Invisible Immigrants: a colloquium on the shared history of Spain and the U.S.

Luis Argeo and Professor James D. Fernández explore the history of Spanish immigration to the U.S. through the presentation of their project “Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US (1868-1945).”

Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US (1868-1945) is a White Stone Ridge project by James D. Fernández and Luis Argeo exploring the legacy of Spanish immigration to the U.S. The project is an archive of private images depicting the struggles and lives of Spanish immigrants, which aims to give visibility to their stories. Argeo and Fernández, joined by Spanish journalist and writer Guillermo Fesser, will talk about the project and discuss the history of Spanish immigration in the U.S.

Luis Argeo is a travel writer, journalist and documentary filmmaker from Asturias, Spain. Among his documentaries are AsturianUS, and Corsino, by Cole Kivlin. James D. Fernández is Professor of Spanish literature and culture at New York University, and author of Brevísima relación de la construcción de España y otros ensayos transatlánticos (Madrid: Polifemo, 2013).

Argeo and Fernández co-direct the archival project Ni frailes ni conquistadores: Spaniards in the United States, and together have produced not only the book Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US (1868-1945), but also three documentary films exploring the legacy of Spain’s working-class immigrants in the United States. They are currently preparing a major exhibition on this phenomenon that will open in 2020 at Madrid’s Centro Cultural Conde Duque, and then travel in both Spain and the United States.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see the exhibition Recovered Memories: Spain and the Support for the American Revolution organized by Iberdrola.