A/Prof Leonel Alvarado

Biography

Professor Alvarado earned a BA in 1989 at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, where he taught Latin American studies for five years, before obtaining a Fulbright-LASPAU scholarship to do a MA in Spanish at the University of Maryland, where he also completed his PhD with a thesis called Vida y Obra de Bulnes el memorioso (The Life and Works of Honduran Poet Edilberto Cardona Bulnes). While at Maryland, he taught Spanish language and culture, before taking up an Assistant Professor post at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2002, when he moved to Massey University of New Zealand.

From 2012 he has been teaching at UNE as part of a teaching agreement signed between UNE and Massey University. He teaches Spanish language and Latin American cultural studies, particularly popular music and travel writing. He is the author of 13 books of poetry, criticism, and short fiction.

His research covers Latin American literature and cultural studies, particularly poetry, popular music and travel writing from Central America. Hailing from the Mayan region of Honduras, the richness of indigenous knowledge is essential to his writing and teaching. This has led to collaborations with Māori and international artists and several books exploring the relationship between indigeneity, migration, nation-building and cultural identity.