Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes is a professor of Spanish, American Culture, and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan who’s main research interests are queer/LGBT Hispanic Caribbean studies, U.S. Latinx American literary, cultural, and performance studies. In his first book, Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora, Larry analyzed portrayals of migration, sexual diversity, and gender nonconformity in Puerto Rican cultural productions. His most recent book, Translocas: The Politics of Puerto Rican Drag and Trans Performance was published in 2021. In this episode, Larry talks about his upbringing in Puerto Rico, his journey though higher education—both as a studen t and a professor—and his own drag persona, Lola Von Miramar, who lectures and educates about queer Puerto Rican and Latinx culture in the United States.
Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes is a professor of Spanish, American Culture, and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan who’s main research interests are queer/LGBT Hispanic Caribbean studies, U.S. Latinx American literary, cultural, and performance studies. In his first book, Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora, Larry analyzed portrayals of migration, sexual diversity, and gender nonconformity in Puerto Rican cultural productions. His most recent book, Translocas: The Politics of Puerto Rican Drag and Trans Performance was published in 2021. In this episode, Larry talks about his upbringing in Puerto Rico, his journey though higher education—both as a studen t and a professor—and his own drag persona, Lola Von Miramar, who lectures and educates about queer Puerto Rican and Latinx culture in the United States.