Dr. Maria Adelaida Escobar Trujillo, Lecturer of Spanish, received Latincouver’s Inspirational Latin Award in the “Arts & Culture” category on April 15th, 2023. The award is presented to a Latin American who has shown exceptional commitment to a cultural, environmental, or artistic cause, demonstrating benefit to the community, creativity, community engagement, inspiration, and vision and implementation. In this article, Dr. Maria Escobar Trujillo elaborates more on her work to advance equity, diversity and inclusion.
Dr. Maria Adelaida Escobar Trujillo receiving her Arts & Culture award at the Inspirational Latin Awards gala on April 15, 2023.
As a person belonging to a minority group myself (Latina and lesbian), I am fully committed to advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). I feel proud that the Inspirational Latin Award I received from Latincouver not only recognizes my teaching, but also my work as a creative writer and volunteer. For me, the most valuable thing about this award is the meaning of its title; I want to inspire my students and proudly represent my Latino cultures and roots in Vancouver.
EDI Through Teaching
“I work to create a safe space and respectful environment in which students feel free to be themselves and to express their identity, ideas and opinions. ”
I believe that diversity in the classroom should be openly discussed and celebrated, and I work consistently to create a safe space and respectful environment in which students feel free to be themselves and to express their identity, ideas and opinions. As part of my classes, I deliberately include music clips, texts, suggested readings, movies and activities that bring an EDI lens and showcase the Hispanic and Latino societies and cultures. In many instances, UBC and Colombian students have contacted me to receive guidance and mentorship to help them navigate the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.
EDI Through Creative Writing
Dr. Maria Escobar Trujillo participating in a panel discussion at Fiesta Del Libro Y La Cultura in Medellín, Colombia to present her novel Tiempo del Sur (2018).
“My creative writing addresses key issues for the Latino community such as immigration, challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ communities, gender equity, as well as cultural and social differences. ”
My creative writing is currently focused on the emancipation of women in South America and has also closely followed the line of maternity in relation to mothers and daughters in Spanish American literature and cinema. My book and short stories address key issues for the Latino community such as immigration, challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ communities, gender equity, as well as cultural and social differences. These themes are reflected in my novel Tiempo del Sur (2018), and short stories such as “Ucluelet” (2020), “Las Mireadas de Outremont” (2019), “No los vemos” (2020), “Nana del bosque” (2019), and “Bosque: cinco poemas” (2019), among others.
I have presented my literary work across Canada and Latin America in the form of book presentations, panel discussions, and radio and podcast interviews. I have been invited to participate in panel discussions about my books and short stories, about the role of women in literature, and about the challenges and opportunities for Latino writers living in Canada. In 2021, I was a co-speaker at “Latin American Female Writers Reading Out Loud” coordinated by Latincouver.
EDI Through Service Projects
Dr. Maria Escobar Trujillo with students and faculty members at Spanish for Community's Guacamole for Justice event (2018), an interactive cooking class and discussion about the marginalization, isolation and exploitation often faced by Latin American migrant workers in BC and Canada.
“ I have been designing projects that aim to improve education and health for families from a marginalized neighborhood in Nicaragua. ”
I have volunteered for several service activities for the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) at UBC. Since 2019, I have actively been bringing in new ideas and connections to help develop Spanish for Community’s events, such as:
- inviting Colombian film director Catalina Arroyave and graffiti artist Santiago Rodas to present as panelists for a movie screening of “Days of the Whale”;
- making connections with the Foundation Ratón de Biblioteca, which promotes reading and writing in limited resource communes in Medellín, Colombia;
- and making connections with Redes de Solidaridad, an organization that works with marginalized communities in Nicaragua, to give UBC students the opportunity to translate documents and webpages for the organization as part of their volunteer work.
All of these activities have contributed to create better connections between UBC and the Latino community in Vancouver, Canada and Latin America.
As a Liaison for Spanish for Community, I helped organize several activities, including: “Gifts from Our Lives I and II”, “Guacamole for Justice: A Taste of Change”, “Atreverse/atravesar: To Dare to Cross – LGTBQ Refugee Claimants and Asylum Seekers from Latin America”. From 2016-2017, I also helped students improve their oral and grammatical skills at the FHIS Learning Centre as a faculty volunteer.
Aside from these activities with UBC, I have been the secretary for Organisation pour le Développement avec des Nouvelles Solidarités au Canada (ODNS) since 2010. I have been instrumental in designing and executing projects that aim to improve education and health for children and families from Nueva Vida, a marginalized neighborhood in Nicaragua. In this position, I have helped raise more than $150,000 in donations for ODNS Canada to support 10 projects funded through Redes de Solidaridad.
Receiving the Inspiration Latin Award from Latincouver has been a true honour. After more than 20 years working as a teacher, 15 years contributing to the Latino community in Canada, and 7 years working at UBC, it is a great source of pride to receive this important recognition for my work.
