Hello everyone!

My name’s Maria, I’m a first year Art student here at UBC. I was born in Peru, then I moved to Costa Rica when I was 3 or 4 years old. Having been so young when I moved, I’m saddened to say that I don’t remember much about Peru. On the other hand, Costa Rica to me has always been a welcoming, and friendly place. Having grown up in a Latino household, I would I identify myself as a Latina. I have lived in Canada for around 10 years now, and I’m proud to call Vancouver my home.

Since I moved to Canada when I was young, I wasn’t able to fully understand Latin culture. Which is one of the reasons why I joined Latin American Studies. This is a great opportunity for me to learn about Peruvian culture, but to also learn about other cultures in South America. In my experience History class has always been a place to learn about Western cultures. Latin America has unfortunately been excluded from the subject, rendering it a mystery to many.

I’m excited to see where the semester takes me. I look forward to not only learning about Latin America, but also to learning a bit about myself in the process.