From March 31 to April 2, the Caribbean Conference on Medieval Studies: In Memory of Dr. Isabel Gutiérrez del Arroyo were held at the General Studies Collge of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Dr. Gutiérrez is well remembered for her famous essay “Conjunción de elementos del medioevo y la modernidad en la conquista y colonización de Puerto Rico.” In this, she pointed out the importance of taking into account medieval history in Puerto Rican history for a deeper analysis of the country’s historical process.
The event was organized by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CEMyR), specifically by Dr. Jennifer Solivan Robles and Dr. Juan Carlos García Cacho. It was made possible thanks to the support received by The Medieval Academy of America through a Centennial Grant.
The CEMyR was honored to have had the presence of Dr. José Manuel Cerda Costabal, a renown Latin-American medievalist from the Universidad de San Sebastián, Chile. He imparted the keynote lecture entitled “De la cátedra a la calle. Divulgando la Edad Media en la prensa, extensión cultural y los medios digitales”. It is also worth mentioning the participation of other medievalist from the University of Puerto Rico, who gave presentations on their respective topics: Dr. Marian Elizabeth Polhill, “Sacrificio e identidad en los mitos nórdicos y caribeños”, Dr. Jennifer Solivan Robles, “El uso de imágenes para la predicación tropológica: vicios y virtudes en las catedrales medievales”, Dr. Jesennia Rodríguez Suárez, “La mujer mestruante en la obra de Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1167) y Nahma nides (1194-1270)”, and Dr. Juan Carlos García Cacho, “Comunidades monásticas y textuales en torno a libros y scriptoria conformados en el norte de la península ibérica, siglos IX-XI”. We had a total of approximately 300 people during the three days. The conferences were transmitted online, through the General Studies College YouTube channel.
In addition to the lectures, there were two guided tours. On Monday, March 31, 2025, we visited the San José Church and the Old San Juan Cathedral. The architect Andy Rivera from Puerto Rico Historic Bulding Drawing Society was in charge of the tour. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025 we were able to visit part of the collection of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, this was possible thanks to the excellent reception of the staff of Divisón de Artes Plasticas, especially its Director, Mrs. María del Mar Caragol and Mrs. Laura Quiñones, collections registrar.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this event, including the speakers for their valuable participation and the students for their dedicated volunteerism. We would like to express our gratefulness to the Humanities Department of the General Studies College, its director, Dr. Victor Ruiz, and secretary Frances Bezares, for their invaluable support and assistance. To Dr. Angél Olmeda, a member of the CEMyR, for kindly agreeing to moderate the event. And Dr. Carmen Ruiz de Fischler, special assistant to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus’ rector, for her kind words on behalf of Dr. Angélica Varela and as a collaborator of the CEMyR.
