Interview with Maria Lander

Interview with Maria Lander

3/27/17
3/31/2017

HI251C: History of Latinx in the U.S.

In one interview Maria Lander discussed the impact of U.S. culture in Venezuela. In the other, Maria talked about her experience living in the U.S and how she has trouble with identity because of the way that people in the country view her and the Latinx community. Listen and watch:

Interview with Maria Lander from MDOCS on Vimeo.

English

Maria Lander is from Caracas, Venezuela and emigrated to the United States about 20 years ago. She is currently an Associate Professor for Spanish and the Chair of the World Language Department at Skidmore College. In this interview, Maria talks about her experience in the U.S and her identity playing a huge role in her life. She explains the reason behind why she is conflicted with her identity and how sometimes she feels guilty using the term Latina. This is connected to the way people in the U.S portrays the Latinxs community and the stereotypes the people in the countries have for these groups of people.

Maria Lander is a professor here at Skidmore who emigrated from Venezuela to pursue a PhD at Brown University. After finishing her studies, she decided to settle in the U.S. after meeting her future husband and starting her own family. On occasion, Maria has visited her native country again allowing her to experience a unique perspective as a woman that was raised in the country before the effects of a political transition that shook the country. Maria still communicates with her friends and social acquaintances from her undergraduate studies through social media as a medium to discuss and debate various topics including politics. As an immigrant from Latin America, Maria’s perspective of the U.S. is imperative in analyzing the latinx identity.

Zepeda-Carranza, Bryan
Bailon, Charles

Maria Lander