Sandra M. Benedet

Sandra María Benedet is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Roosevelt University, a socially conscious, private university in metropolitan Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from Stanford University, a B.A. from San Francisco State University, and has taught at The University of Iowa, and Northwestern University. Benedet teaches a wide range of courses, including language, composition, and literature courses on such subjects as Hispanic women writers, Mexican national identity, and utopias and dystopias in literature. She is currently teaching a course on urban literature, in which she examines the way in which the Latin American city has been imagined in the 20th century.

Sandra Benedet’s area of interest is Mexico; she has worked extensively on questions of modernity as they relate to the Estridentista Movement, an avant-garde formation that surfaced in Mexico in the 1920s. Presently, she is working on the role of the artist and the city in the work of Arqueles Vela. Her work has appeared in “La palabra y el hombre: Revista de la Universidad Veracruzana,” and “Contratiempo,” a Chicago based publication. In her spare time, she practices yoga.

Sylvia Mejía

Sylvia Mejía, videographer and film maker from Colombia, will talk about Video-Transformation.

The utilization of portable video as a means of empowerment and transformation for individuals and groups. Sylvia has worked with video cameras for the past 15 years and has witnessed their power in changing people's lives.

She studied Television and Film Direction at Harrow College of Technology and Art in London and Film Science at Stockholm University, making her one of the first women in Colombia trained in film direction.

The arrival of the video camera in the 1970s impacted her greatly as she saw the opportunity to use such technology to reach people in various sectors. She used her video capabilities with various groups in Europe and Latin America and over time developed a methodology of using the camera as a therapeutic and development tool.

She is currently living in Florida, from where she is spreading her idea for the benefit of this community.

César A. Pizarro

Cesar A. Pizarro is El Nuevo Herald Business Manager. In his position he leads efforts to grow the readership and advertising of El Nuevo Herald, one of the nation’s fastest-growing newspapers. In this capacity Mr. Pizarro is responsible for the financial, circulation, advertising and promotion performance of El Nuevo Herald.

Mr. Pizarro is a member of the Executive Committee of The Miami Herald Publishing Company.

Mr. Pizarro was Classified Advertising Director of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald from November 1998 through May 2000. The combined circulation of the newspapers is 365,539 daily and 491,017 Sunday. He was responsible for directing all sales and marketing strategies for full and part run classified advertising products while overseeing a staff of 91 people.

Previously he was Director of Hispanic Market & International Advertising for El Nuevo Herald and The Miami Herald. The International Edition is distributed through several countries in Central and South America.

Mr. Pizarro started his career with The Miami Herald Publishing Company in 1974. Positions he has held are Director of Circulation for The Miami News, Regional Sales Manager for The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald, Director of Display Ads Sales, Director of Spanish Language Publications, as well as the aforementioned, Director of Hispanic Market & International Advertising.

Over the years he has conducted many professional conferences on newspaper circulation and advertising in the United States, as well as in Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Mexico, in conjunction with the Interamerican Press Association.
Mr. Pizarro has a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Florida International University (FIU). His participation in civic and community activities include the United Way and Kiwanis Club Miami Latin, of which he served as Treasurer.