urban interventions, mail art, and performance. The research argues that these poetic forms not only challenged the institutional power structures of literature and art but also reclaimed the expansive and participatory nature of poetry as a tool for political imagination and collective engagement. This project contributes to our understanding of how poetry in Latin America operated beyond its conventional limits to intervene in public and political life during the Cold War.

Animating the Real: A Radical History of Latin American Documentary Animation

My second book project, Animating the Real, investigates a particular strand of Latin American animated cinema that has engaged with reality and history as a form of documentary. Drawing on extensive research in film archives in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, this project examines how animated cinema in the region has been used to explore historical events and political realities, blending fiction and non-fiction to interrogate the remnants of history. The project demonstrates how Latin American filmmakers have employed animation not merely as a creative tool, but as a powerful medium for rethinking documentary practices and offering new perspectives on the past

Reckoning with the Real: Transmedial Documentary in Latin America

My third project is a collaborative initiative with Thomas Matusiak (University of Miami), titled Reckoning with the Real: Transmedial Documentary in Latin America. This interdisciplinary project responds to the rise of new documentary aesthetics and archival practices in the region, focusing on how artists, writers, filmmakers, and performers are engaging with documentary forms to address pressing political and social crises, such as the rise of far-right movements, the migrant crisis, gender-based violence, and environmental destruction. The project encompasses virtual workshops, an international conference, and an edited volume featuring contributions from leading scholars and artists across Latin America and the United States. This initiative aims to foster transregional and interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging the boundaries between different media to rethink the relationship between fiction, non-fiction, and archival practices.

Other Research Interests

In addition to these book projects, I am conducting research on presidential archives, with a specific focus on the Archivo Ricardo Lagos at Universidad Diego Portales. My work in this area examines the complexities of digitizing presidential records, the ethical considerations of archival preservation, and the political implications of how archives are structured and accessed. This research is part of a broader investigation into how archives shape our understanding of political memory and history in contemporary Latin America.