Registration for the LatinxConnect Conference 2026 attendance is now open!
The Latinx Connect conference aims to move us beyond “celebrating” Latinxs, calling for empowerment and justice for Latinx communities, who face numerous inequities in the US and across the world, particularly for those at marginalized intersections of Latinx identity (e.g., Afro, Indigenous, Queer, Trans*, Undocumented).
As the largest pan-ethnic group in the United States, Latinxs are extremely diverse by race, gender, language, immigration, and experiences along the diaspora, which creates opportunity for dialogue. Participants will discuss together what it means to thrive as Latinx/a/o/e/Hispanic at the intersections of their identities in topic areas including but not limited to education, public health, arts, and history.
There is no cost to attend the conference, and all are welcome.
LatinxConnect Conference 2026
When: April 15-17, 2026
Where: Hybrid
The Pulse of Hope: Power and Praxis · El Pulso de la Esperanza: Poder y Praxis · O Pulso da Esperança: Poder e Práxis — is a celebration of how we thrive. How do we keep lifting each other higher? How do we honor our heritage while growing into the future? How do we show up for one another in ways that keep our communities vibrant, connected, and full of life? The answer is already unfolding all around us — in classrooms and cultural centers, in art studios and town halls, in the everyday acts of care, creativity, and connection woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods. LatinxConnect 2026 is where we come together to celebrate, amplify, and learn from all of it.
Please register for the LatinxConnect Conference 2026.
Links to virtual activities will only be sent to registrants.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS. TELL YOUR PEOPLE. WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
#LatinxConnect2026 #ElPulsoDelaEsperanza #somoslatinx #somospitt #LatinxExcellence #h2p
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Graduate Research Presentations
9:00-10:00 a.m. (EST), Location TBA
We invite graduate students to share their research at the LatinxConnect Conference 2026, an opportunity to showcase ideas, engage with a broader community, and contribute to ongoing dialogues on Latinx experiences, identities, experiences, and contemporary issues. Coffee and pastries will be provided.
Contact: Milena Sosa (mis578@pitt.edu)
Deadline to submit: April 8, 2026
Undergraduate Research Presentations
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (EST), Location TBA
More details coming soon.
Envisioning the Future of Latinx Studies at PWIs
1:00-2:30 p.m. (EST), virtual
More details coming soon.
CEAR Lab Presentation
3:00-4:45 p.m. (EST), Location TBA
"CREAR": "To Create" (Spanish); Community Research Exploring Adolescent Resilience Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. Director: Dr. Andrea S. Medrano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology (Pitt), Developmental Psychologist.
CLAS Speaker Series
5:00-6:00 p.m., In-Person in 4303 Posvar Hall/Center for Urban Education (CUE) & Virtual
Pizza provided.
Latinx Alumni Gathering
6:00-7:30 p.m., 4303 Posvar Hall/Center for Urban Education (CUE)
Latinx Alumni mix-and-mingle/networking event with students.
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Immigration Law in Turbulent Times
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (EST), Teplitz Memorial Moot Courtroom (Barco Law Building)
Keynote Speaker: César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández , A.B., J.D., Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Ohio State University
As the Trump administration prioritizes broad enforcement of immigration law, courts are being asked to identify the limits of immigration law. In this lecture, César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández will discuss the legal challenge posed by the Trump administration’s approaches to immigration law enforcement and citizenship.
Lunch provided.
12:30-1:30 p.m. (EST), 4130 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Advancing Our Communities—Latinx Power at the Intersections: The Case of Pittsburgh
1:45 –3:30 p.m. (EST), 4130 Posvar Hall and online
As part of our "Border-to-Border Series" at Pitt, this panel brings the global conversation about borders into a local, lived context. While borders are often discussed as lines on a map, Latinx communities experience them daily as barriers to health, economic stability, mental well-being, and belonging. This conversation centers Pittsburgh as a site where global migration, policy, and community resilience intersect—This community-centered panel creates space to reflect on how Latinx communities in Pittsburgh are doing—and what we need to truly thrive—across mental health, physical health, community care, immigration support, and economic and business resources.
Panelists and participants will share insights, challenges, and community-based solutions that uplift collective well-being and build power. Together, we will explore how community resources, culturally grounded care, and mutual support can advance healing, resilience, and opportunity.
This panel is open to all and free to attend. Everyone is welcome to listen, learn, share, and connect with resources that strengthen our communities.
Panelists:
- Susan Baida, Co-Founder, Latiné Unidos of Western Pennsylvania – perspectives on Latine groups and community organizing, why we need to organize as a community
- Rosamaria/Monica, The Latino Community Center, LCC – challenges faced, future needs, and how institutions can better support the work you do
- Alicia Sewald-Cisneros, Founder, Ayúdate – mental health in our community
- Jaime Martinez, Community Leader, Organizer, Founder Frontline DIGNITY – community organization and activism
- Diego Chaves-Gnecco, Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Director and Founder of Salud Para Niños – health-related impacts and concerns
- Guillermo Velazquez, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation (PHDC) – business and economic perspectives
Moderator: Ankur Sakaria, Policy Manager, Office of Mayor Corey O’Connor
Latinx Student Voices in Action (Student Panel)
3:30-4:45 p.m. (EST), In-Person Location TBA
This student-led panel brings together representatives diverse Latinx student organizations to showcase how they are transforming ideas into action across their campuses and communities. Through cultural initiatives, advocacy, and community-building efforts, students are creating spaces of belonging while responding to today’s challenges.
Representatives will share how they are building community, advocating for equity, and creating spaces of belonging. From cultural initiatives to professional development, mutual support, and civic engagement, students are not only responding to contemporary challenges, they are actively shaping solutions.
Together, this conversation highlights how student leadership drives meaningful change and sustains hope in action.
Representatives:
- Alexandra Arana (President, LAGOS)
- Guilherme Meletti (President, Addverse)
- Ana Fontán (Vice President, ALPFA -CMU)
- Yazmin Infante Peña (President, ALPFA -CMU)
- Mayra Gonzalez (President, LGSA-CMU)
- Paola Ortiz (President, SOCA)
- Bryan Calderon (Latinx Student Association)
Moderator: TBA
Book Launch & Signing
5:00-6:30 p.m. (EST), Location TBA
Join us for Dr. David Tenorio's book launch, chat, and signing. Light refreshments provided.
Friday, April 17, 2026
Please note that all of the following panels are fully virtual.
Latinx Studies Now: Debates, Methods, Horizons
9:00-10:15 a.m. (EST)
What does it mean to map the "Now" of Latinx Studies? This panel assembles a powerhouse group of scholars to navigate the shifting landscapes of the field, from the transisthmian archives of Central America to the radiophonic feminisms of the digital age. Our discussants move beyond traditional academic borders to explore how sonic politics, digital chisme, and labor narratives redefine our collective power. Join us as we trace the future horizons of Comparative Ethnic Studies, articulating a praxis that bridges the poetic and the practical to meet the urgent demands of our contemporary moment.
Panelists:
- Dr. Ana Patricia Rodríguez (University of Maryland)
- Dr. Sharina Maillo-Pozo (University of Georgia)
- Dr. Esther Díaz Martín (University of Illinois Chicago)
- Dr. Irene Mata (Wellesley College)
Moderator: Ever E. Osorio Ruiz (University of Pittsburgh)
Resistance, Liberation & Healing in Latinx Studies
10:30-11:45 a.m. (EST)
In an era of systemic displacement and state violence, how do we cultivate a scholarship that not only critiques power but actively facilitates healing and liberation? This panel explores the "Pulse of Hope" through the radical intersections of global solidarity, Afro-Latinx spirituality, and Caribbean hydro-criticism. Moving from the frontlines of Palestine-Latinx coalitions to the sacred waters of the diaspora, these public-facing scholars discuss how recovery—of our histories, our spirits, and our ancestral methods—functions as a vital act of resistance. Come engage in a transformative dialogue on how Latinx Studies can provide a roadmap for communal restoration and radical future-making.
Panelists:
- Dr. Sara Awartani (University of Michigan)
- Dr. Theresa Delgadillo (Penn State University)
- Dr. Rebeca Hey-Colón (Cornell University)
Moderator: Lisa Ortiz, University of Pittsburgh
Emerging Latin Communities Conversation
12:00-1:00 p.m. (EST), Hybrid (Location TBA)
Beyond the Tropical: Curating Puerto Rican Art
1:00 to 2:15 p.m. (EST)
In the popular imagination, Puerto Rico is often reduced to a static "tropical paradise"—a landscape of consumption rather than a site of complex, lived history. But beneath the veneer of the visitor economy and colonial myths, a rhythmic, resilient "pulse" persists. This panel brings together three visionary curators to explore how contemporary art functions as a vital organ of hope, memory, and political resistance.
As the archipelago navigates the tensions of the vaivén (the constant flow between island and diaspora), curatorial practice has become a critical tool for survival. This panel moves past exoticized aesthetics to examine the archipelagic nature of Puerto Rican identity. From the performative archives of the Caribbean-yet-to-come to the dismantling of "paradise" narratives, our panelists discuss how they are building new infrastructures for Latinx Art Studies.
Panelists:
- Marina Reyes Franco (Independent Art Curator)
- Teréz Iacovino (University of Minnesota- Twin Cities)
- Arnaldo Rodríguez Bagué (Northwestern University)
Moderator: Paula Kupfer (University of Pittsburgh)
Latinx Bliss: Queer & Trans Joy as Praxis
2:30 to 3:45 p.m. (EST)
In an era where the lives of queer and trans Latinx individuals are frequently framed through the lenses of legal precarity, social death, and colonial displacement, what does it mean to center joyful bliss as a revolutionary act? This panel moves beyond narratives of trauma to center joy as a rigorous decolonial praxis. Featuring emerging and field-defining scholars, we explore how "Bliss" functions as a revolutionary archive against legal erasure and social death.
From the sideways struggles of travesti and jotería communities to the lawful fictions of queer migration and the poetics of memoir, our panelists map the vital geographies where queer and trans Latinx life thrives. Join us to discuss how practicing joy sustains our movements, defies colonial logic, and breathes life into the future of the Américas.
Panelists:
- Dr. PJ DiPietro (Syracuse University)
- Dr. José A. de la Garza Valenzuela (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
- Dr. Marcos Gonsalez (Adelphi University)
Moderator: Sergio A. Gonzalez, University of Pittsburgh
Closing Panel & Conference Conclusion
4:00-5:15 p.m. (EST), Virtual
Advancing Latinx Studies & Looking Forward.
LatinxConnect is organized and co-sponsored by: Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice (CCRRJ), Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), Office of Institutional Engagement and Wellbeing, PittGlobal/University Center for International Studies (UCIS)
Thank you for your generous support!
LatinxConnect has its origins in and continued support by grassroots transdisciplinary and cross-institutional groups of educators based in Pittsburgh.
Contact
Email us at latinxconnect@pitt.edu or at cesr@pitt.edu