As part of World Making and Social Emergency, an initiative supported by the Mellon Foundation, the Hemispheric Institute recently announced the 2024-2025 academic-year cohort of Mellon Fellows and Artists in Residence. “These accomplished colleagues make art, conduct research, build archives, and strengthen activism.”
The 2024-2025 fellows and artists-in-residence are Lisa Paravisini-Gebert 2024-2025 Mellon Scholar in Residence, Regina José Galindo 2024-2025 Mellon Artist in Residence, Beatrice Capote 2024-2025 Mellon Artist in Residence, Thando Kafele Fall 2024 Mellon Artist in Residence, Victor Ultra Omni 2025 Mellon Scholar in Residence, Aissatou Bey-Bara Spring 2025 Mellon Folklorist in Residence, and Elena Martínez 2025 Mellon Folklorist in Residence.
Elena Martínez: 2025 Mellon Folklorist in Residence
Elena Martínez is a distinguished Folklorist of Latin American and Latinx music and cultural history. She is Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center. She holds dual M.A. degrees in Anthropology and Folklore from the University of Oregon and has served as Folklorist at City Lore since 1997. Martínez co-produced the award-winning documentary From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale, which aired on PBS in 2006, and was a producer for the 2015 documentary We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo. She also produced the short documentary Eddie Palmieri: A Revolution on Harlem River Drive in 2016.
As curator, Martínez curated the exhibition “¡Que bonita bandera!: The Puerto Rican Flag as Folk Art” and served as Assistant Curator for the 2010 exhibit “Nueva York: 1613-1945” at El Museo del Barrio. In 2017, she co-curated the exhibit “Las Tres Hermanas: Art & Activism” with Joe Conzo Jr. In 2013, Martínez delivered the Botkin Lecture at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, titled “I’d Still Be Puerto Rican, Even if Born on the Moon: Puerto Rican Migration and Community Through the Expressive Arts.” She has served on the Centennial Exhibition Advisory Committee for the Museum of the City of New York and was a member of the Community Advisory Board for Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story. She is currently on the Advisory Boards for Casita Maria/Dancing in the Streets’ South Bronx Culture Trail, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies Archive at Hunter College, and Los Pleneros de la 21.
Martínez is widely published as a writer and scholar. She has contributed to Latinas in the United States: An Historical Encyclopedia (Indiana University Press 2006); Women’s Folklore & Folklife: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art (2008); the New York State Folklife Reader: Diverse Voices (2013); and The Dictionary of Caribbean & Afro-Latin Biography (Oxford University Press, 2016). Her articles have appeared in the peer-reviewed journal, CENTRO by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies and VOICES by the New York Folklore Society.
As a 2025 Mellon Folklorist in Residence, Martínez will receive support for her project on the oral history of Los Pleneros de la 21. This project will include archival interviews with musicians, dancers, producers, and others who have contributed to the group’s work over the years. Additionally, Martínez will engage in public conversations and performance, and she will curate a digital collection for the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library (HIDVL).
For more information, see https://hemisphericinstitute.org/en/artists-in-residence/elena-martinez.html