New Books In Latin American Studies

Today we are joined by Antonio Sotomayor, Assistant Professor and Librarian of Latin American and Caribbean studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Sotomayor is the author of The Sovereign Colony: Olympic Sport, National Identity, and International Politics in Puerto Rico (University of Nebraska Press, 2016), which asks the question of how a colonial possession became a “sovereign international athletic presence.” In The Sovereign Colony, Sotomayor traces the history of Puerto Rican sports from its beginnings during Spanish rule, through the beginnings of American occupation and the promotion of American-style games, and into the solidification of the islands’ national identity through their athletic experiences in regional and international Olympic Games.  He illuminates the ways in which the colonial Olympism of Puerto Rico raised questions about nationalism, sovereignty, and colonialism.  For example, Sotomayor investigates a series of incidents centered on whether Puerto Rican athletes