Elena Aldea ealde2@uky.edu
	Marian Alonso García completed her B.A. in English Philology at the University of Valladolid in 2004. Although her main area of interest is linguistics, she thinks it is very important to know at least two languages and their literatures so as to be able to have a perfect knowledge of linguistics. Favorite authors: Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Camilo José Cela, Victor Hugo, Miguel Delibes, Neruda, the Brontës. Marian enjoys listening to pop, R&B, soul, and classical music (especially Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo). marian.alonso@uky.edu
	Elizabeth Amaya oeamay2@uky.edu
	Ismael Artiga is from Zaragoza, Spain. He is currently writing his dissertation on cultural contact between Spain and Japan, 1540-1640. Ismael's research interests also include the Siglo de Oro and history in general. iarti2@uky.edu
	Mayte Bartolomé studied English philology and American literature at the University of Valladolid. She loves reading and is happy to have an opportunity to teach in the U.S. maytebh@uky.edu
	David Bird did his undergraduate studies at Florida State University. He concentrates on early 20th-century Peninsular literature, especially the construction of Spanish national and Catalan regional identities, with emphasis on the essay. David likes to read and travel ("quelle surprise!") and also enjoys cooking. Favorite authors: Nabokov, H.L. Mencken, P.J. O'Rourke, Quim Monzó, Bernardo Atxaga, Unamuno, Eduardo Mendoza, Borges, Monsívais, Cabrera Infante. As a degenerate and unrepentant smoker, David has no Lexington bar hangouts anymore. When he did, he liked Lynagh's and Pazzo's for beverages. He still enjoys Joseph-Beth, Bookstore of the Titans. dwbird2@uky.edu
	Elizabeth Borné emborn2@uky.edu
	Eliza Bortz elizaspan@yahoo.com@uky.edu
	Patricia Brabon patribrabon@yahoo.com.mx
	Kristie Bulleit hails from Louisville, Kentucky, orignally. She did her undergraduate studies at Transylvania University in Lexington and also has an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas. Special interests: tennis, singing, journaling. Coffee Times is her favorite Lexington hangout. Why study Hispanic literature: "all things in my life--my mentors, my experiences and passions--have pointed me in this direction." kristie.bulleit@uky.edu
	Steve Buttes is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. He received his B.A. from UK in 2003. Steve is currently serving as president of the Hispanic Students Graduate Assocation )HIGSA) as well as trusty course leader for Spanish 101. Steve's dissertation will be a comparative literary study of the Appalachian "hillbilly" and el roto chileno from their origins to the present. Favorite authors: Sylvia Plath, Somerset Maugham, Ernesto Cardenal, Xavier Villarrútia, and César Vallejo. Steve's latest music rotation includes Charlie Parker, Matt Pond PA, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, and Antonín Dvorák. Biggest advice to incoming and continuing grad students: try to read things outside your field, it will open doors that you never knew were there. steve.buttes@uky.edu
	Silvia Casini silviestcas@hotmail.com
	Luciano Cruz todavía no ha empezado su tesis. Le interesa la literatura cubana en general, cocinar y jugar béisbol. A menudo se va solo a las "batting cages" a descargar tensiones y aun a sus años, puede conectar unos buenos trancazos. Teme mencionar un sólo autor favorito por todos los que dejaría afuera. Hay un par de sitios favoritos en Lexington que no los revelaría ni bajo tortura, porque podría perder la privacidad que hoy tiene en ellos. lecruz2@uky.edu
	Carolina Escarpita is a Chicago native and graduate of Loyola University. She loves exercising, listening to music, going to concerts, and traveling (especially to Mexico!). Some favorite bands and singers: Depeche Mode, Soda Stereo, Fito Paez, Julieta Venegas, Robi Draco and Café Tacuba. Carolina has many favorite authors, but is especially fond of Juan Rulfo, Carlos Fuentes, Luisa Valenzuela, and Jorge Luis Borges. Biggest advice to incoming graduate students: participate in departmental events as much as you can, write rough drafts early and read, read, read! superflaca_10@yahoo.com
	Renata Fernández rfern0@uky.edu
	Coquis Galván. ccospi2@uky.edu
	Mary Gammon. mgammon@uky.edu
	Mariela González is from Jujuy, Argentina. She received an MA in Human Resources Management from the University of Charleston, WV, before coming to UK in 2003. Hugely popular with her students in Spanish, and deservedly famous for her incredible sense of humor, Mariela enjoys listening to music, painting and water sports in her free time. Mariela's advice to new (and returning...) students is: start working early and take the time to get to know one another!!! mariela.gonzalez@uky.edu
	Jorge González is a doctoral student from Spain. His tentative dissertation title is "Drugs and State of Mind in Short Stories of the Twentieth Century." Jorge is especially interested in transatlantic short stories. Advice for students: start working from the very beginning, and try to keep a cool head. jorge.gonzalez@uky.edu
	Laura Hunt is from Indiana originally but prefers living in the South. Her dissertation doesn't have a title yet, but she's working with eco-criticism and regionalism in 20th-century Latin American literature. While not in the classroom, she enjoys volleyball, singing and softball, and her musical tastes include jazz, hip hop and bluegrass. "Don't worry, it will pass!" is her advice to all students, new and old. Lhunt@uky.edu
	Josefina López. jclope2@uky.edu
	Ivonne Marte is originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She received a B.A. in Spanish, an M.A in Hispanic Studies as well as Master’s in Education from Auburn University. Before attending UK, Ivonne taught Elementary Spanish at both the university and high school level. Furthermore, she taught Spanish for one semester in Killarney, Ireland as part of her student teaching requirement. Currently, Ivonne is in her second year as a PhD student at UK and her primary research interest concerns the relationship between women’s experience in time of political instability and national identity. Current projects include a study of Montserrat Roig’s and Isabel Allende’s trilogies. Last but not least, Ivonne is a killer merengue dancer! spanglishfille@yahoo.com
	Sandra Martin. martin.sandra@uky.edu
	Melissa Miecznikowski-McCormick. melissa.miecz@uky.edu
	Ela Molina Morelock hails originally from Distrito Federal, Mexico. Ela received her M.A. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and also worked as a Spanish instructor there before coming to UK. Ela's special areas of interest include Latin American studies, social theory, and women's studies. For relaxation, she enjoys reading historical novels and science fiction. Ela chose UK because of the good "vibras" she felt during her interview. elamolina@yahoo.com
	Nadina Olmedo is originally from Patagonia. Some of her favorite authors are ctavio Paz, Julio Cortázar, Juan Rulfo and Gabriel García Márquez. Nadina's thesis will be on poetics in Octavio Paz. nadina.olmedo@uky.edu
	Claudia Ospina. ccospi2@uky.edu
	Born in Japan, half-Mexican/half-Caucasian, and now residing in Kentucky, Bryan Pearce-Gonzales has by his own admission undergone a personal identity crisis. Bryan's dissertation will apply theories of post-colonial cultural hybridity to the question of self and collective identity in Chicano narrative in hopes of better understanding the inclusive nature of the ever-evolving Chicano subject. Reading anything that pertains to his thesis area is a big hobby/job requirement. Bryan is active in his church and loves to go skateboarding and 4-wheeling whenever possible. bpear0@uky.edu
	Stephanie Pearce-Gonzales is an Arkansas native. She enjoys running, cooking, and church activities. Favorite authors: Neruda and Octavio Paz. Advice to new students: spend time in creating a sense of community. saunders@uky.edu
	Javier Puerto fompedraza@yahoo.com
	Nuria Sabaté-Llobrera is from Catalunya. She participated in the Middlebury Summer Studies program in Guadalajara, Mexico, last summer. Special hobbies and interests: cooking, learning languages, traveling, sports. Favorite artists and directors: John Fowles, A. Baricco, Ingmar Bergman, Hitchcock, Almodóvar. urisab@hotmail.com
	Nick Santavicca. caprins22@uky.edu
	Inela Selimovic is a PhD candidate specializing in twentieth-century women's writing and film. Her dissertation will be on "Mapping Women's Mobility in Latin American Cities." selimoi@hotmail.com
	Adele Robertson taught Spanish at Cleveland State University before coming to UK. Her interest in Spanish arose while growing up in Danbury, Connecticut, a multi-cultural environment with a large Portuguese, Puerto Rican and Dominican population. Many of her friends were Portuguese and she used to love to go home with them to hear the language, smell the food and experience a culture different from her own. When it came time to study a language, Spanish was the obvious choice (Portuguese not being an option) and after that, literature hooked her. Adele's main area of interest is 20th-century Latin American literature (especially poetry). She counts Huidobro, Lorca, García Márquez, Cortázar, and Carmen Martín Gaite among her favorite authors. In her free time, Adele enjoys ballet and modern dance, camping, hiking and, yes, fishing! adele@uky.edu
	Nicole Silimperi received her B.A. in Spanish from Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach. Nicole is concentrating on Latin American culture and literature. She chose to study Hispanic literature because of her personal experiences growing up on the border in Brownsville, Texas. In her free time, Nicole likes to play rugby and rock climb. Her favorite authors and artists are everchanging and too many to count. She and her husband Matt are the proud parents of a beautiful newborn son, Alciedo. NMSilimperi@aol.com
	Ryan Spangler hails from California originally but did his undergrad work at BYU. Ryan is specializing is modern Latin American poetry. Ryan is currently president of Sigma Delta Pi. His dissertation will be on religious identity in the Modernista movement. Some favorite authors: Neruda, Martí, Rubén Darío. Other faves: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Weezer, cake.
	Stephen Taylor received his B.A. in History and Spanish from Indiana State University in 2003. After spending a semester on the remote Mediterranean island of Malta in spring 2002, his intrepid travel bug was confirmed and he has since traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and the U.S. He has also taught English in Prague. Some favorite authors are Borges, Góngora, Neruda, E.E. Cummings, Gibbon, Carl Sandburg, and Edgar Lee Masters. Other interests: folkmusic, photography, mountain climbing, kayaking. kayaker237@yahoo.com
	Originally from Peru, Ricardo Ramos-Tremolada (alias Arthur Rimbaud) is a writer and chef. He has written a novel, En piedra viva, recently translated into Italian. Ricardo has also taught at Princeton, Georgetown, Northwestern, La Universidad San Martín de Porres in Peru, and The College of New Jersey. Outside of academics, Ricardo has served as director or contributing editor to several culinary and cultural magazines, including Correo, Hipocampo, and The Miami Herald. An accomplished reciter of verse, when told that he reads like Vallejo, Ricardo noted: "che, Vallejo no leía tan bien..." He is currently working on his dissertation, "Elites, Exile, and Intellectuals in Modern Peru" with Dr. Santí. rtremolada@hotmail.com
	Rebecca Whitehead. rebecca.whitehead@uky.edu
	Website created and maintained by Stephen Taylor (kayaker237@yahoo.com)