Los Angeles is home to 17 consulates from Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latin American Institute has enjoyed particularly fruitful relationships with the consulates of Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.
Mexico
The Center for Mexican Studies has developed a close relationship with the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, organizing presentations and receptions for incoming consuls, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, senators, and governors of Mexican states. The CMS and the Consulate also organized book presentations, art exhibits, and film series on campus and at the consular site in downtown Los Angeles. The Consulate also supported the CMS application for funding for scholarships from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores-SRE) for UCLA students of Mexican descent. Funding from the SRE and its partners also supported a tutoring program organized between the CMS and the UCLA Labor Center to have UCLA graduate and undergraduate students provide academic support to children of Mexican immigrant through four community organizations in Los Angeles.
Brazil
Through the Center for Brazilian Studies, the Latin American Institute is honored to work with the Consulate of Brazil in Los Angeles to promote the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture at UCLA. For many years, the Consulate has supported a lectureship in Portuguese at UCLA. In addition, the Consulate has generously supported a Brazilian Film Series (co-organized with the Center for Brazilian Studies), which has showcased the best of Brazilian cinema, past and present, to our campus community and all Los Angeles.
Chile
Under the leadership of former director Verónica Cortínez, our Center for Southern Cone Studies collaborated with the Chilean Consulate to hold a wide variety of cultural events, such as an international conference on Violeta Parra, a meeting of Chilean Artists in LA, and, in 2022, the visit of the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric Font, to UCLA.
We are always eager to expand our collaborations with consulates representing the countries of Latin America. If you represent a Latin American or Caribbean diplomatic mission in Los Angeles and would like to discuss potential partnerships and synergies, please contact Outreach and Community Engagement Coordinator Verónica Zavala at zavala@international.ucla.edu.