Retratos: Arte y sociedad en Latinoamérica y España

Drawing on authentic cultural materials ranging from thought-provoking artwork to classic literature and short contemporary films, Retratos: Arte y sociedad en Latinoamérica y España offers a fresh and inspired approach to the teaching of advanced Spanish Composition.

In each of the eight thematically-organized chapters, these primary source materials provide a "portrait" of an historically or culturally important figure in the Latin American and Spanish worlds, offering students rich opportunities to explore cultural differences, learn grammar in context, and complete writing activities directly related to both their own daily lives and the world around them. North American Rights only.

Features:

• The unifying theme of portraiture—with each chapter providing the distinct perspective of a key figure in the Latin American and Spanish worlds—organizes the topics in the book, such that students can build on and compare/contrast what they have already learned.

• 90 full-color reproductions of authentic artworks and photographs provide students with vivid illustrations of important historical and cultural references.

• Award-winning short films, streaming online, allow for immediate and focused in-class discussion. Click here to view the short films.

• Writing in process: each chapter highlights a specific writing genre, reviews a grammatical point, and introduces a writing sample—all situated within the context of the chapter topic.

• Text selections showcase exciting new Latin American and Spanish voices, including such authors as Junot Díaz, Laura Freixas, Dolores Prida, and many others.

Watch authors Margarita Sánchez and Katica Urbanc discuss Retratos:

Reviews:

"What an excellent text! I love that it beautifully interweaves art, literature, film, and social consciousness. I have never seen a book that contains all of these elements. I also very much like that the book consists of 8 chapters. In a 14-week course this is perfect. Students don’t want to purchase a text and only use half (or a third) of it. The grammar sections are also a plus, and the book is affordable for students! Outstanding text!"
      —Aileen Dever, Quinnipiac University

"This is an excellent book for a course dealing with cultural topics from Latin America and Spain while practicing all language skills. It has a very good selection of materials and incorporates painting, photography, and cinema to the literal selections for each chapter. There are good projects under “Actividades creativas."
      —Rita Tejada, Luther College

"The book is excellent—very accessible to students at the intermediate mid to high level on the ACTFL scale. The layout is colorful and interesting, the questions are appropriate for the intermediate level, and the cortos that were chosen are some of the best available. I also appreciate the grammar included in the text. All in all, it is a very well-designed textbook that I think instructors will appreciate for its artistic appeal and ease of use."
      —Darlene M. Lake, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

"This is a must whether you teach composition or conversation courses. The book is cleverly structured in three main sections: art, literature and short film. The material included allows students to learn about wonderful painters, photographers, writters and film makers of Latin America and Spain. Every year my students tell me how much they enjoy Retratos. It makes teaching and learning a lot of fun."
      —Osvaldo Di Paolo Harrison, Austin Peay State University

"Retratos is a unique and versatile textbook that combines a focus on the arts with the art of writing. The authors' choice of organizing the materials around topics allows them to present a wide array of visual artists, writers, and filmmakers. Retratos can be described as a window that allows students to look into art and society in Latin America and Spain."
      —NECTFL Review

Additional Resources:

Short films referenced in the textbook are streaming online (via YouTube and Vimeo) on the Retratos title support page, click here to view the films.

About the Authors:

Katica Urbanc is Professor of Spanish and French at Wagner College.

Margarita Sánchez is Professor of Spanish at Wagner College.