Assistant professor Catalina Iannone recently received the honor of being named the runner up by the editors of Hispania and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese for a competition that reviews scholarly articles on Spanish language and Spanish speaking culture every two years. 

Iannone’s article, which is titled, “Visualizing Blackness in Contemporary Spain: Race and Representation in Juan Valbuena’s ‘Salitre,’” considers and inestigates how the white gaze can morph perceptions of black experiences in modern society, particularly in the field of scholars. 

Iannone’s research focuses on multi-ethnic hubs that have become branded for tourism. 

“I am looking at different types of texts. One of these texts was an album created by a photographer named Juan Valbuena who works on different photographic projects,” Iannone said. “What’s unique in my take on the article, is that what he’s doing is trying to shed light on different communities.”

Iannone went on to discuss it felt as though Valbuena was “recycling less progressive notions on what it means to be racialized in Spain… [it’s as though he said] ‘Tell me about yourself’ and then said ‘you know what? I want to tell people about this other part of you.                              ’” 

Iannone emphasized the difference between speaking for a marginalized group and giving them a platform to be heard. 

“They can speak, let them speak,” Iannone said.

Iannone felt that one of the biggest issues about the way people talk about race in Spain was the way it is so focused on immigration. Of course immigration is a story that has to be told, but she points out that Spain is not a homogenous nation, and that the marginalized groups there are just as Spanish as any other person living in Spain. 

“I wanted to find a way to talk about race from a subjectivity that felt appropriate,” Iannone said. “Through Valbuena’s work, I found that as a point of entry for people such as myself. How is the other half racialized or marginalized through cultural intervention?” 

Iannone also said that it is important to understand the difference between being educated and having that experience.

“If you get to the point where you are an expert in something, you still are not an expert in that particular experience,” Iannone said. “I can think critically about the way narratives are told, … it is important not to deny anyone’s experience when you’re writing.” 

Iannone has made her article available in the Penfield Library for anyone that is interested in learning more, and hopes that her work helps to spark a conversation about how to bolster marginalized voices rather than speak over them.

“I wanted to find a way to talk about race from a subjectivity that felt appropriate,” Iannone said. “Through Valbuena’s work, I found that as a point of entry for people such as myself. How is the other half racialized or marginalized through cultural intervention?” 

Iannone also said that it is important to understand the difference between being educated and having that experience.

“If you get to the point where you are an expert in something, you still are not an expert in that particular experience,” Iannone said. “I can think critically about the way narratives are told … It is important not to deny anyone’s experience when you’re writing.” 

Iannone has made her article available in the Penfield Library for anyone that is interested in learning more and hopes that her work helps to spark a conversation about how to bolster marginalized voices rather than speak over them.

The Penfield Library and Iannone’s article can be accessed at the library’s website, https://www.oswego.edu/library/.

The Oswegonian file photo from 2018