Spotlighting the Voices of MacArthur Fellows During Hispanic Heritage Month

This September and October, we recognize the impact of Hispanic Americans on the history and culture of the United States.

MacArthur Fellows of Hispanic or Latin American descent are tackling a number of issues in a wide range of fields, and have displayed exceptional creativity in the forty years of the MacArthur Fellowship’s existence. So we pulled together quotes from some of the 2021 MacArthur Fellows that speak to their work, identities, and personal experiences.

Let us know in the comments which ones resonate with you:

“You look at the United States and the mosaic of people who make up this country. And there’s no wall big enough that anybody could make that would make us a monoculture country…As a young person growing up, When we closed the door and we were inside our house, it was like we were in Peru, essentially. And then we opened the door and we were in the United States.” — Daniel Alarcón, Writer and Radio Producer

“One hundred years ago, anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican rhetoric fueled an era of racial violence by law enforcement and by vigilantes. But it’s also important to remember that this kind of sentiment, this rhetoric, also shapes policy…policing practices, our institutions today have deep roots in this period of racial violence.” — Monica Muñoz Martinez, Public Historian

“My practice is like an exercise of memory. Objects linked to my personal, communal and regional Afro-Caribbean experience give me the opportunity to connect to that memory and to experiment with the formal and symbolic possibilities of its materiality.” — Daniel Lind-Ramos, Sculptor and Painter

“Filmmaking is a way for me to cure my home sickness because I look for ways to come back to explore the Borderlands…When I was growing up in El Paso, all I really wanted to do was to leave. But when I left, I discovered the unique characteristics that made El Paso were also what gave me passion. What I used to have shame in, I found passion.” — Cristina Ibarra, Documentary Filmmaker

“There’s a massive machine already in place that produces representations of our community that are often misguided, sometimes hateful…I know another cinema is possible. There’s no time to waste.” — Alex Rivera, Filmmaker and Media Artist

“Our research program has one goal and one goal only. And that is the hope that something that we discover will at some point help the lives of people.” — Victor J. Torres, Microbiologist