Interviews for Webumentary: El Idioma
Luis Alberto Ambroggio (Córdoba, Argentina 1945). American, born in Córdoba, Argentina, Luis Alberto Ambroggio, member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (North American Academy of the Spanish Language), resides in the Washington Metropolitan area since 1967. Winner of the 2004 Spanish TV Award for poems on Solitude and other distinctions. He is the author of nine collections of poetry published in Spain, Argentina and the United States of America. Ambroggio’s books of poetry, include Laberintos de Humo (Tierra Firme, Buenos Aires, 2005) and El testigo se desnuda (Puerta de Alcala, 2002). Ambroggio’s poetry has been selected for the Archives of Hispanic-American Literature of the Library of Congress.
Dolores G. Perillán, born in Madrid, Spain, has been living with her family for almost forty years in the Washington area. An Adjunct Spanish Professor at The George Washington University since 1998, she has developed pioneering teaching techniques, integrating poetry and the arts, language learning, civic engagement and community building. She is highlighted by her students’ enthusiasm and her commitment to local community organizations, and has been recognized with numerous university awards for her teaching, innovation and service. Poetica 21: Word in Action, is her leitmotif and poetry compilation. “A shared journey of trust at the service of beauty and kindness”, that she has been displaying and presenting through many venues since 1985, inside and outside of the classroom. Poesía es lo imposible hecho posible ~ Poetry, the impossible made possible, García Lorca’s verse, is her challenge and daring.
Luis Cerezo is the Director, Spanish Language Program at American University. Cerezo’s research focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of audiovisual technology for language learning purposes. He is the author of Talking to Avatars, a computerized tutor that allows students to interact with pre-filmed actors to learn Spanish in real-life situations. His empirical studies show how computerized language learning is impacted by the type and target of instruction, with a focus on corrective feedback, as well as learners’ individual differences, bearing implications for the adoption of hybrid models of learning. Cerezo teaches courses in Spanish Linguistics, Translation, and Second Language Acquisition and Instruction.
Carlos E. Perez is a passionate educator, translator, editor and melomaniac. He calls himself a Word-hunter. He is a Spanish native speaker from Colombia who can speak English, some French, some Portuguese and some Italian. He teaches Spanish in the Washington D.C area. At night he teaches English to adults in Montgomery county. He enjoys reading Spanish out loud and is a big defender of bilingualism. He never stops talking about music and rhythms of the world.
Sami Miranda is an educator, poet and visual artist who makes his home in Washington, DC. His work has been published in Full Moon on K St, the Chiron Review, DC Poets Against the War Anthology, MiPoesias.com and Beltway among others. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The Arts Club of Washington, GALA Theatre, and other venues. Sami curated the Sabor Sunday reading series in Washington DC, bringing two poets, a trio of musicians and two visual artists into conversation, and is currently working with DC based artists and musicians to create collaborations between the arts. He develops and facilitates interactive poetry workshops for youth and adults and holds an MFA from The Bennington Writing Seminars.
In 2002, Mario Gamboa made a surprising discovery: He realized that some of his workers could not read or write. So he began to teach them basic skills in his house. Shortly there after Cenaes (Centro de Alfabetización en Español) was formed. Word of mouth soon spread throughout the DC area that someone was teaching Spanish literacy skills to native Spanish speakers. Cenaes now has over 150 students, 6 different locations, and 15 volunteer teachers. Its goal is to help eradicate the illiteracy that affects over 50,000 people in the DC metropolitan area.