On March 31, the Spanish and Portuguese Department had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Hiram Smith, Associate Professor of Spanish at Bucknell University, for a day of engaging discussions and lectures on linguistic diversity in the Americas. Dr. Smith specializes in Palenquero, a Spanish-based creole spoken in the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque—recognized as the first free town in the Americas founded by formerly enslaved people.

During his visit, Dr. Smith led interactive sessions with students from SPA 211 and SPA 207. In SPA 211 (a course focused on the varieties of Spanish taught by Catalina Méndez Vallejo), and SPA 207 (which explores underrepresented communities in Latin America taught by Anais Holgado Lage), students had the opportunity to delve into the linguistic and cultural history of San Basilio de Palenque. Dr. Smith guided students through the syntactic features of Palenquero and facilitated a comparative analysis of sentences in Palenquero and Spanish, sparking lively discussion and curiosity among the attendees.

Dr. Smith concluded his visit with a guest lecture in the freshman seminar The Way We Talk, also taught by Professor Holgado Lage, where he shared his insights on African American English and its cultural and historical significance.