Narratives of Migration – Latin Americans in London a conversation with authors Patria Roman and Jessica Retis chaired by Silvia Rothlisberger took place on the 3rd of October during the 2020 London Spanish Book & Zine Fair.

Journalists, researchers and writers Patria Roman and Jessica Retis discussed their recently published book Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging which gives voices to the diverse diasporic Latin American communities living in the UK.

About the book:

Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging is a book that gives voices to the diverse diasporic Latin American communities living in the UK by exploring first and onward migration of Latin Americans to Europe, with a specific reference to London. The authors discuss how networks of solidarity and local struggles are played out, enacted, negotiated and experienced in different spatial spheres, whether this be migration routes into London, work spaces, diasporic media and urban places. Each of these spaces are explored in separate chapters to argue that transnational networks of solidarity and local struggles are facilitating renewed sense of belongingness and claims to the city. In this context we witness manifestations of British Latinidad that invoke new forms of belongingness beyond and against old colonial powers.

About the authors:

Patria Román-Velázquez is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute for Media and Creative Industries at Loughborough University London. Patria is a sociology and communication specialist with an interest in urban communication, migrant and ethnic economies and urban regeneration. Her research is framed around theories of globalisation, cities, place and identity mainly through ethnographic research with Latin Americans in London. Her current research interrogates the impact of urban regeneration and urban planning policy frameworks for London’s migrant and ethnic economies. Patria is the author of the book The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity (1999); co-author of Narratives of migration, relocation and belonging: Latin Americans in London (2020); and has published articles in a number of journals and edited collections. She is also founder and Chair of Trustees at Latin Elephant, CIO. A charity that works with migrant and ethnic groups, and Latin Americans in particular, to increase inclusion, engagement and participation in processes of urban change in London.

Twitter:  @patria_roman

Jessica Retis is Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Director of the Master’s in Bilingual Journalism at the University of Arizona. She is affiliated Faculty with the Center for Latin American Studies and the Human Rights Practice Program at UA. Retis holds a Major in Communications (University of Lima, Peru), a Masters in Latin American Studies (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and a Ph.D. in Contemporary Latin America (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain). She has almost two decades of professional experience as journalist in Peru, Mexico and Spain and almost three decades of teaching experience in several universities in the United States, Spain and Mexico. Her areas of research include Latin America, international migration, diasporas and transnational communities; cultural industries; ethnic media; diversity and the media; Latino media in Europe, North America and Asia; bilingual journalism, journalism studies, and journalism education. She is co-editor of The Handbook of Diasporas, Media and Culture (Willey, 2019) and co-author of Latin Americans in London: Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging (Palgrave, 2020).

Twitter: @jretis